Everyone was waiting anxiously at the hotel for them to get back from the hotel. When a taxi pulled up outside they all jumped up.

Cordelia was leaning against Angel as they came up the path.

She smiled at them all shakily. "Hi guys."

"Are you okay?" Wes asked first.

"I'm fine. I'm having contractions, but I'm fine."

"Contractions?" Fred frowned. "Oh, Brackston Hicks!"

"What? You know about them? Why didn't I know about them?" Cordelia pointed out.

"We just assumed." Wes told her.

"You too?" She shrugged. "Oh well, they could have been real ones I suppose."

"I think you should go and get some sleep." Wes advised.

"I agree." Angel told her.

"Uh, guys, did anyone see if the police managed to shoot any of the, uh, men?"

"One of them got shot." Wesley told her warily. "Why?"

She hesitated. "One of them was nice to me. I just, I guess I didn't want him to get shot."

Angel put pressure on her back and she started to walk again, towards the stairs. "We'll see you in the morning." Angel told them.

He steered her up the stairs and into her room. "Go and get ready for bed and then I'll help you get into bed."

"I don't know where I left my night clothes."

"I'll find them." He told her and sat her down on the bed. "Where did you get dressed this morning?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I think..."

Angel turned to see why she had stopped talking and saw her head drop into her hands. "Cordy?"

She shook her head and he went to kneel at her feet. He put his hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay. You're safe now. Everything will be okay." He soothed. "Just let it all come out and you'll feel better."

She lifted her head and she began gulping for air between sobs. "I was so scared... I thought he was going to kill her... or kill me... or worse..."

"Or what? What did he threaten to do?"

He looked into her eyes and he knew what she meant without her having to say it. "But he didn't?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Look, I think you should get into bed and get some sleep and then you'll feel better tomorrow. It's getting late anyway." He tucked her hair behind her ears. "Now, let me go and find your night clothes so you can get some sleep."

He went into her bathroom and found the pyjamas she'd been sleeping in.

When he came back into the bedroom Cordelia was fast asleep on the edge of the bed. He smiled and put the pyjamas on the chair.

He shuffled her further onto the bed and covered her with a thick blanket before dropping a light kiss on her temple. "Good night Cordelia."

He was awoken at three in the morning by wild screaming. He rushed out of his room and ran straight into a startled looking Fred and a half naked Gunn.

"What are you guys doing here?" Angel asked, momentarily stilled.

"We decided to stay at the hotel tonight." Fred told him. "Cordelia was screaming."

"Oh!" Angel remembered and hurtled through the door.

Cordelia was curled up on her side clutching her pillow. Her hair was wild and her eyes were closed. She had stopped screaming but she was whimpering. She did appear to be half asleep.

Angel went towards the bed and lay down against her back, resting his left arm on the pillow and wrapping his right arm across her waist. "Shush, it's okay. You're okay now."

Gunn and Fred watched as Angel calmed her down and sent her back off to sleep.

Fred shut the door and they went back to bed.

Angel stayed until he was sure that Cordelia was asleep and then he went back to his room.

He didn't get to sleep until well after five, when he was sure that she was going to stay asleep. Only when he heard her heartbeat settle and stay at a regular beat did he close his eyes.

They didn't talk about what had happened after that night. Cordelia stuck her head into her work and seemed to almost shut herself off. She wasn't depressed or withdrawn; she just didn't talk about that night.

As her due date got closer she started to get more and more restless.

Angel frequently caught her rearranging her desk and the filing cabinet or tidying her wardrobes.

Wes called it the 'mother hen syndrome' which always caused Cordelia to roll her eyes.

In the last couple of weeks she called her mom a lot and went to have massages to try and relax her. She'd spoke to her doctor and she taught her breathing exercises that she was to do when she started labour. They decided to go for the epidural form of pain relief after Cordelia spent hours agonising over what to do.

Without asking her everyone could tell that she was very nervous and she snipped at them when they asked her questions.

After getting completely exasperated, Angel rang Mrs Chase who calmed him down by insisting that everything she was doing was completely normal.

When Cordelia found out he'd called she completely flipped out and ranted at him about not trusting her and going behind her back to her mother.

Fred, this time, assured him that her hormones were out of whack and that she didn't mean anything by it.

In her last week she looked absolutely huge, her stomach was protruding outwards and her breasts and hands had swelled. The baby had lowered, to what her doctor called 'missile position'. In other words, ready to come out.

Her due date came and went and she became incredibly crabby. She spent a lot of time pacing and basically drove everyone crazy. Her doctor was reluctant to induce her because it was her first baby.

A week after her due date she went into labour.

She was walking around the lobby when she felt the first pains.

Angel noticed her stand straight still and got up from his desk. "Are you okay?"

She nodded but then winced. "I think this is it."

Everyone seemed to jump up at once and start panicking.

Cordelia burst out laughing. Suddenly all the tension and anxiousness she'd felt over the last couple of weeks had disappeared.

At the sound of her laughing everyone calmed down and took things a little slower.

"I'll get the bag." Angel informed them. "Wes, you get Cordy in the car. Gunn, you can come with me through the sewers and Fred, you go with Wes and Cordelia in the car."

He ran up the stairs to where he'd left Cordelia's hospital bag. He ran back down the stairs with it and gave it to Fred. "Tell her I won't be long!"

He turned to Gunn. "She's having the baby!"

"I know man." Gunn grinned. "We'd better get going or else she'll have it before we get there!"

When they got to the hospital Cordelia had been given a private room and she'd been made comfortable and put on a drip.

"Hey, are you okay?" Angel asked, sitting on the chair nearest her head.

Wes and Fred had automatically sat at the back of the room, knowing that Angel would want to be nearest.

"I'm okay." She smiled. "Now that I know its happening I feel better."

"Are you in any pain?"

She shook her head. "My waters haven't broken yet. The nurse said I should start and feel more pain then."

He nodded and seemed to relax.

"The doctor was very nice." Wes commented. "She cleared everything up for us and assured us that the utmost would be done to make Cordelia comfortable."

"Speaking of being comfortable." Cordelia muttered and breathed through another pain.

Angel squeezed her hand. "Did she say how long it should take?"

"No, she said it was difficult to tell. When my waters break she should be able to tell more. These pains aren't even proper contractions. The 'real' ones will start then."

"Well, I put some magazines and a book in your bag so there's plenty for you to read." He told her with a smile.

"Did you get the new Cosmo?" She asked hopefully.

He nodded and pulled it out. "Here."

"Get comfy guys, hopefully it'll all be over by the time I finish." She told them hopefully and started to read her magazine.

She'd gone through Cosmo and In Style before Dr Connelly decided to break her waters for her.

She ushered everyone out of the room and spread plastic sheets between Cordelia's legs. She put her feet in stirrups so she could see what she was doing.

"Will it hurt?" Cordelia asked anxiously.

"It shouldn't." The doctor assured her and then broke her waters with a popping sound and then a gush of water. "See? That wasn't too bad. Now, we'll get your epidural line in now and then when we get into labour we can put the drug straight in. How does that sound?"

"As long as I feel no pain."

Dr Connelly smiled. "I'll go and get the anaesthetist and get a nurse to come and clean you up. Do you want one of your friends in with you when we put the line in?"

She nodded. "Angel."

"I'll tell the nurse and she'll send him in when she's done." Dr Connelly promised and left the room.

Quickly a nurse came in. "Hello, how are you feeling?"

"A little nervous, I guess." Cordelia admitted.

"Oh, I suppose that's natural with your first baby." The nurse told her and started to clean Cordelia's legs and tidy up the plastic sheets. "Have you decided on a name?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't really thought about it yet. What's your name?"

"Alex; or rather Alexandra." The nurse smiled. "So, you know the sex then?"

"Yeah, the curiosity killed me." She admitted.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of one when you see your baby. When I had my first I couldn't think of a name but when he came out I knew he was a Sam." She told her.

Cordelia suddenly winced as a pain shot across her abdomen. It lasted for about ten seconds and then went away. "I think that was my first official contraction."

"Should I say congratulations?" Alex joked and lowered Cordelia's legs back onto the bed. "Why don't you try bending your legs and then lowering them to the side? It's an old wives tale. It's supposed to relieve pain and help your cervix to dilate faster."

Cordelia did what Alex had suggested. "Anything to make it go faster."

"Who did you want me to get for you? Angel?"

"Yeah."

"Is he your husband?"

"No, just a friend. The baby's father isn't in the picture."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Alex offered.

"No, that's a good thing. Trust me!"

"I'll go get him for you and find out where the anaesthetist is."

"Thanks."

A couple of minutes later Angel came back in. "Are you okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah, an anaesthetist is going to come and put my epidural line in so that when the pain starts the drugs can go straight in." She told him. "Come sit with me."

He came across the room and sat down. "I don't know about you but this is hell on my nerves."

She laughed. "You don't have any nerves."

He grinned. "Well, that's true."

Just as she was about to speak again Dr Connelly, Alex and the anaesthetist, a bald man with black glasses, came in.

"Now Cordelia, we need you to swing your legs off the bed and lean forward onto your friend." Dr Connelly told her and pulled the blanket off her body. "Slowly."

She sat up and swung her legs off the bed, towards Angel. "Now, lean forwards. I'm just going to lift your gown up so we can see."

"Now Cordelia." The anaesthetist spoke. "You'll feel a slight pressured, which is just me finding the correct spot. Then you'll feel a cold gel being rubbed onto your skin. If you feel yourself having a contraction you must tell me because you'll need to be very still once I insert the needle. If the needle is already in then Dr Connelly will hold you down so you don't move. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Go ahead."

She looked at Angel and he smiled. His hand sought hers and she squeezed it gently. "It's okay." He murmured.

He could tell when the needle went in because he felt her body tense up and then go impossibly still.

Dr Connelly held Cordelia's hips still just in case.

After about three minutes the anaesthetist announced he was done. "That's it. Dr Connelly knows how to administer the drug so I'll leave you in her capable hands."

Dr Connelly smiled. "You were very brave. I'll put a little of the drug in now to take the edge off the pain."

She connected a small syringe to the end of the pipe that was now in her back. "You might feel a bit drowsy but that's normal. When you're ten centimetres dilated we'll put the highest amount in to keep you comfortable. I'll do a quick internal now and then I'll leave you for a while."

Alex helped her get back into bed and get comfortable; with the pipe in her back it was more difficult.

"Do you want me to go?" Angel asked.

Dr Connelly heard. "Don't worry. It'll only take a second."

"It's okay Angel, you won't see anything." Cordelia promised with a smile.

After a quick examination Dr Connelly told her that she was three centimetres dilated.

"That's all?" She exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

Dr Connelly smiled. "That's all I'm afraid. But that's pretty good. The contractions should start pretty strong soon so don't be alarmed. It's completely normal."

Alex and Dr Connelly left with the proviso that she would press the call button if she needed anything.

Wes came in when she'd gone. "How is everything going?"

"I'm three centimetres dilated and I'm all set up for pain relief." She announced.

"That's good."

"Where are Fred and Gunn?" She asked, taking a sip of water from the cup on the table.

"They went for a walk. They said they'd come back soon to see you." He assured her.

"That's okay. You know, you all don't have to stay with me if you don't want. I've got Angel here."

"No, we want to be here. Besides, where else would we be?" He pointed out and sat down.

She shrugged and then clutched her stomach as another contraction hit. This one hurt more and lasted a lot longer.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked.

"That hurt." She gasped. "Why did that one hurt?"

Wes suppressed a smile. "I think labour is supposed to hurt a little."

"It shouldn't." She pointed out. "Women get all the pain."

A couple of hours later Cordelia was nine centimetres dilated and she was taken into the delivery room.

She was in a lot of pain and Dr Connelly had topped up her epidural when the pain started getting bad. As of yet it hadn't worked although Dr Connelly promised her it soon would.

Her contractions were coming hard and fast, giving her only a few seconds in between to take a breath.

She was ten seconds dilated when she was wheeled into the delivery room and very soon the baby was crowning. Her feet were placed in stirrups and she was encouraged to push.

"I'm not ready." She whimpered to Angel. "It's too hard!"

"No, it's not." He assured her, stroking back her hair and making her suck on the gas and air. "You can do this Cordelia. This is what you've waited nine months for. And just think, after this you'll have a daughter for the rest of your life."

"I don't care. I just want it to stop!" She wailed.

"Concentrate Cordelia!" Dr Connelly told her. "You need to push very hard when you feel your next contraction, okay? Push very hard!"

She felt the next contraction build up inside her and she pushed as hard as she could. "I can't do this!" She screamed.

Angel put an arm around her back to hold her in a sitting position. "Push Cordelia!"

"I can't." She argued, tears running down her red face. "Do it for me?"

He laughed. "I can't. You have to do this! Now Cordelia, push!"

With the next wave of pain she pushed.

"That's it Cordelia!" Alex encouraged. "We can see the head!"

"You can?"

"Yes, now you have to relax now, so stop pushing and let the baby's head come out on its own." Dr Connelly told her. "Relax. Breath in through your nose and out through your mouth."

Cordelia took deep breaths, trying not to focus on the searing pain as the head pushed its way out.

"Okay now, get ready to push again!" Alex encouraged.

"Not again." She shook her head and fell onto Angel's arm.

He pulled her back up again. "This it the last push now and then you're done. I promise!"

She looked at him. "If you're lying I swear I will kill your ass when all this pain is over!"

"Last one Cordelia." Dr Connelly smiled, holding the baby's head in her hands. "Now!"

Cordelia pushed so hard she thought her heart would shoot out of her as well as the baby.

The baby's shoulders worked free and the rest of the baby slid out into Dr Connelly's hands.

Angel let Cordelia lay back down again on the bed.

"As promised, you have a baby girl!" Dr Connelly announced as she cut the umbilical cord. "She's beautiful!"

Cordelia lifted her head to try and see.

"Here she is." She announced and handed Cordelia the baby girl, wrapped in towels.

Cordelia held her against her chest and touched the tiny fingers.

She barely felt the afterbirth slip out of her.

"She's beautiful." Angel told her, leaning closer.

Cordelia swallowed back the lump in her throat. "She's perfect."

The baby opened her eyes to reveal bright blue irises. "Hello baby, I'm your mommy."

Cordelia smiled at her. "She's absolutely perfect."

She looked around for Dr Connelly. "She is perfect?"

"She's perfect." She reassured her. "Let us take her to clean her up a bit and then we'll take you back to your room. You delivered the placenta quickly so we'll clean you up and get you back to rest."

"You'll bring her to me?" She asked as Alex took the baby from her arms.

"I promise." Alex told her, taking the baby into an adjoining room.

She lay back on the bed while another nurse cleaned her up.

"You did really good." Angel told her smiling.

"I did, didn't I?" She smiled and held her arms out. "I think I deserve a hug."

He reached down and hugged her tight. "You do deserve a hug."

He pulled back slightly to kiss her cheek. She moved her head so that their lips were just millimetres apart. Tentatively she leaned up and pressed her warm lips to his cool ones.

His eyes questioned hers but she closed them quickly. His hand drifted to her cheek and he deepened the kiss, ever so slightly brushing her tongue with his.

Just as quickly as they had begun they parted. "Well, that was new." She said awkwardly.

The nurse took her feet out of the stirrups and covered her with a blanket. "There, all done. We'll get you back to your room now."

The bars on the bed were put up and she was wheeled down the corridor.

They passed Wes, Gunn and Fred who all jumped up as she went past.

Everyone crowded into the room and hugged her.

"Was it very bad?" Fred asked.

"Not really." She lied.

Angel repressed the urge to comment. "The baby is beautiful."

"Are they bringing her in or is she going in the nursery?" Wes asked.

"They're bringing her in to me." Cordelia told them and reached up for the water she'd left on the table. "Do you think they got lost?"

Everyone laughed and Angel reassured her that they wouldn't have got lost.

She yawned. "I feel so sleepy."

"I think you deserve to be." Gunn told her boyishly.

The door opened and Alex brought her baby in. "I didn't expect a full room! Do you want me to give her to you? You could feed her, she must be hungry."

"I don't know how." Cordelia admitted.

"Oh, it's easier than you'd think." Alex told her and placed the baby gently in the crook of her left arm. "Just hold on to her and I'll go and get you a bottle for her. We'll try her on formula first, it's easier."

Cordelia held onto her as she was told and Fred cam forward to peek into the bundle of blankets. "Oh, she's so pretty!"

Cordelia smiled and stroked her cheek. "Yeah she is."

Wes ventured forwards to look over Fred's shoulder and Gunn went to stand next to Angel.

"She's... perfect." Wes told her and got choked up. "Allergies."

Cordelia looked at Angel and they both laughed. He ran his hand across her hair.

Gunn shot a look at Fred but he didn't comment. "That's one good looking kid."

She looked up and smiled at him. "She must have got that from her mother's side."

"Damn straight!" He grinned.

Alex came back in with a bottle and she showed Cordelia how to feed the baby. "Have you thought of a name now you've seen her?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Oh don't worry, there's plenty of time." Alex smiled. "I'm going off my shift now and I won't be in for another couple of days. Hopefully you'll be out of here by then. Good luck with her, whatever you decided to call her."

"Thanks Alex." Cordelia smiled. "For everything."

"It was my pleasure." The nurse replied and left the room quietly.