Chapter 12

"So, how'd it go?" Lorne asked when they all returned.

"The Wraith-ers are no more." Buffy said.

"Tore 'em apart." Angel said kissing Buffy.

"Literally." Fred said.

Angel walked around the counter, opened the little fridge there and poured himself a glass of blood.

"He has been so good the whole time his mommy and daddy's been gone." Lorne said as Angel gulped down blood. "Do you miss your mommy and daddy? They're right here." Lorne looks at Buffy and she took Conner.

"Hey, Angel, I think Connor needs some papa-love too." Buffy said.

"He needs a lot of things. All day, every day." Angel replied.

"Well, yeah. That's kind of how kids..." Buffy started.

"Connor needs a bath, Connor needs a bottle, what Connor needs is to grow up!" Angel snapped. He gulped more blood as everyone watched him.

"Angel! Is something wrong?"

"Gosh, no, Buffy, everything's just great!" Conner started to fuss. "I got a kid that cries, pees and moans, and never gives me a moment to myself."

Connor was crying now.

"Oh, it's alright." Buffy said to Conner.

"It's really not. Connor, shut up!"

"Don't yell at him. He's just a baby!" Buffy said.

"He keeps it up he's not gonna be a baby for long!" With that Angel threw the glass at the wall, and shattered it and spattering blood everywhere.

"You better get a grip right now!" Gunn said.

Buffy bounced Conner and tried to comfort him as she stared at her husband.

Angel stared at the blood dripping down the wall, he looked at the guys, then back at the blood. He turned to look at Buffy.

"What's wrong with me?" Angel asked quietly. "Something's not right."

"You could say that." Gunn snapped.

"Ah, I couldn't help but notice, when did you start drinking so much blood?"

"I don't know. A few days ago. A week maybe."

"Where did you get it?" Fred asked.

"Same butcher as always. It's - it's pig's blood. This last batch just seemed so much more..."

"What?" Buffy asked from across the room. She wouldn't go near him with Conner.

"Tasty." Angel said quietly after a beat.

Gunn, put the crossbow down on the counter "You were all hyped this morning. Then you went all Tyson on those demons. Then you kinda crashed. Then you had another drink, then you started throwing things."

"Mm-hmm, just like my aunt Viola and her Southern Comfort." Fred said.

"Hey." Angel pointed to himself. "Vampire. Need to drink something red. Doesn't make me a blood-aholic."

"Not unless someone's spiking your drink." Lorne said.

They all look at the blood spattered wall. Buffy walked over to Gunn.

"Let's find out." Fred said.



"You wanna hold him? He's sleeping." Buffy asked, finally brave enough to stand by her husband.

After a beat, Angel said, "Maybe that's not such a good idea right now."

Fred straightened up from the microscope. "So, there is more to pig's blood than meets the eye." Fred said. Angel looked at the blood on the wall. "There's just a trace of..."

"Human blood in it. I can feel it. It's his. It's Connor's." Angel said quietly.

"How do you know that?" Buffy asked.

"The past couple of days he's..." Angel took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around himself, "smelled like food."

"So, they've been feeding you your own son's blood so you'd get the taste of it and want more."

"Who's 'they'?" Buffy asked.

"Who do you think?" Angel replied darkly.



"Like a cat. Can't hear you. But I'm starting to feel you when you're near." Lilah said. She turned around and there is Angel with that blond slayer wife of his standing right behind him.

"Isn't that nice and creepy? How'd you find me?"

"Your assistant." Angel said plainly.

"I'll have his arms broken."

"Already taken care of." Buffy said.

"And am I next?"

"You know, Lilah, there are so many things I could do to you. With transfusions I could keep you alive indefinitely. I do have some expertise in this area. My own son. How could you?" Angel asked.

"It's my job."

Lilah turned back to her drink. After a beat Angel and Buffy sat down on stools on either side her.

"Don't you ever get tired of the whole femme fatale act?" Angel asked, then to the bartender, "Whiskey, straight, lots of it." Back to Lilah. "How about just once you talk to me like a person?"

"Look, I've been doing this a long damn time. I've had to be better, smarter, quicker than every man in Wolfram and Hart."

"So, it's a feminist thing." To the Bartender as he set down Angel's drink, "It's on her."

"It's a survival thing. I made a lot of devil's bargains and I stuck to them. As a result, I live somewhat dangerously, and quiet comfortably. My mother, who no longer recognizes me, has the best room at the clinic. I get up every morning, put on my game face and do what I have to."

"Thing about a game face, Lilah, you wear it long enough, it stops being something you can put on and take off."

"Wow. We've spent so much time and money on you. You're so pivotal to the coming cataclysm, that I sometimes forget how dense you can be. The game face, the one I worked so hard to get, I became that years ago. Just like you've become simpering and good from yours. You're the new poster boy for human. Thank you very much. I don't want it."

"Hmm, speaking as one non-human to another: sorry if I hit a nerve."

Lilah laughed "You think you can awaken some buried spark of decency in me? Is that the way you help your helpless? I'm not helpless. I'm glad you came along, because I was sitting here 'what's it all about' and now I know. It is all about making the rest of your eternal life miserable." She clinked her glass to Angel's and smiled. "Shall we drink to that?"

"You back-stabbing, traitorous bitch." Sahjhan said.

Angel, Buffy, and Lilah twisted around on their stools and there was Sahjhan standing behind them.

"I have a lot of work to do. I can't be in every time/space at once, and here I find you drinking with my sworn enemy." Sahjhan said.

"Sworn enemy? Really? Have we met? Because I don't remember swearing." Angel said.

"Hey! You're that demony guy I saw with Holtz!" Buffy said.

"Sahjhan, he found me." Lilah said before the demon could react to Buffy.

Angel glanced from Buffy to Lilah and then to Sahjhan.

"So you all are in cahoots. Ethereal time-traveling demon you're the screwball that brought Holtz back. How's that working out? He's not very fond of demons, is he?" Angel asked.

"You will learn nothing from me." Sahjan said.

"Other than that you're his sworn enemy, who brought Holtz back, and when that didn't work out, you came to me. Idiot." Lilah said.

"Hey! You think my life is easy? I'm jumping from one dimension to another. I don't always have sound. Sometimes it's just a visual. Saw you two sitting here all chummy." Sahjhan complained.

"So, why do you wanna kill my husband?" Buffy asked.

Lilah said to Buffy and Angel "He wouldn't tell me either. Not that I need a reason. I was just curious." Then to Sahjhan, "Did he boink your demon bride? Eat your mother?" She looked from Sahjhan to Angel. "You really don't know who he is."

"You will pay." Sahjan said.

"For what?" Angel asked, genuinely confused.

Sahjhan only turned and disappeared into thin air.

"Well, whatever his grudge, I think you just made him madder." Lilah said.



"Angel, Buffy."

"Where is everybody?" Angel asked.

"Fred and Gunn went for food. Lorne. had to go out. I'm watching the baby. In fact, I packed up some overnight things. We talked about me taking Conner to the park and the one across from my place is... It's always full of kids. I thought he could spend the night with me." They just stood there looking at each other silently for a moment.

"That's probably a really good idea." Buffy said.

Wes let out a breath.

"You wanna say good-bye?"

Angel took Conner. "Okay. Hey. He-he. Sleep tight, big guy." Angel smiled at Conner and gave him a kiss. "Mommy and Daddy will see you real soon." He handed Conner to Buffy and then said to Wes, "Just keep an eye... I check on him a lot during the night. You got his pediatrician's number, his baby formula?"

"I've got all that."

"You ever hear of a time-traveling demon by the name of Sahjhan?" Buffy cut in.

"No."

"The guy that brought Holtz here. He thinks I'm his sworn enemy. I don't know him from Adam. Can you hit the books before you go?" Angel asked.

Wes watched Angel sit down on the settee in the lobby. The doors opened and Fred and Gunn came in.

"Hey. Where is Lorne? He better show his green face pronto, or Fred'll eat his hoagie." Gunn said.

"I will not! I already had two. Unless he's really not here?"

"He had to go out." Angel informed.

"Where?"

Angel asked Wes, "Where did you say he went?"

"I don't know. He didn't say exactly. I think he had to see a client. You know, I've got better reference materials for your demon at home, and Conner is getting sleepy. Why don't I look into it there?"

Angel looked from Wes to Conner in Buffy's arms, to Wes' outstretched hands, back at Conner and Buffy. Slowly, Buffy lets Wes take the baby.

"Ah, okay. Just call me if you find something." Angel said.

Buffy's hand lingered on Conner as Wes slowly stepped away.

"I guess, ah, I'll see everyone tomorrow."

Angel jumped up. "Hey, Wes?"

Wes half turned back to look at Buffy and Angel.

"What's the closest emergency room to your place?"

Wes, after half a beat, said "Drew Medical. One minute away." Wes half- hurried towards the doors, curling around Conner. "Top infant care center. Don't worry." With that Wesley left.

"Well, our first whole night without the kid." Buffy said sadly.

Angel put Conner's stuffed toys into the bassinet as Fred and Gunn watched him.

"This'll be good for all three of us. He can bond with his Uncle Wes..." Fred and Gunn exchanged a look and a smile. "We can get some rest."

Angel looked down at the stuffed monkey.

"Yeah. Rest. Fun." Buffy said.

Gunn smiled "We'll stay up with you guys."

"Really? Thanks. You know, he's just a little guy. I'm sure he'll be..." Angel broke off as they heard moaning coming from Wes' office.

"Is there someone in Wes' office?" Buffy asked.

Before they could check, the front doors opened and Holtz strode in. At the same time several of his people appeared from different places all around the lobby. One even came halfway down the stairs from above.

Angel and Buffy took quick looks around, marking all of Holtz' people.

"Won't you come in?" Angel said sarcastically.

"How is fatherhood treating you?" Holtz asked.

"I like it." Holtz' guys slowly closed in, raising their weapons. "You know I met a friend of yours tonight. A demon named Sahjhan?"

Holtz slowly came down the front steps into the lobby. "What did he have to say?"

"He was cryptic guy. Actually he was kind of long-winded. We didn't quite get what his deal was. I wasn't paying that much attention to him." Angel said. One of the men glanced into the bassinet, then almost imperceptibly shook his head at Holtz. "He hates me. Do you know why?"

"I don't really care why. So where is the little nipper?" Holtz asked.

"Oh, he had to go out. Sorry. I know he'd love to meet you." Buffy said.

"I'm sure he'll turn up. Looks like you made a nice life for yourself here." Holtz continued.

"Are you here to fight or shall I make some tea?" Angel inquired.

"I want to keep Angelus and that girl alive, but not well."