[Disclaimer] I keep the entire cast of Angel and Buffy locked in my basement. OK, they actually belong to Joss Whedon. But its fun to pretend.
[A/N] As stated before, I dont follow Buffy, so Im not sure if my facts are right. Also, about the whole Spike thing, Im going under the assumption that they *do* know hes impotent... err, "harmless" ....but completely in the dark about him sucking on Buffy's neck. Ok, thats all. Happy reading!
The sun had fallen and now the moon hung high in the starry sky. Holtz looked at the house with its brightly lit windows. He watched the shadows dance across the glass. Soon enough, the lights would dim and the shadows would cease their dance. And then he would strike.
Holtz looked over at Sahjhan. "You're sure he will come for the slayer?"
Sahjhan didn't take his gaze off the house. "He loves her. Of course he will."
"Why dont we just go back to L.A. and kill the vampire now?" A female voice cut through the darkness.
Holtz looked up at Justine. "Of all this time you have spent with me, have you learned anything? Angel must suffer. By doing that, I will take his love, his child, and then, I will take his life. Its just a matter of time."
*****
Fred stretched her arms as she sat down on the couch. "Sunnydale sure is a fun place." She said. She didn't notice the strange looks Cordy, Willow, Buffy, and Dawn sent her.
"Yeah Fred." Cordy smiled, "Fun. I guess nothing's changed around here. Nothing do to until the Hellmouth opens." Buffy, Willow, and Dawn had taken their guests out for the day. Angel stayed in the house with Spike, of course. Now, Tara, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Cordy, Gunn, and Fred all relaxed in the living room.
"Maybe we could invite Xander and Anya over for dinner." Willow said, her patented smile breaking out on her face, "We could have, like, a reunion. Oh! And Giles! Giles could come. Wesley is with Giles, right?"
Gunn laughed. "Willow, you are so cool." He said, half serious.
"Ok, I'll call everybody up, and you start dinner." Buffy told Willow.
Willow smiled and headed towards the kitchen. Tara smiled after her.
"Hey, where's Angel and Spike?" Buffy asked. She was answered by shrugs and "uhdunno's"
"Nancy Boy's upstairs, staring at Cordy's baby." A crisp british accent stated from the staircase. Eyes turned to see Spike walking down the stairs, "I'd watch him if I were you." He told Cordy, "He looks like hes thinking about a little snack."
"Spike youre such an ass." Cordy muttered from her place on the couch. At that point in time, the Vampire with a soul walked down the stairs silently, eyes never leaving the baby in his arms. Cordelia felt a tug at her heart. Angel was such a great father. She stood and walked to her best friend. "How's my favorite guy?" She asked.
"What?" Was Angel, and Buffy's, startled reply.
Cordy said nothing as she gently pulled Connor out of Angels arms. "Thats right!" She cooed to him, "You're my favorite guy, arent you? You're so cute! You are the cutest babe in the whole world."
Angel watched her interact with his son for a moment, before turing his eyes to the rest of his friends in the living room. "How was the day out?" He asked, to no one in particular.
"Oh!" Fred said, "It was great! First we went to their old high school and I saw the location of the Hellmouth and..." She stopped midsentence as she noticed 14 eyes staring at her. "It was ok."
*****
An hour later, the table was crowded with old friends and new, enjoying Willow's dinner.
"This is great, Will." Xander said.
"Yeah." Cordelia agreed, "You're a great cook."
Willow smiled proudly. "Yup. And I used no magick at all."
Tara smiled at her approvingly. The group continued laughing and telling jokes and stories, well after the plates were empty.
Gunn and Wesley exchanged battle stories, while Dawn told her tale of the battle with Glory. Cordy told her story of Dennis and Fred told of Pylea. Angel was his normal self and watched from the sidelines.
"I'm glad we came down here." Cordy said, "Its been great catching up."
"Yes, but..." Giles started, "About the prophecy... Im afraid we're running out of time. Now, me and Wesley looked through some books today, and it seems a great battle is coming to Sunnydale. I think we should spend our remaining days preparing for this."
"Yes." Wesley agreed, "Now, in some of my research-"
"Wes." Cordy interrupted, "I hate the apocalypse as much as the next person, but why don't we wait until after dinner? I mean, if it were here already, I would now, right?"
"Yes, I suppose, but..." He sighed and shook his head.
"Why would you know about the battle?" Anya asked.
"Well, I get visions. Of stuff. Bad stuff."
"Oh, thats so cool!" Dawn said.
"So I guess everybody had power but me." Xander said dejectedly.
"Yeah," Anya said, "But I still love you."
"So, can you predict the future?" Dawn asked.
"Kinda. I mean, I dont want to see these things. They just come when they're needed. Whenever the PTB feel like it, I guess. But Lorne, he sees future stuff."
"Lorne?"
"He's works at a demon karaoke bar. He's really cool. Sometimes we have to go there and listen to Angel singing. It's horrible torture but its for the job I guess." She sent Angel a teasing smile.
"Angel sings?" Buffy asked, a smile playing on her lips.
"Lets change the subject now." Angel interjected, sending Cordy a look.
Cordy's smile slipped off her face. "Angel." She said, "Can I talk to you in the living room?" She stood and got up before he could reply.
Angel looked confused, "Cordy, I was just kidding." She didn't answer him and he stood and followed her.
"Somebody's in trouble." Spike said in a singsong voice before gulping down the last of his blood
*****
"Cordy, I was just kidding-" Angel started.
"I had a vision." Cordelia interrupted.
"Of what? What happened?"
"I dont know! It was so vaugue. It doesnt feel right. Something's wrong. All I could see was colors and blurs. This is major wrong, Angel."
"Ok, we'll just keep a look out. Nothing will go wrong. I mean, we have two vampires, a slayer, and a vampire hunter on our side, not to mention a handful of fighters. Everything will be fine."
"I hope so."
*****
Dawn sat on the front lawn, staring at the sky.
"This seat taken?" Cordelia asked as she sat down next to her.
"Nope." Dawn smiled, then looked at the infant in Cordelia's arms. "He's so adorable." She said, "He's lucky, too. Being raised with you as the mother. He's loved."
Cordelia smiled. "We all love him. Angel especially."
"He's going to be Connor's father figure, isn't he?"
Cordelia smiled again, partly at herself for playing this game, partly at Dawn for her ignorance. "Yeah, she said. He is."
"He's going to have a weird life, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess he is. But then again, none of us have had a normal life. I mean look at us. We're discussing the apocaplyspe during dinner. But... I dont think I would have it any other way. Its almost like a family."
"Sometimes I wish I were normal. I mean, my sister is the slayer. Her best friend is a witch and her boyfriend is a vampire."
"Vampire? Hun, you do know that Angel and Buffy aren't together anymore."
"What? Oh. Oh, yeah of course. I was talking about Spike."
"Spike? Spike and Buffy... ah ha ha ha." Cordelia began laughing loudly.
"Why else would he stick around? Now thats hes neutered, all he does is whine. But hes great to me. Helped save me when the whole Glory thing was going on... he was there for me when Buffy died."
"...it must have been hard."
"Yeah. My mom, then Buffy. Im glad Buffy is back, though. I still miss my mother though."
Both girls were quiet for a few minutes. Finally, Cordelia spoke. "I'm going inside." She said, and without thinking, she placed Connor into Dawns arms. "Your life may not be normal. But youre very lucky to be part of this. Its a bond that most people can never experience. I wouldnt trade it for the world." She smiled again before standing and walking inside.
*****
Holtz watched the scene from a distance. There was no need to go to L.A., for the Seer was in Sunnydale with the child already. "Who is the girl?" He demanded.
"The slayer's sister." Sahjhan replied.
"Good. We'll take her. That will lead the slayer to us, and we'll go from there." He looked at Justine. "Lets hope your training gets put to good use."