TITLE : Family

AUTHOR : Aset

He slowly opened his eyes ; blinking, fighting the light. Artificial. A look at her. Smile; she likes that ;

'Hey'

'Good morning ' she yawned, even though she was already awake over half an hour. Lazy mornings. 'Are you okay ?'

'yeah sure' A look on his face. What was she talking about? 'Why?'

A sigh. okay…This was going to be a serious talk . Dreadful; trying to follow her logic; sometimes difficult. Only one thought then crossed his mind; love me. Two things; I love you…no. Never two; three ; Connor ; miss him. Help me ease the pain. I love you, I need you.

Sadness in his eyes. Connor…no doubt. Don't worry, love; I love you ; love me too… Together we can get through this. We'll get him back.

'No reason…' she said, playing with his hair before brushing a gentle kiss on his forehead. 'I love you, Angel'

Smile ; he's smiling. No forced smile, just very natural. One of those rare smiles…'I love you too'

***

-*- Sunnydale, daytime, the park-*-

It was a lovely day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing. Yup, no evil around. Just a nice day at Sunnydale. In a corner of the park some people had gathered ; sitting relaxed on the grass, talking. There were four of them ; 3 girls and one boy. It were some of the Scooby Gang.

'So, the e-mail said like 'come to LA, Angel needs you' ?' the boy asked. It was Xander.

'Yeah, something like that' Willow said.

'Did you happen to bring it along ?'

'Yes, Dawnie'

'Let me see', Buffy said. She had been silent ever since the conversation had taken a turn towards LA, and Angel.

'It's not from Cordelia, or Angel'

'Wesley ?'

' No, it's signed Fred'

'Maybe it's just a prank' Xander suggested.

'It's their e-mail alright'

'Write one back then.'

'Sure, I'll mail Cordelia, just to be sure'

Would Angel really be in trouble ? The Scoobies were talking about it. A strange e-mail, saying Angel needed help… Buffy thought it was all a bit to weird. But the thought of Angel in trouble ? ! It still broke her heart.

'Wait a minute…'Willow suddenly said, making some wild gestures with her hands and arms, 'Fred… that's that new girl!'

'What new girl ?'

' The one they brought back with them from that other dimension'

'So Angel really is in trouble…'

A moment of silence, thinking.

'We're going to LA if he really needs help' Buffy made a statement. They would go and help Angel, after sending an e-mail, just to check, and after having made some arrangements. They couldn't just leave now, midterms were only a couple of days away.

***

It was near noon when they finally came down.

'Hey' Fred said as she saw them descent, Cordelia slightly blushing. 'Slept well?'

Angel forced a smile, but sadness still marked his face, 'Hey Fred'

'Want some coffee? 'Cause I've made some and…'

'I'd love some' Cordelia said, smiling to Fred as her hand found Angel's. 'I love you' she whispered as they followed Fred into the kitchen. They sat down at the table. Silence until Gunn entered.

'Hey! Good morning…noon! Heyhey, Angel! Good to see you down here again, man!'

'Hey Gunn'

Fred left the room, smiling at Gunn, gently touching him as she passed by.

Cordelia cleared her throat, 'I'm going to the bathroom.' She announced, leaving them alone.

'Well?' Gunn asked. He knew, but still the curiousity took over.

'Well what?'

'You and Cordy…'

'What about us?'

'Well…'

'Well what?! We're together'

Silence as Gunn started to smile. 'I'm happy for you guys. You deserve it' Silence. 'I'm gonna check on Fred'

'Typical' Angel thought. Little smile. They belonged together, they did make such a lovely couple.

Smile. Love Cordy, love Connor. Missing him, loving her. Sigh.



A/N I apologies if the Sunnydale part wasn't really realistic. I'm no Buffy-expert, but my friends just wanted some Scoobies in the story so…