Cordelia floated back to reality just in time to hear Journey yell, "Hey- STOP it!"

Cordelia looked up in time to see some kids push Journey into the dirt. "Oh, my God." Her eyes flashed to the nearby teacher, who wasn't even paying attention. Cordelia started over there.

She began to jog when they started to drag Journey around by his feet. Her jogging suddenly turned into a run when she saw something disturbing happen- Journey was vamping out.

"Journey!" She cried out as she ran. She reached him and helped him to his feet within a minute. She saw the other kids scatter and though she desperately wanted to chase them down and kick their butts for being mean to a sweet kid like Journey, she let them go. There were bigger problems at the moment.

"Journey, are you all right, sweetie?"

He touched a hand to his dirtstained face and looked up at her with fear in his eyes. "Cordy, what's happened to me?"

Cordy racked her brain for an answer, but all she could think about was getting him out of there. "Nothing's wrong with you, J. Come on. Let's go home."

She picked him up as he protested. "But what about school?"

Cordy shook her head dismissively. "School? What do you need school for? You're smart enough as it is."

~~~

"Angel! Good, you're home." Cordy said, walking into headquarters.

"Hey.. you want to--" Angel turned around to see her, noticed Journey, and abruptly stopped. "Why isn't he in school?"

Cordy smiled. "Well, that's actually a very long story."

"Really?" Angel set down in a nearby chair. "Okay, let's hear it."

Just then, Wesley stepped out of his office and into the foyer. He saw Cordy and Journey and clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Cordelia!" He scolded. "You were supposed to take him to school and LEAVE him there. I thought we went through this."

"No, you don't understand!" Cordy shook her head. "Okay, see, there were all these kids-"

"And they threw me in the dirt, Daddy!" Journey interrupted.

"No!" Angel exclaimed.

"Yes!" Journey and Cordy responded in unison.

"No way!" Angel said as Journey ran to him. Angel grabbed him and pulled him onto his lap. "Did they hurt you? What's their names?" He kissed Journey's forehead. "Goodness, Cordy, why didn't you wipe this dirt off his face?"

"Because there was something that needed to be hid."

"Hid? What are you talking about?"

"Look at your child's face." Cordelia ordered. Angel only stared at her. Cordy exhaled loudly. "Look BEYOND the dirt."

Angel looked from her to Journey. "Ookay." He looked at his son, trying to find some reason for the dirt to still be caking Journey's face. Peering closely, he noticed some bumps around his eyes and nose. "Close your eyes, J." Once Journey's eyes were closed, Angel began to gently wipe the dirt of Journey's face with his hand. As the dirt fell away, exposing Journey's vamped out face, Angel's eyes went wide and he nearly dropped his son. "Oh, my God."

Wesley came closer to get a better look. "Oh, my. Angel, does he have. fangs?"

Angel swallowed. "I don't know. Um.. smile for Daddy." He told Journey.

Journey grinned, revealing two gleaming fangs along with his regular teeth.

"I wonder if they're sharp." Cordelia said, stepping forward. She began to tentatively stick a finger in Journey's mouth to touch the fangs.

"Cordy! What are you doing?" Angel asked, pulling Journey away from her.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm gonna see if they're sharp."

"You can't do that! If they really are sharp, it'll be his first taste of human blood."

"Angel's right, Cordelia." Wesley interjected. "With his first taste, the bloodlust will begin."

"So, what are you saying, exactly? That he's gonna bite me? And besides, Journey's not a confirmed vampire."

"Not a confirmed vampire?" Wesley exclaimed. "Cordelia, would you just look at him?"

Cordy glared at Wesley. "Talk about him like he's not right in front of you, Wesley!" Ignoring them both, she stuck her finger in Journey's mouth and felt of the smooth, sharp fangs. She let her finger slide over the tip of the fang before pulling her finger out. "Ouch!"

"Cordelia?!" Angel asked, a concerned look coming over his face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a bit.. fang-y." She examined her finger. "Look." She held it up for them to see. "It may be sharp, but it's not THAT sharp."

Angel breathed a sigh of relief, glad that his son hadn't tasted human blood. He kissed Journey's cheek. "This is great!"

"Yep!" Cordelia agreed. "Whoo hoo. He's not a full blood vampire!" She paused. "Wait-that didn't come out right."

Wesley was quick to ruin their excitement. "Just because he's not a vampire doesn't mean anything. Look at him. He's certainly not human."

Journey looked from his dad, to Wesley, and then to Cordelia. "What am I?" He asked in a scared voice.

Cordelia looked him in the eye. "You're human, sweetheart. Totally human." She held out her arms and Journey moved into them. "Why don't we go upstairs and get ourselves a bath? We'll get the icky off you and then you can read a book and do everything a NORMAL boy does."

Wesley walked out of the foyer, leaving behind Angel, who was watching Journey and Cordelia head upstairs. And as they almost disappeared from view, he heard Journey asked, "What do they mean I'm not human?"

~~~

Cordy ran the bathwater, added in some bubble bath, and helped Journey undress. He got into the tub, and she began to wash his face and hair. While she did this, Journey started to ask some questions.

"Cordy?"

"What, baby?"

"Is there something wrong with you?"

"No, no sweetheart. There's not a thing wrong with you."

"Are you sure? Uncle Wesley made it seem like I'm something evil. Am I bad?"

"No, you're not bad. Are you saying all this because of Uncle Wesley? Because if you are, don't worry about a thing he says. Uncle Wesley's going through a tough time right now, what with those twins in their terrible twos and threes, and he doesn't have a clue in his head what he's talking about." Cordelia told him. "You're not bad. And there is nothing wrong with you. You're just being who you are. Something you can't help or stop."

Journey sighed and splashed half-heartedly. "Cordy, can I ask you something else?"

"Sure, you can ask me anything, kid."

"Who's my mother?"

Cordelia was a bit speechless. "Um, what makes you ask this.. now?"

"Well, those kids at school were asking me where my mother was and why didn't she bring me to school. But I told them that I didn't have a mommy and they told me I was lying. I guess they saw you and thought that." Journey paused. "Then, they told me I was a liar and I was going to hell for it. That's when they started pushing me. I just wanted to know about my mother, so that this," He pointed at his vamped out face, "won't happen again."

"Talk to your daddy about it, okay?"

"Okay. I got another question."

"Shoot, kiddo."

"What's hell?"

Cordelia smiled. "You REALLY need to talk to your father about that one." She laughed. "Are you ready to get out?"

"Yes." He stood up and Cordy wrapped a fluffy towel around him.

Cordelia looked at his mess of wet hair and grabbed a comb to comb it. "Hey- you're vampy's gone."

"My what?"

"You're va-oh, never mind."

"Hey, Cordelia?"

"Yes, Journey?"

"Can I call you Mommy?"

Cordelia stopped combing his hair, shocked that he'd asked her that. "Um, well."

"I was just think that since we've got the same last name and I don't have a mommy and you don't have a son.."

"But. " 'You did have a Mommy,' Cordelia thought silently.

Journey looked down at his feet. "I just want a mother. Is that so much to ask?"

Cordelia felt so sad for him. Just looking at his sad little Angel face made her want to cry. "Come here." She said, softly embracing the boy in her arms. After a few seconds, she said, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you called me mommy. Just not around your father."

Journey kissed Cordy's cheek. "Thanks, C."

"No problem, kid. Now, go on down to your room and get dressed."

"All right." Journey paused before adding on, "Mommy." Then he stepped away from Cordelia and headed to his room.

TBC