They waited while Cordelia had finished feeding the baby and then they held
her. Angel stepped back and let Fred, Gunn and Wesley all hold her first
and then he took her.
"We should probably get going." Wes told Cordelia. "And let you sleep."
Wes went and kissed Cordelia on her cheek. "Congratulations."
"Thank you Wes." She replied, hugging his shoulders.
Gunn and Fred took turns in hugging her. "You coming Angel?" Gunn asked.
He shook his head. "I'll stay a while." He turned to Cordelia. "If that's okay?"
She smiled and nodded. "Fine."
"Well then, we'll see you tomorrow." Wes promised and they left.
She curled up on her side on the bed and dangled her arm off the side so she could stroke her baby's head. "I can't believe I actually have her."
"It's been a hectic day." He reminded her.
"You can say that again." She yawned. "I did think of a name by the way."
"You did? But I thought you told the nurse you hadn't?"
"I did."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because I didn't want to tell them all before I told you." She told him honestly.
"What's the name?"
"I wanted to do something for you and I know you told me your sister's name was Kathy Megan." She told him with a small smile. "Well, I'm not that keen on Kathy so I decided on Megan Katherine Chase."
Angel's mouth fell open and he was speechless. "You want to name your baby after my sister?"
"I know how much you loved her." She told him softly, still stroking her baby's downy head.
"You don't have to do that." He told her, swallowing hard past the lump in his throat.
"I want to. It's a pretty name."
He touched her fingers with his and she grabbed his hand. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She smiled and then yawned again.
He laughed. "Get some sleep."
"Will you stay?" She asked hopefully.
He nodded. "Yeah I will. Now, close your eyes."
She did as she was told and felt his fingers brush hers as they rested on Megan's head. She didn't know whether it was on purpose or by accident but she didn't care.
When she awoke again it was morning and Angel had moved his chair so he was sat in the shade, out of direct sunlight. His head was drooping onto his chest and it was clear that he was asleep.
She shuffled up the bed a little and winced at the soreness she now felt.
A glance at her watch told her it was eighty thirty, still too early for any visitors. She should probably call her mom sometime today though, to assure her that everything went well.
"Good morning!" A nurse greeted and rolled Megan in, she was still in the 'crib on wheels', as Gunn had called it. "How are you feeling?"
"A little sore and tired." She admitted.
"Well, that's understandable. I'll send Dr Connelly in to examine you and make sure everything is okay." She made sure Megan was all wrapped up and she handed her to Cordelia. "Here she is. She's been fed and bathed so she should be okay for a couple of hours. Someone will me in sometime this morning to tell you how to do things. We do it with all the first time mothers." She looked over at Angel and smiled broadly. "It looks like your friend's passed out across there. Anyone think he'd just had a baby!"
Cordelia laughed but said nothing.
"Is he the daddy?" The nurse asked, making conversation as she straightened Cordelia's sheets and wrote on her chart. She made to check Cordelia's blood pressure. "He's a good looking one."
"No, he isn't the father. He's just a friend. A very good friend." She smiled. "But just a friend."
"He stayed here all night; he must be a good friend." She finished checking Cordelia's blood pressure and wrote it down on her chart. "Have you thought of a name for her yet?"
Cordelia nodded. "Megan Katherine Chase."
"That's a lovely name. How did you think of it?" The nurse asked.
"My friend's sister's name is Kathy Megan. I don't like Kathy that much so I decided on Megan Katherine. She died when she was young and I thought it would be a nice namesake for her."
"I like it. Now we can stop calling her Baby Girl Chase." She smiled. "I'll tell Dr Connelly to come and see you and then hopefully you can be home by tonight."
"Tonight? Already?" She exclaimed. "I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I might kill her!"
The nurse laughed. "You'll be fine. We try not to keep you in hospital that long nowadays if there has been no complications during labour. I'll come and see you later."
She left the room and Angel opened his eyes.
"You were awake!" She accused.
He smiled. "Yeah."
She looked down at the baby. "Then you heard her say I might be able to go home tonight."
He nodded. "I think you'll do fine. It's not as if you're on your own with her. I live in the room next to yours and Fred's down the hall. There's always someone nearby if you panic. Or kill her."
She shot him the finger and he laughed. "I was just kidding."
"I know." She told him. "You might want to make yourself scarce when Dr Connelly comes to see me."
He nodded. "I was already planning on doing that."
"Maybe you could take her for a walk." She suggested, stroking her pink cheek with her index finger.
He nodded. "I could do that. Wes said they'd come back this morning too."
She nodded. "Everyone's been really kind."
"Why should they not be?" He frowned.
"Well, we came to the hospital yesterday morning and they were here really late last night. They didn't have to be."
"They're your family Cordelia, they wouldn't be anywhere else." He assured her. "And neither would I."
"We should probably talk about what's been happening between us." She told him, avoiding his eyes. "I think that..."
She was interrupted by Dr Connelly coming through the door. "Good morning Mommy! How do you feel?"
"Okay." She replied and looked at Angel. "Why don't you take her?"
He nodded and stood up, avoiding the sunlight, and took Megan from her. "I'll be back when you're done."
She nodded. "Okay."
He left and Dr Connelly put on a pair of latex gloves. "We'll take a quick look and check that you're doing okay and not developing any infections and then we'll see about getting you discharged this afternoon if everything's alright."
Cordelia nodded, shoved the sheets off her and put her feet in the stirrups that Dr Connelly pulled up.
Cordelia pulled a face as she felt a stinging sensation.
"Does that hurt?" Dr Connelly asked.
"It stings."
"That's normal; it should go away in few days. You should probably try not to have sex in until the pain has gone."
"There's not trouble of that." She muttered under her breath.
Dr Connelly smiled. "Well, no sex for a few days and take warm baths everyday to ease the pain. I can give you some pain relief tablets as well that should help. If you find the pain doesn't go away then come back and I'll take another look and prescribe an ointment." She told her. "And that's pretty much it. There's nothing wrong down there, she came out pretty easy. You're lucky. You had no tearing and we didn't need to use forceps."
"My worst nightmare." Cordelia admitted. "The pain was pretty bad but I know it could have been worse."
"It sure could have." Dr Connelly agreed and put her feet back onto the bed. "I'll send one of the nurses in to help you get showered and dressed; you'll feel better after that. The nurse will tell you what you need to know, make sure you know what you're doing and then you can go home."
"So soon?"
Dr Connelly smiled. "We don't like to keep you in for long. It's better for mommy and baby if they're in they're in mommy's familiar surroundings. Besides, you'll feel more comfortable at home. If you need help then all you have to do is come back here or call in a clinic."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. I'll make sure a nurse comes in to you. Good luck!"
"Bye." Cordelia smiled as she left. "I guess."
Wes, Gunn and Fred came back while she was showering in the small shower room down the hall. They'd brought balloons and soft toys, expecting her to be staying in a while. Angel was sat in the shade with the baby when she came back in her room and everyone else was sat on her bed.
"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You guys!"
She went and sat next to Wes and put her arm around his shoulders. "You guys are so great. Angel told you I'm coming home this afternoon? I'm wearing actual clothes!"
Wes smiled. "Yes he told us. It's very good news."
"I know." She agreed and dropped her head onto his shoulder. "I called her Megan."
"We heard that too." Gunn told her. "We've been here a good half hour girl; we were starting to think you'd drowned it there!"
"Charles!" Fred scolded. "You weren't long at all. He just gets bored easily."
"We can go home as soon as the nurse tells me how not to kill her when I get her home." Cordelia promised him. "You could go now if you want. Maybe get some takeaway, I'm starving! Hospital food sucks."
"We could do that." Fred told her and stood up quickly. "We could get tacos!"
Cordelia laughed and lifted her head. "Tacos sound great."
Fred and Gunn left to go and get food and Cordelia shuffled further onto the bed and crossed her legs. "Are you okay with her?" She asked Angel.
He nodded and smiled. "I fed her while you were showering and she fell straight asleep."
She smiled. "She looks peaceful."
Wes looked at Angel oddly. "She does look peaceful. You know what? I think I'll go with Fred and Gunn. If we leave them on their own God knows how many they'll bring back with them."
He stood up and kissed Cordelia's cheek. "I'll see you when you get home."
He nodded to Angel and practically ran out of the door.
"What's with him?" Cordelia asked.
Angel just shrugged, he had no idea.
Cordelia and Megan were released from the hospital just after the sun had set, which was lucky for Angel. A woman had been rushed in for an emergency c-section so the nurses had been tied up until late afternoon.
Angel had gone to the cafeteria to get her some coffee and a sandwich but she was looking for the tacos when she got home, that was if they hadn't eaten them already. Angel hailed a taxi outside the hospital and helped Cordelia inside with Megan in her carrycot that Wes had brought her that morning.
"I wonder if she wonders what's going on." Cordelia mused as they neared the hotel.
He shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, she's been pushed out of her nice warm home and been forced to come out into the cold. She must wonder what's happening."
Cordelia smiled. "I'm glad you can make the birth process simpler. I'm not sure I can."
"Just think of it as this; first you got really fat and then the fat turned into a baby." He joked.
She swatted his arm and held her hand on his leather coat for a moment. "We need to talk when we get home."
"I know." He agreed. "Let's wait while she's settled though first."
She nodded and looked out of the window as they pulled up outside the Hyperion. "Let's go get her settled then."
Angel paid the driver and took the carry cot. She leaned on his arm as they walked up the path. Her stomach growled. "They better had saved me a taco!"
He laughed. "If not I'll go out and get one for you."
She pushed open the door with her foot. "You don't have to do that."
"I want to." He replied as he followed her inside.
Everyone looked up as they came in. It wasn't that they had been doing work, they had been pretending so they wouldn't think they were slacking. They had been too excited to do any work.
Gunn came across first and took the carry cot from Angel, setting it on the floor next to his chair.
Cordelia collapsed onto the couch, crossing her legs and wrapping her arm across her knee. "Did you save any tacos?"
"I managed to save one for you from these two gannets." Wes assured her with a smile. "I can warm it up for you if you want."
She nodded gratefully. "That would be great, hospital food isn't the best."
Wes got up and put a small plate in the microwave. "Has Megan been fed recently?"
"No." Cordelia replied. "She's slept a lot this afternoon so she hasn't had a good feed. I should probably make up a bottle for her actually."
She made to stand up. "I can do that." Angel offered, already making his way to where he'd stored the formula, bottles and steriliser weeks ago.
"No, you don't have to." She argued.
"I want to." He insisted. "Just sit down and relax, while you can."
"You decided to bottle feed then?" Fred asked, watching fondly as Gunn cooed at the now awake baby.
"Yeah, the nurse said it would be less stressful on me and this way all of you guys can help too!" She grinned cheekily.
The microwave pinged and Wes went to get her food. "A lot of new moms decide to bottle feed merely for convenience. Breast feeding can take a lot of getting used to and can cause a lot of pain at first."
He handed Cordelia her taco and she looked at him in amazement. "Ever had to breastfeed Wes?"
He blushed. "Of course not, I like to read."
She just raised an eyebrow as she bit into her taco. "Oh, hot!"
Fred looked over and laughed. "I did that too."
Gunn picked the baby up. "She looks like you Barbie."
"Better than looking like her father." Cordelia replied sourly.
Gunn snickered. "There's definitely a look of stubbornness to her."
"Hey!" Cordelia protested. "I am not stubborn!"
"Yeah right." Angel commented sarcastically as he came through after making the bottle. "And pigs might fly!"
Cordelia fed Megan and changed her and then went upstairs with her to have a nap. She was still tired and weak after giving birth.
They managed to get a couple of hours sleep in before Megan woke up and in turn woke up her mom.
Cordelia carried her downstairs pressed against her chest.
"Did you manage to get to sleep?" Angel asked when she sat down at her desk.
"Yeah, I got a couple of hours." She told him, swapping her hold on the baby so she was laid in the crook of her left arm.
"Your mom called." Fred told her.
"Oh my God! I totally forgot to call her!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Did you tell her? Who picked up?"
"I did." Wes told her. "And no, I just told her that you would call her back."
"Thanks." Cordelia told him gratefully. "I'd better call now before I forget again."
She quickly looked up the number in her address book and dialled. A maid answered and she put her call straight through to her mother's bedroom. "Hi mom, I didn't wake you did I? I'd already dialled before I looked at my watch."
"No, you didn't. How are you darling? You didn't answer my calls, I was so worried!" Mrs Chase exclaimed.
"I had a baby girl yesterday mom." Cordelia smiled as her mom screamed down the phone and called for her dad to pick up the extension.
"Congratulations darling!" He enthused. "What have you called her?"
"Megan Katherine. She's absolutely gorgeous!"
"How much did she weigh?" Mrs Chase asked excitedly.
"Eight pounds four." Cordelia informed her. "She has loads of black hair and bright blue eyes."
"You must bring her here!" Mrs Chase insisted. "As soon as possible!"
"Give the girl a chance woman!" Mr Chase scolded. "Send us pictures and come see us when you can."
"I will, I promise."
"Did the labour go okay?" Mrs Chase asked.
"It hurt a lot even though I had an epidural but it went quite quickly, or so they told me." She told them dryly and Kathy began to cry.
"Oh, she's crying!" Mrs Chase exclaimed.
"I hear that mom." Cordelia tried to juggle the phone and the baby and then decided it was impossible. "I'll have to call you back, I love you both."
They both said bye and Cordelia hung up so she could focus on Megan. "Do you think she's tired or hungry or both? I only just changed her so it can't be that."
"She might be tired." Fred suggested. "It is getting late."
Cordelia nodded. "I should take her upstairs. Goodnight everyone."
She took Megan upstairs and rocked her until she was asleep. She placed her on her back in the Moses basket and took the blanket out. She switched on the baby monitor and took the speaker into her room, placing it on the nightstand.
She changed for bed quickly and got under the covers. Her eyes were closed before her head hit the pillow and she was fast asleep within seconds.
"We should probably get going." Wes told Cordelia. "And let you sleep."
Wes went and kissed Cordelia on her cheek. "Congratulations."
"Thank you Wes." She replied, hugging his shoulders.
Gunn and Fred took turns in hugging her. "You coming Angel?" Gunn asked.
He shook his head. "I'll stay a while." He turned to Cordelia. "If that's okay?"
She smiled and nodded. "Fine."
"Well then, we'll see you tomorrow." Wes promised and they left.
She curled up on her side on the bed and dangled her arm off the side so she could stroke her baby's head. "I can't believe I actually have her."
"It's been a hectic day." He reminded her.
"You can say that again." She yawned. "I did think of a name by the way."
"You did? But I thought you told the nurse you hadn't?"
"I did."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because I didn't want to tell them all before I told you." She told him honestly.
"What's the name?"
"I wanted to do something for you and I know you told me your sister's name was Kathy Megan." She told him with a small smile. "Well, I'm not that keen on Kathy so I decided on Megan Katherine Chase."
Angel's mouth fell open and he was speechless. "You want to name your baby after my sister?"
"I know how much you loved her." She told him softly, still stroking her baby's downy head.
"You don't have to do that." He told her, swallowing hard past the lump in his throat.
"I want to. It's a pretty name."
He touched her fingers with his and she grabbed his hand. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She smiled and then yawned again.
He laughed. "Get some sleep."
"Will you stay?" She asked hopefully.
He nodded. "Yeah I will. Now, close your eyes."
She did as she was told and felt his fingers brush hers as they rested on Megan's head. She didn't know whether it was on purpose or by accident but she didn't care.
When she awoke again it was morning and Angel had moved his chair so he was sat in the shade, out of direct sunlight. His head was drooping onto his chest and it was clear that he was asleep.
She shuffled up the bed a little and winced at the soreness she now felt.
A glance at her watch told her it was eighty thirty, still too early for any visitors. She should probably call her mom sometime today though, to assure her that everything went well.
"Good morning!" A nurse greeted and rolled Megan in, she was still in the 'crib on wheels', as Gunn had called it. "How are you feeling?"
"A little sore and tired." She admitted.
"Well, that's understandable. I'll send Dr Connelly in to examine you and make sure everything is okay." She made sure Megan was all wrapped up and she handed her to Cordelia. "Here she is. She's been fed and bathed so she should be okay for a couple of hours. Someone will me in sometime this morning to tell you how to do things. We do it with all the first time mothers." She looked over at Angel and smiled broadly. "It looks like your friend's passed out across there. Anyone think he'd just had a baby!"
Cordelia laughed but said nothing.
"Is he the daddy?" The nurse asked, making conversation as she straightened Cordelia's sheets and wrote on her chart. She made to check Cordelia's blood pressure. "He's a good looking one."
"No, he isn't the father. He's just a friend. A very good friend." She smiled. "But just a friend."
"He stayed here all night; he must be a good friend." She finished checking Cordelia's blood pressure and wrote it down on her chart. "Have you thought of a name for her yet?"
Cordelia nodded. "Megan Katherine Chase."
"That's a lovely name. How did you think of it?" The nurse asked.
"My friend's sister's name is Kathy Megan. I don't like Kathy that much so I decided on Megan Katherine. She died when she was young and I thought it would be a nice namesake for her."
"I like it. Now we can stop calling her Baby Girl Chase." She smiled. "I'll tell Dr Connelly to come and see you and then hopefully you can be home by tonight."
"Tonight? Already?" She exclaimed. "I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I might kill her!"
The nurse laughed. "You'll be fine. We try not to keep you in hospital that long nowadays if there has been no complications during labour. I'll come and see you later."
She left the room and Angel opened his eyes.
"You were awake!" She accused.
He smiled. "Yeah."
She looked down at the baby. "Then you heard her say I might be able to go home tonight."
He nodded. "I think you'll do fine. It's not as if you're on your own with her. I live in the room next to yours and Fred's down the hall. There's always someone nearby if you panic. Or kill her."
She shot him the finger and he laughed. "I was just kidding."
"I know." She told him. "You might want to make yourself scarce when Dr Connelly comes to see me."
He nodded. "I was already planning on doing that."
"Maybe you could take her for a walk." She suggested, stroking her pink cheek with her index finger.
He nodded. "I could do that. Wes said they'd come back this morning too."
She nodded. "Everyone's been really kind."
"Why should they not be?" He frowned.
"Well, we came to the hospital yesterday morning and they were here really late last night. They didn't have to be."
"They're your family Cordelia, they wouldn't be anywhere else." He assured her. "And neither would I."
"We should probably talk about what's been happening between us." She told him, avoiding his eyes. "I think that..."
She was interrupted by Dr Connelly coming through the door. "Good morning Mommy! How do you feel?"
"Okay." She replied and looked at Angel. "Why don't you take her?"
He nodded and stood up, avoiding the sunlight, and took Megan from her. "I'll be back when you're done."
She nodded. "Okay."
He left and Dr Connelly put on a pair of latex gloves. "We'll take a quick look and check that you're doing okay and not developing any infections and then we'll see about getting you discharged this afternoon if everything's alright."
Cordelia nodded, shoved the sheets off her and put her feet in the stirrups that Dr Connelly pulled up.
Cordelia pulled a face as she felt a stinging sensation.
"Does that hurt?" Dr Connelly asked.
"It stings."
"That's normal; it should go away in few days. You should probably try not to have sex in until the pain has gone."
"There's not trouble of that." She muttered under her breath.
Dr Connelly smiled. "Well, no sex for a few days and take warm baths everyday to ease the pain. I can give you some pain relief tablets as well that should help. If you find the pain doesn't go away then come back and I'll take another look and prescribe an ointment." She told her. "And that's pretty much it. There's nothing wrong down there, she came out pretty easy. You're lucky. You had no tearing and we didn't need to use forceps."
"My worst nightmare." Cordelia admitted. "The pain was pretty bad but I know it could have been worse."
"It sure could have." Dr Connelly agreed and put her feet back onto the bed. "I'll send one of the nurses in to help you get showered and dressed; you'll feel better after that. The nurse will tell you what you need to know, make sure you know what you're doing and then you can go home."
"So soon?"
Dr Connelly smiled. "We don't like to keep you in for long. It's better for mommy and baby if they're in they're in mommy's familiar surroundings. Besides, you'll feel more comfortable at home. If you need help then all you have to do is come back here or call in a clinic."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. I'll make sure a nurse comes in to you. Good luck!"
"Bye." Cordelia smiled as she left. "I guess."
Wes, Gunn and Fred came back while she was showering in the small shower room down the hall. They'd brought balloons and soft toys, expecting her to be staying in a while. Angel was sat in the shade with the baby when she came back in her room and everyone else was sat on her bed.
"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You guys!"
She went and sat next to Wes and put her arm around his shoulders. "You guys are so great. Angel told you I'm coming home this afternoon? I'm wearing actual clothes!"
Wes smiled. "Yes he told us. It's very good news."
"I know." She agreed and dropped her head onto his shoulder. "I called her Megan."
"We heard that too." Gunn told her. "We've been here a good half hour girl; we were starting to think you'd drowned it there!"
"Charles!" Fred scolded. "You weren't long at all. He just gets bored easily."
"We can go home as soon as the nurse tells me how not to kill her when I get her home." Cordelia promised him. "You could go now if you want. Maybe get some takeaway, I'm starving! Hospital food sucks."
"We could do that." Fred told her and stood up quickly. "We could get tacos!"
Cordelia laughed and lifted her head. "Tacos sound great."
Fred and Gunn left to go and get food and Cordelia shuffled further onto the bed and crossed her legs. "Are you okay with her?" She asked Angel.
He nodded and smiled. "I fed her while you were showering and she fell straight asleep."
She smiled. "She looks peaceful."
Wes looked at Angel oddly. "She does look peaceful. You know what? I think I'll go with Fred and Gunn. If we leave them on their own God knows how many they'll bring back with them."
He stood up and kissed Cordelia's cheek. "I'll see you when you get home."
He nodded to Angel and practically ran out of the door.
"What's with him?" Cordelia asked.
Angel just shrugged, he had no idea.
Cordelia and Megan were released from the hospital just after the sun had set, which was lucky for Angel. A woman had been rushed in for an emergency c-section so the nurses had been tied up until late afternoon.
Angel had gone to the cafeteria to get her some coffee and a sandwich but she was looking for the tacos when she got home, that was if they hadn't eaten them already. Angel hailed a taxi outside the hospital and helped Cordelia inside with Megan in her carrycot that Wes had brought her that morning.
"I wonder if she wonders what's going on." Cordelia mused as they neared the hotel.
He shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, she's been pushed out of her nice warm home and been forced to come out into the cold. She must wonder what's happening."
Cordelia smiled. "I'm glad you can make the birth process simpler. I'm not sure I can."
"Just think of it as this; first you got really fat and then the fat turned into a baby." He joked.
She swatted his arm and held her hand on his leather coat for a moment. "We need to talk when we get home."
"I know." He agreed. "Let's wait while she's settled though first."
She nodded and looked out of the window as they pulled up outside the Hyperion. "Let's go get her settled then."
Angel paid the driver and took the carry cot. She leaned on his arm as they walked up the path. Her stomach growled. "They better had saved me a taco!"
He laughed. "If not I'll go out and get one for you."
She pushed open the door with her foot. "You don't have to do that."
"I want to." He replied as he followed her inside.
Everyone looked up as they came in. It wasn't that they had been doing work, they had been pretending so they wouldn't think they were slacking. They had been too excited to do any work.
Gunn came across first and took the carry cot from Angel, setting it on the floor next to his chair.
Cordelia collapsed onto the couch, crossing her legs and wrapping her arm across her knee. "Did you save any tacos?"
"I managed to save one for you from these two gannets." Wes assured her with a smile. "I can warm it up for you if you want."
She nodded gratefully. "That would be great, hospital food isn't the best."
Wes got up and put a small plate in the microwave. "Has Megan been fed recently?"
"No." Cordelia replied. "She's slept a lot this afternoon so she hasn't had a good feed. I should probably make up a bottle for her actually."
She made to stand up. "I can do that." Angel offered, already making his way to where he'd stored the formula, bottles and steriliser weeks ago.
"No, you don't have to." She argued.
"I want to." He insisted. "Just sit down and relax, while you can."
"You decided to bottle feed then?" Fred asked, watching fondly as Gunn cooed at the now awake baby.
"Yeah, the nurse said it would be less stressful on me and this way all of you guys can help too!" She grinned cheekily.
The microwave pinged and Wes went to get her food. "A lot of new moms decide to bottle feed merely for convenience. Breast feeding can take a lot of getting used to and can cause a lot of pain at first."
He handed Cordelia her taco and she looked at him in amazement. "Ever had to breastfeed Wes?"
He blushed. "Of course not, I like to read."
She just raised an eyebrow as she bit into her taco. "Oh, hot!"
Fred looked over and laughed. "I did that too."
Gunn picked the baby up. "She looks like you Barbie."
"Better than looking like her father." Cordelia replied sourly.
Gunn snickered. "There's definitely a look of stubbornness to her."
"Hey!" Cordelia protested. "I am not stubborn!"
"Yeah right." Angel commented sarcastically as he came through after making the bottle. "And pigs might fly!"
Cordelia fed Megan and changed her and then went upstairs with her to have a nap. She was still tired and weak after giving birth.
They managed to get a couple of hours sleep in before Megan woke up and in turn woke up her mom.
Cordelia carried her downstairs pressed against her chest.
"Did you manage to get to sleep?" Angel asked when she sat down at her desk.
"Yeah, I got a couple of hours." She told him, swapping her hold on the baby so she was laid in the crook of her left arm.
"Your mom called." Fred told her.
"Oh my God! I totally forgot to call her!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Did you tell her? Who picked up?"
"I did." Wes told her. "And no, I just told her that you would call her back."
"Thanks." Cordelia told him gratefully. "I'd better call now before I forget again."
She quickly looked up the number in her address book and dialled. A maid answered and she put her call straight through to her mother's bedroom. "Hi mom, I didn't wake you did I? I'd already dialled before I looked at my watch."
"No, you didn't. How are you darling? You didn't answer my calls, I was so worried!" Mrs Chase exclaimed.
"I had a baby girl yesterday mom." Cordelia smiled as her mom screamed down the phone and called for her dad to pick up the extension.
"Congratulations darling!" He enthused. "What have you called her?"
"Megan Katherine. She's absolutely gorgeous!"
"How much did she weigh?" Mrs Chase asked excitedly.
"Eight pounds four." Cordelia informed her. "She has loads of black hair and bright blue eyes."
"You must bring her here!" Mrs Chase insisted. "As soon as possible!"
"Give the girl a chance woman!" Mr Chase scolded. "Send us pictures and come see us when you can."
"I will, I promise."
"Did the labour go okay?" Mrs Chase asked.
"It hurt a lot even though I had an epidural but it went quite quickly, or so they told me." She told them dryly and Kathy began to cry.
"Oh, she's crying!" Mrs Chase exclaimed.
"I hear that mom." Cordelia tried to juggle the phone and the baby and then decided it was impossible. "I'll have to call you back, I love you both."
They both said bye and Cordelia hung up so she could focus on Megan. "Do you think she's tired or hungry or both? I only just changed her so it can't be that."
"She might be tired." Fred suggested. "It is getting late."
Cordelia nodded. "I should take her upstairs. Goodnight everyone."
She took Megan upstairs and rocked her until she was asleep. She placed her on her back in the Moses basket and took the blanket out. She switched on the baby monitor and took the speaker into her room, placing it on the nightstand.
She changed for bed quickly and got under the covers. Her eyes were closed before her head hit the pillow and she was fast asleep within seconds.
