Cordelia made herself comfortable in the front seat with her head on
Angel's right leg.
"I like driving at night." She told him.
"You're not driving."
"That's just a technicality. You can see all the stars and the moon." She mused. "It's really pretty."
"You appreciate it a lot more if you can't see the sun in the day. You can spend hours at night looking up. Just because you can." He glanced down at her. "If you want, go to sleep."
She shook her head. "I'd rather talk to you."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything." She replied lazily. "Entertain me."
He laughed. "Honey, you know I can't do that while I'm driving."
She grinned. "I'm a simple wife to please, I'll settle for a good story about the good old days."
"You don't want to hear an Angelus story?" He asked incredulous.
"No, I was thinking more like an early relationship type of story." She said wickedly.
"Oh yeah, when we were never out of bed, you naughty girl."
Cordelia went straight upstairs to see the children when they got back. Ashleigh stirred so she picked her up and went to sit in the rocker in the corner with her.
"Who's my beautiful baby girl?" She whispered. "Mommy missed you sweetheart."
The baby just gurgled.
She rocked gently back and forwards in the chair, soothing Ashleigh back off to sleep.
Angel came into the room and knelt at Cordelia's feet. "Hey, how you doing?"
She smiled. "Better now I've seen them."
He nodded. "I get that. I didn't know what to tell them. About why we left and why Faith and Wes stayed."
"It's okay, I'll think of something and tale to them in the morning." She yawned. "How come I'm always tired?"
He smiled. "It's been a rough few days. Why don't you give her to me and you go back into our room and get into bed?"
She kissed Ashleigh's head and handed her to Angel gently, as not to wake her.
She crossed the room to Connor's crib and bent to kiss him. While she was bent over Angel took that opportunity to run a hand over her backside.
"Pervert." She whispered and smiled.
He raised his eyebrows. "I've got to take what's on offer, what with us being an old married couple."
She laughed quietly and leaned against the crib, watching as he put Ashleigh down. "Less of the old. In my case of course. You can say you're as old as you like. But then again, I guess you don't know how old you are. You stopped counting when you turned two hundred and fifty."
He turned to look at her frowning. "I'm two hundred and forty nine!"
She grinned. "Same thing."
"No it isn't." He began advancing on her.
"It really is. Once an old man, always an old man." She taunted.
He growled and pulled her flush towards him, the evidence of her taunting becoming obvious.
He reached around her to pick her up, letting her wrap her legs around his waist. "You're going to pay, little girl."
"Say that once more and we might have a problem." She smirked.
He found himself smiling too as he carried her into their room, shutting the door behind them.
"You know." He told her, nibbling on her neck. "I've got some handcuffs in here somewhere."
She shook her head. "Just make love to me Angel."
He saw the earnestness in her eyes and nodded, lifting his head up so he could kiss her lips tenderly.
"I love you." He murmured.
He lay her down on the bed gently and kissed her neck; sending shivers up her spine and making her arch her back into him.
He slipped the sleeves of her vest off her shoulders and kissed a path along her collarbone.
"Angel, please." She almost begged.
He lifted her hips with one hand while he slipped her skirt off her legs, quickly following with her underwear.
He touched her gently with his fingertips before removing his own clothes.
She sat up and pulled her vest over her head, revealing her bare breasts to him.
He stared at her for what seemed like days before reaching out and holding her to him.
She put her legs over his so they were both sat up but she was on top of him. Gently and slowly he tilted her backwards so he could enter her, causing her back to arch away from him and her chest to push forwards.
She moaned as he filled her. So perfectly and so fulfilling.
She began to move on top of him so slowly it drove them both wild with desire.
He gripped her hips with his hands, guiding her up and down on top of him. "Cordelia?"
She gasped as he hit a spot inside of her that sent tremors around her body. "Yeah?"
He gazed into the questioning, yet trusting brown eyes. "I'm going to try something."
He hit her sensitive spot again and she nodded.
He ran his hand from where it rest on her hip down across the swell of her buttocks. He began to apply gentle pressure to her anus, gently easing a finger inside of her.
Her eyes had now fluttered open, focusing directly on his. "What..?"
He shushed her. "Do you trust me?"
She nodded.
He began moving his finger in and out; matching the pace she was setting on top of him.
Her small gasps began moans and then became screams as his other hand joined in her pleasure.
"Angel." She gasped as she fell into him, her climax lifting her to new heights.
He gripped her body to keep her from falling as he reached his own peak.
They fell together onto the bed, still joined and clinging to each other.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he felt her body shaking.
She nodded and felt her forehead break out in a cold sweat.
He touched it gently. "Are you sure?"
She nodded again.
"Can you talk?"
She shook her head weakly but smiled.
He laughed softly. "That good?"
Her eyes had started to close but she looked at him and nodded. "Yeah." She murmured.
Her eyes closed and he let her go to sleep, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
She woke up still cocooned in his grasp. She smiled up at him and kissed his chin. "Morning."
"Good morning." He smiled back and kissed her. "Feeling more awake?"
She grinned sheepishly. "I fell straight to sleep huh?"
He nodded. "I guess I should be flattered."
"You should." She agreed and snuggled closer to him. "It's freezing in here."
"I'll turn the heating up when we get up." He told her, pulling the blankets around them tighter. "Better?"
She nodded. "Much."
Connor started to shuffle in his crib and moments later they heard him start to wail.
Cordelia started to get up but Angel beat her to it and made her stay in bed.
She saw him walk through to the nursery and bend to pick him up. She took that moment to admire his naked form. Oh yeah, it was still good.
Angel gave Connor to her and then got back in bed, pulling the blankets up around their chests.
Cordelia cradled Connor against her arm and cooed at him. He gurgled back at her.
"I love watching you with them." He told her lovingly.
She smiled at him, almost sadly. "It doesn't seem fair that Faith couldn't have had her baby."
He squeezed her knee. "I know."
"But you see all those women going and having abortions. There are millions of babies unwanted. And Faith wanted her baby, she didn't want it dead. It doesn't seem fair."
"I know." He agreed. "But some things in life aren't fair, that's one of them."
"I know." She murmured, stroking Connor's cheek with her fingertip. "It doesn't mean I have to stop thinking about it though."
"Think about it all you want, but don't let it get to you as much." He advised. "Hey, how about I run you a hot bath? That'll warm you up."
She nodded. "That would be nice."
He kissed her forehead and got out of bed again.
Cordelia smiled at Connor. "Do you want to take a bath baby?"
He nodded and smiled although Cordelia doubted very much that he knew what she was saying.
True to his word Angel had run Cordelia a bath and she climbed in with Connor who enjoyed playing with the bubbles and a yellow plastic duck they had bought him.
After a few minutes Angel came in with Ashleigh so he took Connor while Cordelia bathed her.
Angel took Connor downstairs to start work, leaving Cordelia upstairs with Ashleigh.
By the time she came downstairs Gunn, Fred and Lorne were there.
"Hey Cordelia!" Fred grinned. "How did Sunnydale go?"
She shrugged. "We found Dawn, so that was good."
"What happened with Faith?" She asked quietly.
"Nothing."
"Well, something must have happened. I mean, she's not here now." She reasoned.
"Fred, I told you nothing happened." Cordelia told her sharply, but not meanly.
"Why is she still there then?"
Cordelia rubbed her eyes. "Fred, it's none of your damn business!"
Cordelia felt everyone's eyes on her and regretted her words when she saw Fred's eyes fill with tears. "Fred, I'm sorry it's just."
The phone rang and she grabbed it. "Angel Investigations."
"Hey Cordy." Buffy said into the phone.
"Buffy, how are you?" Cordelia instantly asked, turning her back on the office.
"I'm okay I guess, tired mostly. And drained." She admitted.
"That's understandable." Cordelia sympathised. "Have you talked to Dawn yet?"
"Well, I got back at six o clock this morning. She was asleep. For the first five minutes. That is, until I got to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door. She nearly jumped out of the window."
Cordelia fought the urge to laugh. "I'm sorry, but I could just imagine Dawn's face."
Buffy laughed softly. "It was a picture. And even better one when she told me she wasn't pregnant."
"If it helps she sounded really sorry when I spoke to her." Cordelia offered.
"I know she is. But I wish she could have given me a chance to see that before she made me think she was on her way to Florida." Buffy argued. "She just made me so mad!"
"I know, but hey, it could have been worse. There could be a baby Summers on its way." Cordelia told her helpfully.
Buffy swore at her.
"Now Buffy, that's not a nice thing to say." She chided.
Buffy laughed. "Thanks for talking sense into her Cordelia, I'll call you later."
"See you Buffy, don't kill her." Cordelia told her with a smile.
Cordelia put down the phone and turned to apologise to Fred but she'd gone into the office and was tapping away on Wes's computer.
"Are you okay?" Angel asked.
She nodded. "I shouldn't have bitten Fred's head off like that."
"She did push you a little." Angel smiled. "Not enough for you to scare her into next week, but enough."
She grinned at him. "I'm not that scary!"
He just looked at her. "I'm not!"
It was three days later when Faith and Wes came home. It was eleven in the morning and Cordelia and the children were the only ones in the hotel. Angel had gone hunting in the sewers with Lorne while Fred and Gunn had gone out for tacos.
They came through the doors looking content and happy.
"Hey guys." Cordelia greeted from her perch in the middle of the lobby floor. She was sat playing with building blocks with Ashleigh and Connor.
"Hey Cor, nice outfit you got there." Faith grinned at Cordelia's mismatched outfit.
She'd woken up this morning to discover that Angel hadn't done the laundry so she had to wear the bottom half of her old cheerleading uniform, which was a very short maroon skirt, and an orange vest top. "Well, you know, I thought I'd make an effort for when you guys came home."
Wes smiled at her. "Everything okay I hope?"
She nodded. "Yeah, except Fred was on your computer yesterday and I think she deleted a whole bunch of files."
His face went white and he hurried to the office, dropping their bags on the stairs.
"How are you?" Cordelia asked her, patting the spot next to her on the floor.
"I'm good." She said as she flopped down next to her. "I'm surprisingly good."
"Did you and Wesley bond? Or whatever it was that you guys were supposed to do."
She shrugged. "We talked and shouted and then talked some more. Everything is out in the open and that feels good. We feel a lot closer and I think we've been more honest with each other."
"That's good." Cordelia smiled and ducked to avoid a block Connor threw her way.
"Did you tell anyone?" Faith asked, stroking Ashleigh's hair.
Cordelia shook her head. "I practically bit Fred's head off the other day because she was asking so many questions but I managed to get around her and apologise. I didn't think you'd want it broadcasting."
She nodded. "Thanks."
"Are you going to tell them?"
"I don't know, I'll see how it goes."
Wes came out of his office with a look of relief on his face and sat down next to them. "Where is everyone?"
"Well, Gunn and Fred get hungry."
"So they went to the Mexican." He finished.
"And Angel and Lorne went into the sewers." She continued.
"To see if there are any big bads to kill." Faith concluded.
"Okay, so we're all very predictable." Cordelia admitted.
"Yeah, you little housewife." Faith teased and then they all started laughing for no apparent reason.
Connor and Ashleigh were looking at them with confused looks on their faces. "Its okay babies, Mommy's just going insane." Cordelia told them with a smile and then hugged Ashleigh to her.
"Nothing more then usual." Faith grinned and then got smacked on the head by a stray building block Connor had found. "Oh great, now your son's in on it."
She grabbed him and tickled him, smiling when he giggled at her.
"Well, it's good to see things about to get back to normal." Wes decided. "Had a vision?"
Cordelia pulled a face at him. "I swear, if you jinx me there's going to be trouble."
"I thought they weren't painful anymore?" He frowned.
"They're not, but they have the tendency to be smelly, they make me dizzy and its not all that fun to be in the place of the victim." She clarified.
"Of course." He agreed. "Sorry."
"Hey strudels, you're back!" Lorne exclaimed, coming through the sewer access, closely followed by Angel. "And you too Faith!"
She grinned at his joke. "Hey Lorne."
Angel came across to kiss Cordelia's head and then went to put his sword back in the weapons cabinet. "What time did you get back?"
"About ten minutes ago." Wesley told him. "We were just discussing the possibility of Cordelia having a vision."
She pulled a face at him.
"Do you want to come out to dinner with us tonight? Cordy and I are going to a new Italian restaurant on the other side of town." Angel asked them. "You're welcome to come."
They looked at each other and then nodded. "That would be nice." Wes told him.
"Great, I'll call the restaurant and change the reservation." Cordelia smiled. "Are you still okay to baby-sit?" She asked Lorne.
He nodded. "I'll stay here looking after the children while you lot go out and have fun!"
"You're welcome to join us." Cordelia offered. "It's just you said."
"It's okay princess, I know what I said." He smiled. "Besides, I wouldn't exactly blend in. You go and have fun! Lord knows you need it more than I do."
His final words were directed at Faith and Wesley which made them wonder just how much he had picked up from the two minutes he had been in the room.
The meal wasn't as nice as some of the other places they'd been but it was edible.
Faith and Cordelia spent most of the time gossiping while Angel and Wes talked shop.
Angel squeezed Cordelia's thigh under the table and she turned to smile at him. "Having a good time?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, this is nice."
Wes interrupted them. "I'd like to propose a toast."
He held up his glass of wine. "To Cordelia, I told you I'd thank you properly and I want."
"No." She interrupted. "To Faith, she's the one who deserves it."
"How about to all or us?" Angel asked.
"To all of us." They chorused and clinked glasses.
"Everything will be okay now." Faith smiled. "We're back at home, everyone is alive and happy. What could go wrong?"
The End
"I like driving at night." She told him.
"You're not driving."
"That's just a technicality. You can see all the stars and the moon." She mused. "It's really pretty."
"You appreciate it a lot more if you can't see the sun in the day. You can spend hours at night looking up. Just because you can." He glanced down at her. "If you want, go to sleep."
She shook her head. "I'd rather talk to you."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything." She replied lazily. "Entertain me."
He laughed. "Honey, you know I can't do that while I'm driving."
She grinned. "I'm a simple wife to please, I'll settle for a good story about the good old days."
"You don't want to hear an Angelus story?" He asked incredulous.
"No, I was thinking more like an early relationship type of story." She said wickedly.
"Oh yeah, when we were never out of bed, you naughty girl."
Cordelia went straight upstairs to see the children when they got back. Ashleigh stirred so she picked her up and went to sit in the rocker in the corner with her.
"Who's my beautiful baby girl?" She whispered. "Mommy missed you sweetheart."
The baby just gurgled.
She rocked gently back and forwards in the chair, soothing Ashleigh back off to sleep.
Angel came into the room and knelt at Cordelia's feet. "Hey, how you doing?"
She smiled. "Better now I've seen them."
He nodded. "I get that. I didn't know what to tell them. About why we left and why Faith and Wes stayed."
"It's okay, I'll think of something and tale to them in the morning." She yawned. "How come I'm always tired?"
He smiled. "It's been a rough few days. Why don't you give her to me and you go back into our room and get into bed?"
She kissed Ashleigh's head and handed her to Angel gently, as not to wake her.
She crossed the room to Connor's crib and bent to kiss him. While she was bent over Angel took that opportunity to run a hand over her backside.
"Pervert." She whispered and smiled.
He raised his eyebrows. "I've got to take what's on offer, what with us being an old married couple."
She laughed quietly and leaned against the crib, watching as he put Ashleigh down. "Less of the old. In my case of course. You can say you're as old as you like. But then again, I guess you don't know how old you are. You stopped counting when you turned two hundred and fifty."
He turned to look at her frowning. "I'm two hundred and forty nine!"
She grinned. "Same thing."
"No it isn't." He began advancing on her.
"It really is. Once an old man, always an old man." She taunted.
He growled and pulled her flush towards him, the evidence of her taunting becoming obvious.
He reached around her to pick her up, letting her wrap her legs around his waist. "You're going to pay, little girl."
"Say that once more and we might have a problem." She smirked.
He found himself smiling too as he carried her into their room, shutting the door behind them.
"You know." He told her, nibbling on her neck. "I've got some handcuffs in here somewhere."
She shook her head. "Just make love to me Angel."
He saw the earnestness in her eyes and nodded, lifting his head up so he could kiss her lips tenderly.
"I love you." He murmured.
He lay her down on the bed gently and kissed her neck; sending shivers up her spine and making her arch her back into him.
He slipped the sleeves of her vest off her shoulders and kissed a path along her collarbone.
"Angel, please." She almost begged.
He lifted her hips with one hand while he slipped her skirt off her legs, quickly following with her underwear.
He touched her gently with his fingertips before removing his own clothes.
She sat up and pulled her vest over her head, revealing her bare breasts to him.
He stared at her for what seemed like days before reaching out and holding her to him.
She put her legs over his so they were both sat up but she was on top of him. Gently and slowly he tilted her backwards so he could enter her, causing her back to arch away from him and her chest to push forwards.
She moaned as he filled her. So perfectly and so fulfilling.
She began to move on top of him so slowly it drove them both wild with desire.
He gripped her hips with his hands, guiding her up and down on top of him. "Cordelia?"
She gasped as he hit a spot inside of her that sent tremors around her body. "Yeah?"
He gazed into the questioning, yet trusting brown eyes. "I'm going to try something."
He hit her sensitive spot again and she nodded.
He ran his hand from where it rest on her hip down across the swell of her buttocks. He began to apply gentle pressure to her anus, gently easing a finger inside of her.
Her eyes had now fluttered open, focusing directly on his. "What..?"
He shushed her. "Do you trust me?"
She nodded.
He began moving his finger in and out; matching the pace she was setting on top of him.
Her small gasps began moans and then became screams as his other hand joined in her pleasure.
"Angel." She gasped as she fell into him, her climax lifting her to new heights.
He gripped her body to keep her from falling as he reached his own peak.
They fell together onto the bed, still joined and clinging to each other.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he felt her body shaking.
She nodded and felt her forehead break out in a cold sweat.
He touched it gently. "Are you sure?"
She nodded again.
"Can you talk?"
She shook her head weakly but smiled.
He laughed softly. "That good?"
Her eyes had started to close but she looked at him and nodded. "Yeah." She murmured.
Her eyes closed and he let her go to sleep, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
She woke up still cocooned in his grasp. She smiled up at him and kissed his chin. "Morning."
"Good morning." He smiled back and kissed her. "Feeling more awake?"
She grinned sheepishly. "I fell straight to sleep huh?"
He nodded. "I guess I should be flattered."
"You should." She agreed and snuggled closer to him. "It's freezing in here."
"I'll turn the heating up when we get up." He told her, pulling the blankets around them tighter. "Better?"
She nodded. "Much."
Connor started to shuffle in his crib and moments later they heard him start to wail.
Cordelia started to get up but Angel beat her to it and made her stay in bed.
She saw him walk through to the nursery and bend to pick him up. She took that moment to admire his naked form. Oh yeah, it was still good.
Angel gave Connor to her and then got back in bed, pulling the blankets up around their chests.
Cordelia cradled Connor against her arm and cooed at him. He gurgled back at her.
"I love watching you with them." He told her lovingly.
She smiled at him, almost sadly. "It doesn't seem fair that Faith couldn't have had her baby."
He squeezed her knee. "I know."
"But you see all those women going and having abortions. There are millions of babies unwanted. And Faith wanted her baby, she didn't want it dead. It doesn't seem fair."
"I know." He agreed. "But some things in life aren't fair, that's one of them."
"I know." She murmured, stroking Connor's cheek with her fingertip. "It doesn't mean I have to stop thinking about it though."
"Think about it all you want, but don't let it get to you as much." He advised. "Hey, how about I run you a hot bath? That'll warm you up."
She nodded. "That would be nice."
He kissed her forehead and got out of bed again.
Cordelia smiled at Connor. "Do you want to take a bath baby?"
He nodded and smiled although Cordelia doubted very much that he knew what she was saying.
True to his word Angel had run Cordelia a bath and she climbed in with Connor who enjoyed playing with the bubbles and a yellow plastic duck they had bought him.
After a few minutes Angel came in with Ashleigh so he took Connor while Cordelia bathed her.
Angel took Connor downstairs to start work, leaving Cordelia upstairs with Ashleigh.
By the time she came downstairs Gunn, Fred and Lorne were there.
"Hey Cordelia!" Fred grinned. "How did Sunnydale go?"
She shrugged. "We found Dawn, so that was good."
"What happened with Faith?" She asked quietly.
"Nothing."
"Well, something must have happened. I mean, she's not here now." She reasoned.
"Fred, I told you nothing happened." Cordelia told her sharply, but not meanly.
"Why is she still there then?"
Cordelia rubbed her eyes. "Fred, it's none of your damn business!"
Cordelia felt everyone's eyes on her and regretted her words when she saw Fred's eyes fill with tears. "Fred, I'm sorry it's just."
The phone rang and she grabbed it. "Angel Investigations."
"Hey Cordy." Buffy said into the phone.
"Buffy, how are you?" Cordelia instantly asked, turning her back on the office.
"I'm okay I guess, tired mostly. And drained." She admitted.
"That's understandable." Cordelia sympathised. "Have you talked to Dawn yet?"
"Well, I got back at six o clock this morning. She was asleep. For the first five minutes. That is, until I got to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door. She nearly jumped out of the window."
Cordelia fought the urge to laugh. "I'm sorry, but I could just imagine Dawn's face."
Buffy laughed softly. "It was a picture. And even better one when she told me she wasn't pregnant."
"If it helps she sounded really sorry when I spoke to her." Cordelia offered.
"I know she is. But I wish she could have given me a chance to see that before she made me think she was on her way to Florida." Buffy argued. "She just made me so mad!"
"I know, but hey, it could have been worse. There could be a baby Summers on its way." Cordelia told her helpfully.
Buffy swore at her.
"Now Buffy, that's not a nice thing to say." She chided.
Buffy laughed. "Thanks for talking sense into her Cordelia, I'll call you later."
"See you Buffy, don't kill her." Cordelia told her with a smile.
Cordelia put down the phone and turned to apologise to Fred but she'd gone into the office and was tapping away on Wes's computer.
"Are you okay?" Angel asked.
She nodded. "I shouldn't have bitten Fred's head off like that."
"She did push you a little." Angel smiled. "Not enough for you to scare her into next week, but enough."
She grinned at him. "I'm not that scary!"
He just looked at her. "I'm not!"
It was three days later when Faith and Wes came home. It was eleven in the morning and Cordelia and the children were the only ones in the hotel. Angel had gone hunting in the sewers with Lorne while Fred and Gunn had gone out for tacos.
They came through the doors looking content and happy.
"Hey guys." Cordelia greeted from her perch in the middle of the lobby floor. She was sat playing with building blocks with Ashleigh and Connor.
"Hey Cor, nice outfit you got there." Faith grinned at Cordelia's mismatched outfit.
She'd woken up this morning to discover that Angel hadn't done the laundry so she had to wear the bottom half of her old cheerleading uniform, which was a very short maroon skirt, and an orange vest top. "Well, you know, I thought I'd make an effort for when you guys came home."
Wes smiled at her. "Everything okay I hope?"
She nodded. "Yeah, except Fred was on your computer yesterday and I think she deleted a whole bunch of files."
His face went white and he hurried to the office, dropping their bags on the stairs.
"How are you?" Cordelia asked her, patting the spot next to her on the floor.
"I'm good." She said as she flopped down next to her. "I'm surprisingly good."
"Did you and Wesley bond? Or whatever it was that you guys were supposed to do."
She shrugged. "We talked and shouted and then talked some more. Everything is out in the open and that feels good. We feel a lot closer and I think we've been more honest with each other."
"That's good." Cordelia smiled and ducked to avoid a block Connor threw her way.
"Did you tell anyone?" Faith asked, stroking Ashleigh's hair.
Cordelia shook her head. "I practically bit Fred's head off the other day because she was asking so many questions but I managed to get around her and apologise. I didn't think you'd want it broadcasting."
She nodded. "Thanks."
"Are you going to tell them?"
"I don't know, I'll see how it goes."
Wes came out of his office with a look of relief on his face and sat down next to them. "Where is everyone?"
"Well, Gunn and Fred get hungry."
"So they went to the Mexican." He finished.
"And Angel and Lorne went into the sewers." She continued.
"To see if there are any big bads to kill." Faith concluded.
"Okay, so we're all very predictable." Cordelia admitted.
"Yeah, you little housewife." Faith teased and then they all started laughing for no apparent reason.
Connor and Ashleigh were looking at them with confused looks on their faces. "Its okay babies, Mommy's just going insane." Cordelia told them with a smile and then hugged Ashleigh to her.
"Nothing more then usual." Faith grinned and then got smacked on the head by a stray building block Connor had found. "Oh great, now your son's in on it."
She grabbed him and tickled him, smiling when he giggled at her.
"Well, it's good to see things about to get back to normal." Wes decided. "Had a vision?"
Cordelia pulled a face at him. "I swear, if you jinx me there's going to be trouble."
"I thought they weren't painful anymore?" He frowned.
"They're not, but they have the tendency to be smelly, they make me dizzy and its not all that fun to be in the place of the victim." She clarified.
"Of course." He agreed. "Sorry."
"Hey strudels, you're back!" Lorne exclaimed, coming through the sewer access, closely followed by Angel. "And you too Faith!"
She grinned at his joke. "Hey Lorne."
Angel came across to kiss Cordelia's head and then went to put his sword back in the weapons cabinet. "What time did you get back?"
"About ten minutes ago." Wesley told him. "We were just discussing the possibility of Cordelia having a vision."
She pulled a face at him.
"Do you want to come out to dinner with us tonight? Cordy and I are going to a new Italian restaurant on the other side of town." Angel asked them. "You're welcome to come."
They looked at each other and then nodded. "That would be nice." Wes told him.
"Great, I'll call the restaurant and change the reservation." Cordelia smiled. "Are you still okay to baby-sit?" She asked Lorne.
He nodded. "I'll stay here looking after the children while you lot go out and have fun!"
"You're welcome to join us." Cordelia offered. "It's just you said."
"It's okay princess, I know what I said." He smiled. "Besides, I wouldn't exactly blend in. You go and have fun! Lord knows you need it more than I do."
His final words were directed at Faith and Wesley which made them wonder just how much he had picked up from the two minutes he had been in the room.
The meal wasn't as nice as some of the other places they'd been but it was edible.
Faith and Cordelia spent most of the time gossiping while Angel and Wes talked shop.
Angel squeezed Cordelia's thigh under the table and she turned to smile at him. "Having a good time?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, this is nice."
Wes interrupted them. "I'd like to propose a toast."
He held up his glass of wine. "To Cordelia, I told you I'd thank you properly and I want."
"No." She interrupted. "To Faith, she's the one who deserves it."
"How about to all or us?" Angel asked.
"To all of us." They chorused and clinked glasses.
"Everything will be okay now." Faith smiled. "We're back at home, everyone is alive and happy. What could go wrong?"
The End