Chapter 1: Days of Our Lives, or Passions, which ever you prefer.
It was a really quiet day at Angel Investigations. The demons seemed to be taking a few months off. Now, usually the group would be happy to take a few days off, but lets face it, it was boring. After a while, even a bored person got tired of listening to Gunn and Angel fight about who was the better Playstation™ II game-master. Even Passions was getting stale, no matter how hard Spike tried to assert that "it was the best bloody show on the tely." And then there was the, the only way to describe it was, display that was the relationship of Faith and Robin.
Faith, one of the slayers, Slayer #2 actually, met Robin Wood right before Sunnydale had been reduced to rubble. They loved each other and moved to LA to join Angel Investigations with their struggle to defeat the forces of evil and gain redemption. Faith, unfortunately, was still wanted by the police after her escape from a maximum security prison. She had to be careful and keep a low profile. She felt horrible, she was so sorry for the hurt that she caused. She knew that she was a murderer and wanted, with all of her heart, to be able to 'let it go', as Robin put it.
Robin just didn't understand. He was a principal at the old Sunnyhell High, sure his mother was a slayer, but he really didn't know what she felt. There was no way to let it go, and the only one who understood was Angel. He never told her to let it go. He said to work through the pain. To do good deeds, and lead her to hope that one day she could find peace. Faith loved Angel. She loved him like an older brother. An older brother who had done the same thing that she did, only a million times worse, and she knew that he would help her through it.
Together they were happy. At first. Then the arguments began. Who left the weapons unguarded on the table? Who was being stubborn? Whose turn was it to watch the one TV that they shared? Stupid things, little things, but those little things finally came to a boil after Faith found out she was pregnant, just three months before Cordy.
Boy was that an argument that the entire block wouldn't forget.
"You fucking bastard! You knocked me up!!!" Faith screamed at Robin, all the while trying to get within close range to strangle him. "How could you fucking do this to me? I'm going to KILL you. Don't you know who I am? I'm the SLAYER. You are going to die."
Looking back almost 37 weeks later, it was hilarious. Faith chasing Robin, who had a dumbfounded and shocked look on his face. Angel chasing Faith to keep her from killing Robin. Gunn and Wesley chasing Angel to prevent him from 'accidentally' hurting a newly pregnant Faith. Fred and Cordy hugging each other and going "Aww" in that girly way and trying to keep from crying happily at the news. Two year old Connor sitting on his Uncle Spike's lap, staring in wonder at the weird grown-ups. Spike shaking his head at the group. And then all of them laughing as Angel slipped on Connor's 'blanky', sailed all the way to the other side of the hotel, and landed flat on his back biting his lip from swearing in front of his son.
You'd of thought that having a baby would keep those two from fighting. No, sir-ee bob, the arguments just got louder. Cordy just wished that Faith would stop being so gosh-darn stubborn. She tried to take Faith aside to tell her that very thing, but Angel told her that it was better if they ALL stayed out of it. After all, if Faith didn't want to get married for the sake of her child, then she didn't have to. It wasn't the fifteenth century or anything. The only problem was that Robin was stubborn himself. He wanted to marry Faith and could not understand WHY she didn't. Thus the arguments.
It seemed like they were going to get a small reprieve from the "Passions" soap opera that seemed to be their current lives. NEVER say that you're bored in LA. No matter what you think, the minute you actually enjoy the quiet, something really bad happens to make you wish you never said that.
On the way home after stopping a D'tensy demon from destroying a warehouse full of medical supplies one night, Cordy decided to take Connor to the park to play on the swings with the rest of the family. Instead of arguing about who was going to drive and taking the 'Angel Mobile', 'Spike's Luv', or 'Gunn's Sweetheart' to the park, Cordy spoke up and said, "Hey, you've all got legs. Use them! The park's only three blocks away. We'll walk. We'll be there by the time you finish arguing."
Now, everyone knew that when Cordy got that tone in her voice, you'd better listen. So they all quickly nodded in agreement and were on there way. It was the new Rules for the Peaceful Co-existence in the Hyperion Hotel. Rule #1 was: Don't piss off the pregnant women. This included Faith, who was often, if it was possible worse than Cordy. The two pregnant women in the hotel sure made it a lot of fun for the boys. Faith and Cordy had their own sets of slaves for nine months. Only for nine months, Gunn already stated that, "the second those babies pop out, we ain't gonna do your chores for you. So don't get used to it."
Angel was pushing Connor on the 'big boy' swings, while Cordy, Fred, and Faith went for a walk in order to have one of their girl talks. Wesley, Gunn, Robin, and Spike saw a bunch of teenaged boys playing basketball and went to join them for a game. The ladies, on their walk, talked to Faith about her possibly marrying Robin. They didn't push, just discussed the pros and cons of marriage. Cordy was giving her an inside opinion as the married one in the group.
Faith was adamant that she didn't want to talk about it. The others knew that she was afraid of marriage, of letting herself love like that, increasing the possibility that she could be hurt in the process if the marriage were to fail. But as Cordy was trying to tell her, life was a risk, and the greatest risk was love. Faith shook her head and walked away from her two girlfriends. She was not in the mood to hear it.
As Faith walked away from her, Cordy began to feel like a hypocrite; after all they all had their secrets. Herself especially, the secrets she held could destroy her entire image. The entire persona that she emanated could be wiped out. No longer could she hide her true self. She closed her eyes, feeling her baby kick underneath her hands. She could only hope that her baby girl wouldn't have to hide. That she could trust her and Angel to understand how she felt. To know her daughters hopes and dreams and to one day cry proud tears that her daughter was strong enough to accomplish them. She did not fear that Angel would hurt the baby, like her father hurt her with his words, mentally ripping her self-esteem to shreds. Angel would love his daughter, only love, never hate.
She felt Angel staring at her back. She always knew when he was watching her. She always knew where he was. It was a gift. One that was stronger than the demon-y powers that the PTBs gave her, one that was larger than her ability to see the future; it was the bond that her and her husband shared due to their wedding rings. Angel would always be with her; no matter if they were in close proximity or in another country, she could always feel him and know if he was alright. She turned, looking back at her Angel, smiling at the sight of her son laughing and screaming to pushing "higher, daddy, higher."
The smile slid off of her face seeing something else…something that she never wanted to see again, right behind her family.
She did the only thing that she could do because she was so pregnant, SHE SCREAMED.