The characters of BtVS and Angel do not belong to me…
A/N: I really didn't want to write this again, but it might clear some things up: Right now, I can do whatever I want with the characters. Complain too much, and I'll kill everybody off… J
"Hey Boss! You got a call!" One of the young workmen at Harris Construction yelled across the present work site. Xander finished looking at the plans with his foreman, and made his way to his office.
"This is Harris…Oh, hey Bill. How are things in LA?….Really?… I'd love to, but let me check with Cordy. Things are really busy right now, but I can probably get started around June…Great. I'll have the contracts drawn up and will start construction around the 15th or 16th….Okay, thanks Bill. Tell Mary that Cordy and I send our best…Bye."
Xander sat back in his chair. It had been three years since Harris Construction got its first job, and he had jobs back to back since then. He had a couple of other sites all across California, but he and Cordy wanted to stay in Sunnydale.
"Okay" Cordy came in with a bunch of files. "We are ahead of schedule for the Amphitheater in Fresno. Gary wants a raise, and considering he's lasted on the Hellmouth for so long, I don't think it's bad idea. Morry needs to be replaced. He hasn't had a job finished on time or under budget in a year. I was thinking of transferring Chris out there. He always talks about how much he likes Sacramento, and Walt thinks we should put a Harris in San Francisco."
"No to Gary's raise, Morry's wife is pregnant, and Chris is the only capable manager I have in Orange County, we already have offices in Fresno and Sacramento, but I'll think about putting one in Bakersfield and Bill Rysome called just now, he wants to build another museum."
"I'll give Gary a raise, I'll find Morry another job before I fire him, send Christine a baby gift, and Chris will go to Sacramento. We'll pull Joe from the Fresno job and but him Orange County, I'll have Walt take a week and look for a good site on Bakersfield and I'll draw up the papers for the museum. Are we thinking around mid-July?"
"The 15th or 16th." He said. She gave him one of those million dollar smiles and headed out of his office.
Cordelia had a knack for running things. All the employees knew and respected her. She was the reason he had branched out to other cities, there by increasing business and money. She never really asked for permission to do anything, but always let him know ahead of time. In a million years, he would have never pictured Cordelia as a businesswoman, but she had never made a wrong move for the company.
"Oh, one more thing" Cordelia popped her head back in the office "I have a lunch date at 12:30 with a prospective client. Some foreign guy. Also I'm pregnant. I'm going to head out early so I can pick a couple of things up for dinner tonight. I should be back around two o'clock." She left again.
"Okay, honey" Xander went to mark on his calendar that she would be out for lunch, when the pregnant thing hit him. He shot out of his chair and ran to stand in front of Cordelia who was making her way across the work site. "You're pregnant? Why didn't you tell me!? When'd you find out? How far along are you? What are you doing on a construction site?!"
Cordelia took a long breath, then said "Yes, I just did, this morning, two months and I work here." She smiled at him again and moved to step around him. Xander took and moment to place her responses with his questions. Finally getting it, he nodded his head and ran to stand in front of her again.
"I don't think I've ever been this happy in my entire life, but I can't believe you're being so blasé about this, and you are not to walk through the site anymore. You can work out of your office at home. And don't work too hard there either. You just let me take care of everything, okay?"
"I'm not being blasé, I just knew that once I told you I wouldn't be aloud to lift a finger for seven months. Sorry, but sitting around the house really isn't my idea of a good time. You practically bored me to death when that slab of concrete broke my toe. So I'm prepared this time to tell you that I will continue as I have been doing, until I can't see my feet, at which time I'll work at home. Am I clear on this? Good." She said without waiting for his reply.
Xander stood dumfounded, watching her retreating back. Then he remembered something else. "You can't go on patrols with us anymore!" She just waved a hand his way and continued on her way. "A baby…a dad?…I've got to call Willow and Bu…Faith" He mentally kicked himself. 'You have to stop doing that Xander,' he told himself, 'it's been eight years, four months, and sixteen days'. Yeah, but who's counting? Besides me anyway...
"I can't believe it…" Angel sat with Faith on the pier. After Xander got off the phone, she tried to call Angel to see if he had heard the news. He had. When he didn't answer at home, she knew she would find him on the pier. He always went out there to sit in the sun, watch the sun set, or brood in the darkness.
"I know. Cordelia's going to be responsible for a baby. It's probably going to grow up and have some of her traits. Do you think it's too early to start talking tact to her belly?"
Angel smiled. "God, she and Xander are going to be parents."
"Yep." They just sat in silence, though it wasn't uncomfortable. They usually sat in silence with one another. The sun slowly faded behind the sea and left them in darkness. "Penny for your thoughts…" She said, without looking at him.
"Eight years, four months, and sixteen days. Where do you think she is? I can't help but wonder if she's married. Or if she has children. Do you think she's happy?"
"I don't know. But she's not here, and after eight years, she hasn't said a word to any of us." Faith was playing with her St. Jude necklace, as it was her habit now.
"Are you sure?" He said and nodded at the necklace. Faith dropped the charm from her fingers. After a moment, she began to play with it again.
"It's just easier to think that way. Every birthday, anniversary, or any special event, somebody gets something. It's like she's here. Watching us all. It creeps me out."
"I like it." He said softly. Faith looked at his profile for a minute, and then she scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. At nine, Faith got up to go.
"Are you going to go see Hope?"
"Yeah, she gets out of class, and I wanted to see how she's doing."
"She's a good girl, Faith. I'm glad she has you as a friend."
"Thanks Angel" And then she was gone. It was after midnight when Angel finally returned home.
Seven months later
Hamburg, Germany
Spike walked into the room and called out for Buffy. Getting no answer, he looked for the note that she always left when she wasn't home.
'Spike, I couldn't get any information from the Tar-…oh, I don't know how to spell it, but those ugly green demons from yesterday. I'm going to have a drink around the corner. Come on over if you get this note.' –Buffy
Spike put down the note, and went into the bedroom to change. One of the Sunnydale articles stood out from the rest. It was held in the mirror between the glass and wood…
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Harris announce the birth of their daughter Angela Anne Harris…
Spike sighed. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Buffy goes to a pub the same day that Xander and Cordy have a baby. 'This can't be good' he thought to himself.
At the pub:
It didn't take Buffy long to learn how to order a beer. In fact, after nine of them, she was getting pretty good at it. She now leaned far over the bar and ordered another one. The bartender placed two in front of her. "Wow…that's really nice of you!"
A hand came from behind her and picked up one of the glasses. She turned around, making herself a little dizzy and addressed her companion. "Spike! That's my beer, put it down or I'll stake you!" Her voice was more than a little slurred.
"Come on luv, tell Spike all about it…" He put an arm around her shoulders, attempting to pull her near. "No!" Buffy said angrily and pulled out of his arms. "I don't want to talk about Xander and Cordelia and the fact that they just had a baby, and I wasn't there for them, and they even named her after me." She was crying now, and a short sob escaped her throat. She turned around and ran out of the bar. After a moment, he chugged his beer, put some money on the bar, and followed her.
Buffy hadn't gotten very far, due to her serious inebriation. Finally, she just sat down on one of the curbs and began to cry harder. Spike stood behind her and looked at her shaking shoulders. It was so much like the time he found her on the front steps of her home. She was as vulnerable now as she was then. He sat beside her, and as soon as the tears subsided a bit, he began to talk. "You know, I was here in 1943. That was the year of the firestorm." Buffy looked questioningly at him, wondering where this little history lesson was going. "Entire place burned down to the ground. Dru thought it was one of the most beautiful things of the decade." He sighed. "In eleven days, the entire city was destroyed. Can't tell you how many people lost their lives or their loved ones during that time. But the people that lived built the entire town again."
"Spike…I'm a little drunk right now. Sort of back to my 'Fire bad, tree pretty' mind set."
Spike looked at her a little strangely, not understanding, "All I'm saying luv, is that Everything was destroyed here, but look at it now."
Finally getting it, Buffy said quietly "But it's not the same."
"Well sure, but it's better than it was before. Believe me."
"I'm not there for any of it, Spike. I don't even know what's going on unless it's newsworthy. I want to be apart of it again. I've missed so much…I miss them so much that it hurts."
Spike draped an arm around her shoulder, she leaned in, and this time, he didn't try to keep her from crying. As far as he was concerned, she deserved to.
Watchers Council Head Quarters:
"Sir?"
The man sitting behind an elaborate desk looks up from his files at the young man.
"Any word?" the president of the Council asked
"No sir."
"I have given you more than enough time to find her. I want her head on a plate!" The man angrily slammed his fist down on his desk. "There will be hell to pay if she isn't found soon!"
"Sir, she is a Slayer. I must say I am surprised that she has lived for so long, but I am quite sure that her streak of luck will run out soon."
The man knew it was too late for that. By now, the Slayer would have figured out the truth. Not only that, but she would be around twenty-eight. At that age, it would be quite impossible for any demon in battle to get the best of her. "Where are you going to look next?"
"I'm not sure, sir. It seems we're always one step behind her. Her pattern is completely erratic. Our investigators have asked around the towns we know that she visited. Unfortunately, no one seems to know where she goes. She and her companion never stay in one place for very long."
"That's unacceptable. Unless she spins a globe and puts her finger down, I assure you that it is quite possible to find her. If you can't do it, I'm sure I can put another team in your place that can. Am I understood?"
"Perfectly sir."
"What about the other one? Has our assassin found a way to get close to her?"
"Yes sir, but she's a little hesitant about taking the shot."
"Well, simplify things for the girl. Make her…less hesitant. I want those Slayers dead. Not next year, not next month. I want them dead now! Is that clear?"
"Crystal, sir." And with that, the young man left the office.
"Okay Spike. We need to get going. Where to next?"
Spike pulled out the globe that he had bought many years ago, and spun it. Buffy closed her eyes and put her finger down to stop it. Opening her eyes, she looked down. "Ah, Kuala Lumpur…that sounds like a LOT of fun. Shall we?"
The duo made their way along the streets. They passed a couple of American men who were sitting at a side walk cafe. "Look at that ass. What I wouldn't give…" One of the men said as Buffy walked by.
"Come on Doug, look at her. She can't be a day over eighteen."
"Hey! Eighteen is still legal."
The two men laughed, and continued on their way.