After the Brian fiasco Cordelia decided that she wanted to call someone else. It was more complicated and required a lot of her detective skills to get the number but she managed it.

She dialled the number quickly before she could chicken out and waited while someone picked up.

"Mom, hi!" Cordelia said into the phone.

"Cordelia? Where are you?" Her mother's voice was still achingly familiar.

"I'm in LA, where are you? I got your cell off a man at Daddy's old office." She explained.

"Darling we're in San Francisco, it's absolutely divine!" She gushed.

"Could you come and see me?" Cordelia asked her, biting her lip.

"Of course I can!" Her mother sounded pleased. "Daddy and I could come up at the weekend. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Cordelia agreed with a smile.

"What shall I tell the taxi driver at the airport?"

"Hyperion Hotel."

"You're living at a hotel?" Disapproval was evident in her voice.

"No, I work at a hotel." Cordelia clarified.

"As what? Please don't tell me a maid!"

Cordelia laughed. "No, out detective agency is based in a hotel. I'll be there at the weekend."

"Oh." Mrs Chase sounded relieved. "That's sounds... interesting. Well, see you then!"

"What time?" Cordelia thought to ask before she hung up.

"Around one I should think but if we'll be any later I'll call. Bye!"

Cordelia listened to the dial tone and then placed the phone back in the receiver. It had gone better than she'd expected. Her mother was still the same. It would be her father that would cause problems. He would still be bitter about the money he'd lost and still bitter that Cordelia had turned down the marriage proposal from one of her father's business associates. But she could put up with that if it meant she'd get to see her mom again. She'd put aside the pain she'd caused her in the past. Most of the time they'd been friends. Maybe they could be friends again.

Cordelia was happy when she set off for the hotel. Angel had been right; she should have tried to find her parents before now. And it hadn't been that hard to do. One phone call to her dad's old office and they'd put her through to his new accountant who had given her his new cell number.

She skipped across the street and set off on the ten minute walk. It was a nice day and she liked to walk when it was warm.

She'd noticed the jeans she'd put on that morning were a little tight and she could feel them pulling now as she walked. Pretty soon they wouldn't fit at all. She already had a small bulge and her doctor told her that within the next three weeks she'd suddenly grow big.

She supposed it would probably be a good idea if she went maternity clothes shopping. If only Dolce did baby clothes, she mused.

She decided as she spotted the Hyperion to call for coffee and bagels in the little café across the street.

The owner, Michaela, knew Cordelia as she was a regular customer and left the kitchen to come and say hello.

"Cordelia, hi! Long time no see. What happened? You find someone who sells better coffee than me?" She teased with a smile.

Cordelia laughed. "Never! I'll take six bagels and a Caramel Decaf Cap to go, thanks."

"You got it." Michaela wrote it down and handed the order to one of her waitresses who rolled her eyes at her boss but did as she was told. "So, what's new with you? The last time I saw you I think you were complaining of re-heeling costs. How's that going?"

Cordelia laughed and Michaela came around the counter to talk to her. "Well, since then I've ruined two pairs of Jimmy's and..."

She was cut off at Michaela's small scream. "What?"

"Are you?" She asked, pointing to Cordelia's stomach with a gleeful look on her face.

"Oh, yeah." Cordelia smiled. "I'm pregnant."

"How far gone are you?" She asked, putting a hand on Cordelia's stomach.

"About three months."

"Oh, congratulations!" The older woman hugged Cordelia. "Is there a daddy in the picture?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm doing it on my own. Or rather, I'm going to be a single mom in theory. Angel and the other guys over the road are all going to help me."

"That's great; I wish I had the guts to do what you're doing." The waitress handed her Cordelia's order.

Cordelia pulled a twenty out of her purse and started to hand it to her but Michaela shook her head and shoved it back to her. "No, these are on me, I insist!"

"Oh, thank you! But don't let yourself go out of business huh? Where else would I get the best coffee in town?"

They both laughed. "Have a good day!" Michaela called to her, going back into the kitchen.

"You too!"

She left the café and crossed the road, walking up the path to the front doors of the hotel.

She pushed open the doors and saw weapons all over the floor of the lobby. "What on Earth..?"

Gunn looked up and winked at her. "Wes wanted a weapons inventory done by the time he gets back from the library so we thought we'd make a mess and see how long it takes him to get mad."

She laughed and stepped over a wicked looking contraption that Fred had fashioned. "Cool looking sword Fred."

"Thanks, I figured that an expandable arm on a sword that can swing three hundred and sixty degrees would be a useful addition to our collection. That is if I can get it to work." Fred frowned.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow at her and went to perch on the corner of Angel's desk. "I've got bagels. I know you're not a foodie but maybe you could dip it in blood. Kinda like soup and roll."

Angel looked up and her and laughed. "Soup and roll? I don't think so. But I'll take one plain."

She handed him one and took one for herself. "What're you up to? Except not helping with the inventory."

"I'm trying to find a connection between two of our cases. I know it's there I just don't know where." His forehead was creased in concentration.

"Guess what I did." She told him, poking his arm with her finger.

He put his pen down and looked up. "Get yourself pregnant?"

She poked him again. "Yeah, yeah old news. What else?"

"I have no idea." He gave in quickly. Knowing Cordelia it could be anything.

"I got my dad's cell phone number and talked to my mom."

"That's great. Did you tell her?"

She shook her head. "She and Daddy are living in San Francisco so they're coming up at the weekend to see me. Isn't it great?"

He nodded. "Yeah, do they need somewhere to stay because I'm sure I could clean out a couple of rooms before then?"

"No, they'll be fine. It's one thing seeing them but I don't know about them staying here." She wrinkled her nose. "It was bad enough living with them for seventeen years."

"So, scared?"

She nodded. "Terrified."

"It'll be okay." He squeezed her hand.

She stared down at their intertwined fingers. "I know."

The weekend came quickly and Cordelia had practically turned into a nervous wreck.

They didn't have much work so she'd had a lot of time to think and imagine worst case scenarios.

Cordelia was up early Saturday and at the hotel before Angel was even up.

She spent the morning cleaning and tidying. Wesley tried frequently to get her to sit down and rest but she just dismissed him.

It was a relief to everyone when a cab pulled up outside.

Mrs Chase came through the door of the Hyperion at two thirty wearing a shocking pink suit with pink stilettos and purse dragging a stylish plush leather wheeled case behind her.

She walked up to the counter and pressed the small sliver bell. "Hello?"

"Yo." Gunn greeted her from his position at Cordelia's desk. "Can I help?"

Mrs Chase looked taken aback. "I'm looking for my daughter."

"Oh, you're Cordy's mom." Realisation dawned. "I'll go get her."

He came around the counter and took off up the stairs to where he knew Cordelia was fretting. She'd eventually gone up there to rearrange Angel's closet and then his dresser and then his book collection in an attempt to keep busy.

A couple of minutes later Cordelia came trotting down the stairs. "Mom?"

"Oh, Cordelia darling!" Her mother exclaimed and came rushing across the lobby to capture her daughter in her arms. "I've missed you!"

Cordelia sank into her mother's embrace willingly. "I missed you too!"

"Look how pretty you got, blonde suits you. I'd have never thought it!"

Mrs Chase pulled away to look at her. "You're practically glowing! You should tell me the name of your dermatologist."

"I don't see a dermatologist Mom." Cordelia laughed.

"Really? You look like that naturally? Wow! You must have had good genes."

Cordelia laughed and hugged her mom again. "It's so good to see you."

Up on the balcony above Angel and Gunn watched the scene between mother and daughter.

"Where's Daddy?"

"Oh, he had to work so I came on my own!" Mrs Chase noticed Angel and Gunn and whispered to Cordelia. "Who's the hot guy?"

Cordelia looked upstairs and smiled. "That's Angel. He's my friend."

"Do I get to meet him?" Her mother whispered back.

"I thought we might go out and get some lunch first. I could do with some fresh air. How does that sound?" Cordelia asked, already reaching for her bag.

"Perfect." She turned to the balcony. "Goodbye handsome man!"

Angel and Gunn both waved and then turned to look at each other as Cordelia and Mrs Chase left.

Cordelia and her mother sat in the sunlight outside of one of Cordelia's favourite restaurants sipping iced tea.

"So, how have you been?" Mrs Chase asked.

"I've been good. Recently."

"What do you mean recently? What happened in the past?"

"I struggled for a while after you left." Cordelia told her truthfully, wanting her to know what she'd been through. "I had to go and live at a friend's house because the IRS wanted to repossess our house. I managed to get a few clothes and I got a job at April Fools until I graduated. Then I came to LA trying to be an actress." She laughed. "I was hopeless! I bumped into Angel at a party and he rescued me. I started out as a secretary and I ended up being his friend. I practically run that business. I have a great apartment and great friends. I'm happy."

"I'm glad." Mrs Chase touched her daughter's fingers gently. "And I am sorry for what you went through. I wanted to take you with us but I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"It would have been... well, it would have been too dangerous."

"Why? It was only tax evasion."

"It wasn't." Her mother told her, looking down and picking at her cuticles.

"Wasn't what?"

"Only tax evasion."

"What do you mean?" Despite the heat Cordelia shivered.

"Your father's business was involved in something and your father was blamed. I don't know whether he did it or not and I don't want to but it meant that we had to leave the country for a while."

"Did what?" Cordelia demanded.

"A man was killed."

"Daddy killed someone!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"No! Shush!" Mrs Chase insisted. "I don't know. I don't want to know. Your father and I went to Canada for a year and changed our identities. By the time we returned the authorities had blamed and tried someone else. We moved to San Francisco and your father joined an accountancy firm. We have a nice house, not as big as our old one, but it's nice. I did try to find you. I called the school but the number was disconnected. I found out after that there'd been an explosion. You weren't involved in that were you?"

Cordelia made a so-so motion with her hand. "Sort of."

Her mother shrugged. "You're here so I'm not bothered! Anyway, I tried Sunnydale authorities but no-one knew where you were. I even tried Harmony, did you know Harmony died?"

Cordelia nodded.

"And Aura, but she'd gone away to college. I just couldn't find you." Mrs Chase said helplessly. "But now I have! Or rather, you found me. Why did you decide to find me?"

"Well, I had something I wanted to tell you." Cordelia told her, taking a deep breath.

"You did?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to have a baby mom."

Mrs Chase seemed frozen in her seat.

"Mom?"

"I'm going to be a grandma!" Mrs Chase exclaimed and jumped up to run around the table and hug her daughter. "I'm going to be a grandma!"

"You're okay with it?" Cordelia asked, amazed by her mother's affection.

"Darling, I'm ecstatic!" She kissed Cordelia's forehead and then went back to sit in her seat. "This is wonderful news! We should celebrate!"

She snapped her fingers at a passing waiter. "We'll take a bottle of wine for me and an iced tea for my beautiful pregnant daughter!"

The waited raised an eyebrow but wrote the order down.

Cordelia laughed. "You are just the same."

"You're not, you're so much more! So, who's the father?"

"An asshole." She replied stonily. "He's not in the picture anymore."

"Good for you. You'll need things for the baby then won't you? Just because you aren't with the father shouldn't mean you have to buy everything yourself!"

"You have Daddy's credit card don't you?" Cordelia smiled.

"What else?" She spotted the waiter coming back with their food and the drinks. "Ooh, here comes my wine!"

Cordelia laughed again. It was so good to see her mom; it was just like the old days. And she hadn't made a big deal about Brian. Or the lack of Brian. And if she didn't have to pay for everything herself then that was a plus!

After lunch Cordelia and Mrs Chase went to Rodeo Drive and shopped. Cordelia had never actually bought anything on Rodeo Drive since she'd moved to LA, mainly because she couldn't afford it. Before, she and her mom had come to LA a couple of times to buy gowns to wear at the many parties they used to go to.

With Mrs Chase with her flashing her credit cards they got the best treatment. First they picked up some great maternity clothes off the rack but then Mrs Chase treated her to some designer pieces. She bought her some black Prada sweats that she knew would be great for when she got really big as they were really stretchy. They went into Dolce and Gabbana where Mrs Chase bought herself a pale pink cashmere jumper and some loose shirts for Cordelia.

When they got outside they hailed a cab and they went to Babyworld where Mrs Chase ordered the essentials Cordelia would need and arranged for them to be delivered to the Hyperion.

They got back in a cab and Mrs Chase took Cordelia back to the Hyperion.

"I'll call you tonight dear, I need to go back to my hotel, I have a facial booked. Maybe we could do something tonight? Or we could go and take a walk tomorrow in the park?" She suggested through the cab window.

"Call me tonight and we can do something tomorrow. I'll be working late tonight." Cordelia told her. "I had a really good afternoon Mom."

"Me too darling, talk to you soon!" Mrs Chase blew her a kiss and the cab set off.

Cordelia walked up the path to the Hyperion swinging her bags. She wasn't lying, she really had had a good afternoon.

She opened the door and went inside. "Hello!"

Angel was sat on the counter reading a file. "Hey."

"Where is everyone?" She asked, walking across the lobby.

He put the file down. "They went out for food."

"All three of them?"

"Well, Gunn and Fred were going to go and then they insisted that Wes go with them because he hadn't left his office since he came in." He smiled. "How did your afternoon go?"

"Amazing." She smiled. "We talked, we ate, we shopped. It was perfect. And she's really excited about the baby!"

"That's good. Are you seeing her tonight?"

"No, I thought I'd get some work done so we could do something tomorrow. Do you think Wes will mind me taking the day off?"

He shook his head. "No."

She leaned against his leg. "You know, for the first time I feel happy about everything. I've told you guys and I've told my mom and you're all happy. Brian was a bust but he doesn't matter anymore."

"I'm glad you're happy."

"You know, my mom suggested something to me this afternoon." She told him casually.

"What was that?" He asked warily.

"She said that I should start going to Lamaze classes at the community centre down the road."

"What are Lamaze classes?"

"They're classes that you can go to which help you prepare for having your baby. They go over breathing exercises and they help you pick what kind of birth you want. Stuff like that."

"Oh, that sounds good. Are you going to go?"

"I think so. But I'll need a birthing partner first."

"A what?"

She smiled. "Someone who goes to the classes with you and helps you when you go into labour."

"Are you going to go with your mom?"

"Well, she's going back to San Francisco on Monday and I don't want to risk going into labour and she's not there."

"What about Fred?" He suggested. "She seems calm and good in a crisis."

She smiled at his words. "Good in a crisis, is that what this is?"

He laughed. "Of course not, that came out wrong. Who did you have in mind?"

"You." She told him.

"Me?"

Yeah, you."

"I don't think that I'd be a very good person for that." He stammered.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm old and I wouldn't know what the hell was going on. And when people had babies in my day they were surrounded by women. And I'm, you know, a guy." He finished lamely.

"So? Angel, it isn't as if I'm going to have you delivering the baby. All you have to do is stand by my head, and I do emphasise head, and hold my hand, keep me calm and whatever." She told him. "It's not that scary. It is me having the baby, you know."

"I know but people might think I'm the father and I'm not and wouldn't you rather have a woman?"

"Angel, if you don't want to do it then just say so. I'll tell people you're my friend. Besides, I'd rather have people thinking you're the dad than them thinking Brian is the dad. You're the person I want there but if you don't want to then its fine."

"No, I'd like to if you don't think I'll be useless."

"I'm sure." She squeezed his knee. "Thank you, I'll book a night class for us to start next week."

He let his hand drift to her shoulder. "Do you think that..?"

"Yo Cordy, we got Mexican!" Gunn interrupted, coming through the hotel door with Wes and Fred, carrying three carrier bags.

"Great!" She told him and then turned to Angel. "What were you saying?"

He removed his hand from her shoulder. "Nothing, it doesn't matter."

He jumped of the counter, letting Gunn put the bags down.

Nothing Cordelia, I was just about to ask a pregnant woman to go out for dinner with a person who doesn't even eat. But it doesn't matter, he thought, she wouldn't have said yes anyway.