Sins of the Father
Chapter Twenty-Five: Epilogue

Author's Note: This is set 8 years into the future, so Lottie is about 15. Oh, another note about this chapter is that Dawn and Andrew are mentioned here, and Spike and Anya appear, because as this is a tie in with my Spike/Anya series, they would be in LA by now.

Lottie pulled on her short leather jacket and grabbed her bag, going into the kitchen to see her dad and Faith. Her father was looking up from where he was attempting to cook pancakes. But her father wasn't exactly the world's best cook. She dropped her bag onto the floor and sat down, chin in her hands.

Wes shot her a glance. She was fifteen, would be sixteen in a couple of months. She had changed so much from the little girl he had first met. She was petite, like her mother with a willowy figure. Her curly brunette hair reached just below her shoulders and was currently pulled into two long plaits. Her pants were baggy with numerous pockets and zips and her top was bright blue with the words Snake Eyes emblazoned in white above a picture of dice. She was wearing a leather jacket that Wes thought she had become surgically attached to. She kicked her booted feet and shot him a smile.

No, he decided, she hadn't changed all that much. She was still a bookworm, knew far too much about demons for his comfort and was rather a little too enthusiastic about learning to fight. But he had to admit; she was particularly good with a crossbow. However, he suspected that was more to do with Spike's not-so-secret tuition than natural talent.

After her abduction at seven years old, she had changed slightly. Not so that you'd really notice, but she had changed a little. But at thirteen, her rebellious, stubborn and wilful streaks exploded. There were times he despaired of her, though he was always silently proud of her. She never gave up and she rarely let anyone get the better of her. There were times - usually when he was well and truly fed up of her stubbornly wilful nature - that he blamed Angel. Those were the times when he decided that if the vampire had not abducted her, she would never have become so damned tough.

But then she would do something sweet. Like make him a cup of tea instead of the disgusting coffee the machine at the hotel produced, or do all the ironing, or clean the apartment. That was when he decided that it was probably his fault. Faith usually pointed out that he could be damned stubborn sometimes and knew his own mind enough to do as he pleased. But then she usually added that Lottie was a sweetheart and she got that from him too.

Then there were the days he would come home to find Faith and Lottie shrieking over the remote control as one dived after the other, or when he peeked into Lottie's room to announce that dinner was ready only to find Faith telling her that there was no way she was going out dressed like that. Those times, he blamed Faith's influence.

"No," Faith said firmly.

"But that's not fair!" Lottie protested. "You didn't even bother with school, all I want to do is drop Math!"

"Char," Faith said patiently. "I said no. I know I dropped outta school, but look where I ended up."

"Thanks," Wes muttered and she batted him lightly on the eye by way of an apologetic 'You know what I mean.'

"You're life's not so bad," Lottie pouted.

"Maybe not now," Faith shrugged. "But are we forgetting prison? It's pure luck I've got something good now and you, kid, aren't risking ending up living my old life, got it?"

"Dad, can I drop Math?" Lottie pleaded, turning to her father. "it's just Math!"

"We've had this conversation," Wes told her. "And again, the answer's no. I would have thought that would be quite clear by now. Anyway, you drop Math and you're on the long and slippery slope to dropping Biology and English. Then you'll quit the school paper. And where will it end?"

"Dad -"

"Charlotte," he warned. "No. Nuh-uh. Nada. No way. Not a chance."

"What?" she widened impossibly blue eyes in innocence. "I was going to ask for a lift to the hotel. If I've got to do Math, the least you could do is let me go get help from Fred."

"Or go play with the swords with Spike," Faith muttered, but shot the teenager a grin.

"Yes," Wes nodded, turning back to the pancakes. "I'll give you a lift. But aren't you going to eat these first?"

"Da-ad," Lottie rolled her eyes, something Wes was positive she learned from Dawn. "You only have pancakes for breakfast," she looked pointedly at the clock. "Besides," she stood up and peered at them. "Those aren't pancakes. Those are a liability. The government puts public health warnings on things like those."

She shot her father a good-natured grin before snatching up her bag and going into her room to collect her things.

"She's got a point," Faith said.

"And I thought maybe you'd be on my side."

"Only when there's something in it for me."

"Lottie!" Spike grabbed her around the waist and twirled her around.

Wes rolled his eyes and went into the offices, where Anya was frowning over some paperwork. Spike and Anya had arrived two years after Lottie. Dawn was going to UCLA and Spike and Anya promised Buffy they would keep and eye on her. They were looking for a place to live and had been for the past six years, but they were still at the hotel.

Wes wasn't entirely sure just why Spike and Lottie had grown so close, but they had. She had been ten when they turned up and Spike won her heart immediately when he rolled his eyes and took the piss out of Angel, only to smile innocently when Angel turned to glare at him. She, in turn, had won him over with her growing sarcasm.

Wes suspected that Spike liked to play the uncle and Lottie liked playing the niece. Wes had no objections, Spike and Anya both had souls and they grew on you.

"Problems?" he inquired of Anya, looking at the paperwork before her.

"Only your handwriting," Anya huffed, shooting him a glare. "Why do all Englishmen write like that? I mean, have you seen Spike's handwriting? I keep telling him, 'Honey, you've got to learn to use a computer.' Does he listen?"

"Does he heck," Lottie finished entering the office. "Anyway, Anya, you should know you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Especially one as old as Spike here."

"Cheeky cow," Spike muttered. "Shouldn't you be doing your homework, missy?"

"Going," she held up her hands before backing out the office and clattering up the stairs to look for Fred.

"Where is everyone?" Wes asked.

"Angel and Cor went for a -" Spike sniggered and pulled a face. "Romantic dinner. Lorne's gone out to see a client and Gunn went to check on some old pals of his."

"Dawn?"

"Has a date," Spike glowered and Anya rolled her eyes.

"Spike, she's gone out with friends. Anyway, you should be more concerned by the fact that Angel took Cordelia out and you haven't taken me out."

"Women," Spike muttered to Wes. "Is Faith this high maintenance?"

"I am not high maintenance!" Anya protested, standing up to gather her things, before Wes could answer. "I'm going to paint my nails, Lottie was going to lend me that red," Anya left the office, only to peer around the door and shoot Wes a smile, eyes twinkling. "And yes, Faith is high maintenance. I know all about their relationship."

"Good God, I hope not," Wes said to Spike as Anya left the office.

"Not much my girl doesn't know," Spike told him proudly. "Shouldn't you be off? I'll keep and eye on Lottie. You go and spend your night off with Faith."

He raised his eyebrow at Wes who rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, Spike," Wes said. "You make everything into some kind of sexual perversion."

"And yet, you're the one dating Faith."

"Goodbye, Spike," Wes stated, before calling up the stairs. "I'm going now, Lottie. Call me when you need picking up!"

"All right," Lottie came out of Fred's room and leaned over the banister to wave. "Ta-ra, dad!"

Faith greeted him with a heated kiss as soon as he opened the door. She told him she had pizza and a movie, which wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but he was willing to go along with it, so he curled up on the couch beside her.

There were times he wondered what the hell he was doing with his one time torturer. There were times he thought he was mad. Crazy, for ever having considered a life with her. He sometimes thought himself insane for allowing himself to fall in love with a reformed killer when he had a daughter to think about.

But then he saw Faith with Lottie and he thought he wasn't that crazy. He had never considered Faith mother-material. At the beginning of their relationship, he thought maybe Faith would behave as a big sister. And he had been right, to a certain extent. He wasn't sure if Faith had rubbed off on Lottie, or if Lottie had always had her rebellious, stubborn and wilful streaks in her that had waited until her teenage years before they exploded. Either way, Faith could tackle her. Lottie had learnt to wrap Wesley around her little finger, though he put his foot down when needed. But most of the time, he rarely needed to, as after a couple of years, Faith took over the small things. She seemed to enjoy her battles with the girl and had grown into an expert at remaining friends with her. It would seem that Lottie had learned the fine art of not holding a grudge, as she would quite happily sit down with Faith and Wes even if they had forbidden her to go to a party. Though, there was always a few minutes sulking, but it rarely lasted.

Faith's fingers were pushed through his, gently caressing his wrist. He wasn't the only one who at times thought their relationship was some kind of strange dream. Faith would never have thought she would be friends with her stuck up ex-Watcher, let alone in love with him. He had betrayed her way back in Sunnydale and she had held a grudge against him. But it was hard to hold a grudge against someone who saved from the Council the second time round after you brutally tortured them the night before.

Which was another bone of contention with Faith. The fact that Wes would be with her - love her, even - after what she had done mystified her. But he said it was hard to hold a grudge when you believed anyone with a soul could be redeemed, especially when he had seen she had changed and had helped save his daughter.

His daughter.

She wondered sometimes what she was to Lottie. Big sis? Aunt? Step-mom? Friend?

Sometimes, when she was dragged out shopping with the teenager, she thought of herself as a friend, or a big sister. Sometimes when Lottie wanted advice or just someone to talk to about her boyfriend Ben, Faith thought of herself as an aunt. Then there was the odd occasion when she thought of herself as step-mom. Those occasions were few and far between, as Faith rarely had to put her foot down, Wes was the one that did that. Faith was the one who took on all the silly arguments, the "You're not wearing that out!" ones or the "Be back by nine or else!" ones. Those were the ones Faith was good at as she had long ago discovered that if you made a compromise, Lottie would accept it, thinking she was being treated all adult like. Which always made Faith guilty because she decided on the time Lottie was going to be in, for example, then tell her to be back an hour earlier. So in the end, the compromise always ended up being what Faith had wanted all along.

The first time she had done it was when Wes was out. He had said Lottie could go out with her friends, but they hadn't agreed on a time she should be back. So it was up to Faith. When Lottie merrily accepted the compromise, Faith had confided her guilt in Wes.

Who had burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, hands on hips.

"You!" he gasped, reaching out to pull her forward. "You've got parenting down to a fine art."

"Huh?"

"Faith, love, the compromise thing… that's what I do."

It was the first time Faith could remember him calling her a parent. The word had terrified her before and she had never wanted to be a parent, much less to someone else's kid. But somewhere along the line, she had fallen in love with Wes - against her better judgement and against everything she used to feel for him - and after that, she started to love his daughter.

And you know what? Weird family dynamic that it was, as she had not only become family with Wes and Lottie, but everyone else at Angel Investigations - including the latest additions of Spike, Anya, Dawn and Andrew - she actually liked it. The real shocker was that it made her happy, made her feel needed and secure without taming her too much.

"That would never happen," Faith announced, watching the credits of You've Got Mail, roll with disdain, though the truth was, she barely paid any attention to the movie, finding herself lost in thought instead.

"Why not?" Wes asked, though his own frown displayed his doubt at the realism of the movie.

"She wouldn't just shack up with a guy like him. He ruined her! That was her mom's shop! You don't just put that kinda thing behind you 'cause of a few fancy emails."

"But I believe we are a prime example and two people doing just that," he reminded her gently, kissing her hair. "Putting the past behind them, I mean."

She looked up at him from where her head rested on his chest.

"Really?"

"Do you think I'd be with you all this time and let you help look after my daughter if I didn't believe you'd changed?"

"I guess," she shrugged a little.

"I wonder how I can prove it to you…" he mused with a smile as his hand slipped down to caress her breast.

Her breath hitched and she arched into his touch. With a small groan, she rolled over fully onto him and captured his mouth in a searing kiss.

They were dimly aware that the phone was ringing, but both ignored it. The answering machine kicked in and they pulled apart for a moment, hearing Lottie's cheerful message, "Hey, we're not available to come to the phone right now. We're either out or dad and Faith are -" her voice slipped into sarcasm, "- busy. As for me, I've probably got some pressing social engagement. But hey, leave your name and number after the beep and we'll get right back to you if the world doesn't end."

"Might be Angel," Faith breathed.

"Might be the blasted cable man," Wes answered, rocking his hips insistently beneath her.

She took a deep breath and bent down to kiss him again, drawing back to lean her forehead against his when they heard Lottie's voice.

"Hey, Dad, Faith. Angel said you're probably in bed by now," there was a pause in which both Wes and Faith guessed she rolled her eyes. "So don't get up on my account. Just to tell you I've done my homework, Fred helped me with Math, I take it it's still no on the dropping Math front? Yeah, ok. Anyway, Angel gave me a hand with my History and now I'm staying over to give you two some alone time," there was something positively gleeful in the way she said it, knowing her double entrendres always made her dad squirm. "So, Connor found an all night movie fest and I've got ten dollars on him falling asleep before me. Oh, Dawn said she'd start that new research tomorrow if you wanted, she's got work to do on it anyway. And guess what, Spike said he'd spar with me in the morning and Anya's going to come shopping with me tomorrow evening. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, if you can drag yourselves out of bed at all. Night. Love you."

Faith and Wes smiled at each other, before Faith dipped her head down to kiss him again.

"Wes, I need to tell you something," Faith said.

He smiled gently at her and pushed the hair back off her face.

"Go on."

"I think I might be..." she sat back, tugging her fingers and he reached out a hand in concern. "I think I might be pregnant." His hand froze and he stared at her, his eyes widening to the point where she thought they'd fall right out of his head. "Wes?"

He launched himself at her, scooping her up in his arms and whooping.

The End.