DISCLAIMER: Joss owns them, not me.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  It's really late, but you guys have been so great about reviewing, that I can sacrifice my sleep.  Don't you all feel loved?

To answer some reviews:

Buffy, Kate, Lindsey, and company are still coming, but I don't want to rush this fic, so not quite yet.

The mystery of why Faith has powers and why Liam does not will eventually be revealed.  I have to leave you wondering about something, don't I?

Angelfirenze, you're welcome to do a similar Buffy fic, though it would be great if you would give me and the chocolate covered strawberry challenge archive a shout out in your profile or at the beginning of the story.

THROWBACK: Chapter Six

            Cordelia let the water drain slowly out of the bathtub.  Who would have guessed that Angel had a first rate bathroom hidden away in his basement bedroom?  Ever since she and Wes had taken to sleeping in the spare office rooms, she'd been grumbling about the lack of accommodations, but with a bathroom like this, she could get used to things.

            Upstairs, she heard a crash.

            Liam's home, she thought.  The little boy had a penchant for destruction that absolutely amazed her.  He was so full of energy, and most of the time so cheerful, that she could hardly see Angel in him at all.

            Sighing, Cordelia pulled on a pair of pajamas and a robe and went upstairs to see what Liam had broken.

            When she came into the room, Wes sighed with relief.

            "BOOM," Liam shouted, waving his hands around madly.

            Cordelia tried not to giggle, but when Liam smiled Angel's rare smile, she lost it. 

            Liam looked up at her, hands on his hips and a grumpy expression on his face.  "You shouldn't laugh," he told her, brooding.  "It's not supposed to be funny.  I'm mean.  Grrrrrrr.  I'm a fierce warrior.  Grrrrrrr."

            Wesley rolled his eyes and shifted the sleeping Faith in his arms.  Cordelia smiled softly.  Had Angel really ever been this cute little boy?

            Seeing he had an audience in Cordelia, Liam lost his brooding expression and began hamming it up.  "We were eating, and Wes was a prat, and Faith and I played with the knives, but then we went outside and there were all of these men with ugly faces, way uglier than even Faith's, and they went Grrrr, and I went Grrrrr, and then we beat them up."  Panting from the sheer number of words that had flown from his mouth, the little boy took a deep breath.

            Cordelia turned to look at Wes.  "Went grrrr?" she asked him, arching one eyebrow delicately.  "As in… you know," she trailed off and brought her index fingers up to her mouth, posing them as ridiculously large fangs.  Liam imitated her motion.

            Wes shook his head discretely.  He wasn't sure why Liam hadn't retained Angel's powers when Faith had obviously kept her slayer skills.  Thinking of the way she'd fought, the fierceness in her eyes and the heartbreaking words she'd uttered, Wesley held the little girl a little tighter.  He had a feeling that Faith hadn't been held much.

            Cordelia looked at Wesley holding the sleeping girl, and she grinned.  She was willing to bet that within two weeks, the little girl would have him wrapped around her little finger.

            Seeing that he was losing his audience, Liam tugged on the bottom of Cordelia's shirt.  "Wesley isn't your bitch," he informed Cordelia loftily.  Liam screwed his forehead up in concentration.  "But he might be Faith's."  Not even pausing, the little boy went into another long string of words.  "Faith had sticks, and she punched them through the chests of the bad men, and they exploded, BOOM, into dust, and one of them hit me and Faith got mad, but I didn't cry or nothin', not even when it hurt real bad, and Faith hurt them and then she got herself all hurt too, and Wesley wasn't a pussy.  Not at all."

            Wesley, thankful for the fact the Liam had finally said something positive about him, didn't bother to correct the boy's language.

            Cordy looked at Faith, concerned despite herself.

            "She's fine," Wesley said softly, even though he knew in his gut that Faith wasn't fine, not yet.

            "Well, Liam," Cordy said, yawning, "don't you think it's bed time?"

            Liam looked at her, the brooding look settling back over his face.  "No," he said, stifling a yawn himself.  He narrowed his eyes at Cordelia.  "You made me do that," he accused sleepily.

            Cordy rolled her eyes.  "Let me get out my yawn-creator," she said, but the sarcasm was lost on the little boy.  "Tell you what," she whispered, thinking of the sleeping Faith.  "Wesley will tell you a story, and then it's time for bed."

            Wesley looked at her.  Leave it to Cordelia to promise Liam that he would do something. 

            "I'll put Faith down," Cordelia said, stepping forward to take the little slayer.  Wes reluctantly placed the child gently in Cordelia's arms.  She stirred in her sleep.

            "Wes?" Faith asked, her little voice sleepy and a little panicked.

            Surprised and touched, Wes leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.  "It's all right, little luv," he said.  His voice comforted her.  Faith yawned and snuggled into Cordelia's arms, and the seer carried her to bed.

            Liam looked up at Wes.  "Tell me a story," he commanded.  "A story about knives and blood and sheep."

            "Sheep?" Wes asked. 

            "Yes, Not-a-Pussy," Liam said, his hair falling into his eyes a little bit. "I want a story with sheep.  They should be singing sheep with glaives."

            "What did you call me?" Wes asked.

            "Not-a-Pussy," Liam replied.

            "Don't call me that," Wes said, "and don't use that language if you want a story."

            "Would you rather I call you Pussy?" Liam asked.

            "No," Wesley admitted, "and it doesn't sound as if you want a story very much."

            "I'll be good," Liam promised, and Wesley set his mind to thinking about a story involving knives, blood, and singing sheep with glaives.

            Upstairs, Cordelia tucked Faith into bed, amazed at the innocent expression on the child's face.

            Faith's eyes fluttered open.  "Mama?" Faith asked sleepily.

            Cordelia didn't feel even the least bit compelled to give the child a quippy or sarcastic reply.  "No," she said softly.  "Sweetie, it's Cordy."

            "Didn't want her anyway," Faith muttered.  "Sticks and stones."

            Cordy smoothed the hair out of the little girl's face. 

            "Don't leave," Faith said suddenly.  Surprised, Cordelia sat on the bed beside her. 

            "I won't," she promised, bewildered at the fact that she meant it.

             Faith fell back into sleep with Cordy at her side.

TBC… much more mischief, Wes does a bit of research, and Kate and Lindsey enter the scene.  Then, off to Sunnydale.  More hijinks next chapter and funny stuff, I promise, but I was in the mood for a few sweet moments for some reason, so that's what you got.

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