Sins of the Father
Chapter Six

The hammering on the door drew Lottie from her place on the edge of the bed where she was pulling her socks on. She padded down the hall and stood before the door.

"Who is it?" she called.

"It's Fred, sweetie. Can I come in?"

"Is that really you?"

"Yes."

Lottie reached up and pulled the door open, eyeing Fred sceptically. Wes had heard the banging on the door and left the bathroom, toothbrush in his hand.

"Lottie, you shouldn't open the door to people," he scolded gently.

"I asked who it was first, didn't I, Fred?"

"She did, Wes."

"Ok, just be more careful, Lottie. Hello, Fred, what can I do for you?"

"I just came to let you know, it's Cordy. She's awake. She's fine, she's asking for you."

Wes raised his eyebrows sceptically and glanced down at Lottie.

"I have to take Lottie to school," he hedged.

"Can't you go after you drop me off, Dad?" she asked.

"Well I…" he tailed off and sighed. "Fred, I really don't think seeing Cordy is the brightest idea she's ever had and considering some of her other ideas…"

"Why not, Wesley?" Fred asked desperately. "She's asking for you! She really wants to see you!"

"Can I come?" Lottie asked.

"No, you're going to school."

"After?"

"Come on, Wes. This is Cordelia, your friend. You've known her for years, you helped us find her."

"She also abandoned me only a few months ago, I see no reason to do as she asks now," he replied spitefully. "And I only helped because of my history with Cordy."

Fred dropped her gaze, her eager smile faltering. Then she felt a surge of anger at his curtness. Forcing a smile down at Lottie, she flickered a glare up at Wes.

"Lottie, why don't you go get your school things together, huh?"

Lottie cast her father and Fred a shrewd look before nodding slightly and returning to her room.

"God, Wesley!" Fred hissed. "Anyone would think you didn't care! I'm sorry for everything that happened between us all. But we've got a chance to change it now and you won't even try. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't know, Fred. Maybe I find it a little difficult to trust my old friends after one of them tried to kill me and the rest abandoned me. I really can't think why I'm being this way."

"You don't trust us?" Fred whispered.

"I don't know," there was no sarcasm this time, it was a wisp of sound. He leaned heavily against the wall and toyed with his toothbrush. "I just feel… Maybe I don't want to risk getting that close to anyone again."

"And what about Lottie, huh, Wes? You don't want to risk getting to close to your daughter too?"

"She's got nothing to do with it," his voice was snappish. "She's different. At the moment, she doesn't happen to have the ability to walk out of my life and abandon me. But who knows. That could change. Being blood relations doesn't mean you don't hurt them."

"We miss you, Wes. Things fell apart, every one of us suffered, some more than others. But we were a family, Wesley. Despite everything, I still feel like we're a family. And if you're family, so is Lottie. We all want to go back to working together and looking out for each other. Can't you try? Can't you at least see what Cordy wants to say?"

He sighed once more and lowered his eyes. He had missed them. He was willing to admit that to himself if no one else. But the idea that he could go back into Angel Investigations and have things go back to "normal" scared him. What if he made the same mistake twice? What if all this happened again? This time, he wouldn't be the only victim. If he went back into the "family," Lottie would become part of that family too. And if anything happened… Well, he knew how easy it was to fall into the friendly warmth of the group and for a child like Lottie it would be even easier.

But still, he was intrigued as to what Cordy wanted. And he had always wanted a warm family when he was a child and part of him wanted it for his daughter. And it looked like Angel Investigations was the only choice he had.

"Fine. I'll take Lottie to school and then go to the hotel. You might as well come along."

"Great," Fred grinned. "I'll go help Lottie finish up while you go brush your teeth."

She brushed past him and went into Lottie's room, leaving Wes in the doorway. He looked down at his toothbrush and let out a small chuckle as he returned to the bathroom.

It was like stepping into a time warp. Gunn and Lorne were laughing at the front desk while Angel and Cordy were talking on the couch. It was like a scene from only a few months before, when everything had been ok. The only difference was Connor, slumped in a chair with a scowl on his face as he listened to Angel and Cordy. But Wes noted his scowl looked a little false.

"…Oh! The pier! I have to take you to the pier, Connor!" Cordy was saying.

"I'll come along in the evening, but you guys can spend the afternoon together. Y'know… bond," Angel added.

"Yeah, Connor. It'll be great and before you know it you'll be - Wesley!"

Cordy beamed at Wes over Connor's shoulder and leapt up, bounding into his arms with the kind of enthusiasm she had put into her kiss when he first arrived in LA. And then some.

"God, it's so great to see you! I remember exactly two things about being up there. One, I was so bored! And two, I missed all you guys, including you. Wow, look at you!"

"It's good to see you too, Cordelia. Now, if you would just loosen your grip a little."

"Oh, right, sorry. That'd be the excitement."

"Happened to us all, man," Gunn called over. "I still got the bruises."

"C'mon," Cordy grabbed his hand and tugged him over to the stairs.

"Um, where are we going?"

"To talk," she said. "I've been away all summer and now I'm back, I've got lots to catch up on. I mean, I know all about Angel being in the sea and you getting him out, I've been filled in. But your daughter! I've gotta hear about that."

By this time, they had reached the top of the stairs and she was guiding him to an empty room. Once there, she pushed him onto the bed and sat in a chair.

"We have to talk," she said, her enthusiasm disappearing to be replaced with the familiar Talk-To-Me Cordelia he had known.

"I believe that was what was going to happen anyway," he replied.

"Ok, first drop the reserved Englishman act. I think I've been watching it all summer and if I could remember it, it'd be really old by now."

He raised an eyebrow and leaned back on the bed.

"What do you want to know, Cordy?" he asked.

To his surprise, she smiled. Her demeanour changed and she relaxed back into her chair, laughing gently.

"Aha. You called me 'Cordy.' You're getting better. Ok, here's the deal, the guys miss having you around. I miss having you around and I only woke up last night. And we need you, you think we could research demons without your big ol' books?"

"Whatever happened to Demons! Demons! Demons! Dot com?"

"The Vegeries of Oden-Tal aren't in there," she shrugged. "I checked. And I checked for Haxel Beast. Nada. So I'll say it again, we miss you, we need you, come home."

"This isn't my home, Cordy," he sighed.

"But this is your family, Wes," she said quietly, moving out of her chair and sinking down in front of him, placing her hands on his knees. "We're your family."

"Families are vastly over-rated," he replied bitterly.

"We're not talking about your dad, Wes."

He looked at her sharply, a piercing look that made her recoil slightly.

"You think I didn't notice all those little comments you made?" she whispered. "I probably saw a lot of it during the summer, but I can't remember. But I have been paying attention the last couple of years. Remember Ethros? That was sorta a giveaway, what the demon said. I'm just saying, don't you want a family who cares?"

"I have my daughter, Cordy," he replied, a harsh formality to his voice. "She's all the family I need."

"Don't you think she deserves more though?"

"You think I can't take care of her?" he asked.

"No, of course not. But how do you think you're gonna support her?"

"I have savings."

"And who are you? David Nabbit? Savings don't last forever. You're a fighter, Wes. You are part of the good guys; you'd die in an ordinary job. Come back to work."

He looked to the side, at the wall. He felt her hands on his knees and remembered the soothing presence she always was in the office, dispensing advice, sarcasm or argumentative comments. He wondered when that combination became soothing for him. He remembered how reassuring it was to know that you had someone you could turn to. Whether it be Angel for some marvellous introspection and conversation, Gunn for his sense of humour, Cordy for her advice, Fred for her knowledge or Lorne for his own knowledge about what you were feeling. He remembered the first few days of utter silence in his apartment, before the sultry presence of Lilah Morgan entered his life.

So he had a choice. Back to the silence - albeit punctuated by Lottie's loveable presence, but how long before Melissa returned and claimed her? - Or back into the bosom of the gang.

Not really a tough choice.

"When do I start?"