Queen D
NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.
A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.
CHAPTER 2Six-year-old Connor Angel ran down the stairs of the hotel in trumpeting speed. Danielle was right on his heels and grabbed onto the brown haired boy's back. Connor grunted and removed himself from the girl's tight grip then turned around and tackled her to the floor. Danielle released a moan before altering into her porcupine face and flipped Connor from on top of her with the help of her legs.
"Whoa!" Connor exclaimed as he crashed into one of the couches.
"You OK?" Danielle asked him, sitting up.
"Yeah, I'm OK," Connor replied then smiled. "Do that again!"
"Hey, hey, this is a no little munchkin play zone," Lorne playfully scolded with a smile, coming out of the office.
The two children let off a laugh then both turned their attention to a knock that came at the double glass doors. Gunn stood on the other side and let off a light wave.
"Angel, he's here," Lorne called up the stairs.
"Be right down," Angel called back. He came down to see Connor open the door for Gunn.
"Hey, G-man," Connor greeted.
"Hey, little C," said Gunn as he and Connor dabbed fists. "Hey, Porcupine Face."
Danielle realized it then morphed back to her human visage.
"Gunn, hey," said Angel. He turned to his son. "Are you ready?"
"Yep," Connor replied then went to the side of the round couch and picked up his book bag. "Got everything I need."
"Do you have your toothbrush?" Angel asked him.
Connor nodded and Angel immediately gave him a suspicious look. "For real this time," Connor assured him. "Hey, Uncle Gunn, did you get everything?"
"Fred ordered the pizza, we got the jumbo marshmallows, the pretzel sticks, and those fancy crackers with the peanut butter already in the middle," Gunn named off the food.
"What about the movies?" Connor nudged.
"We rented the Lion King, Monsters Inc, and one title I can't mention in front of your daddy." Angel raised an eyebrow at the black man. "I swear, we'll make him shut his eyes at the "grown up" part."
"Thanks," said Angel, not showing too much relief. "And, Gunn, please don't let him overindulge on candy. He'll be up all night."
"That's good then," said Gunn, flashing a smirk at Connor. "Cause we ain't going to sleep tonight."
Angel rolled his eyes upward. "Oh, yeah, he's in good hands. Now, Connor, you know the rules, right?"
"Take a bath, brush my teeth, and eat at least one veggie," said Connor.
"And?" Angel prodded.
"And no touching the swords no matter how shiny they look," Connor finished with a pout.
"Good boy," Angel smiled at him then picked him up with one arm, hugging him. "Love you, Champ."
"Love you, too. Can I go now?" the little boy asked.
"Yes," Angel sighed, finally handing him over to Gunn. "Be good."
"We will," Connor and Gunn called as they exited the hotel.
"You know they won't be," said Lorne.
"I know," Angel agreed. He glanced down at Danielle. "So, what are you up for?"
Danny shrugged then got an idea. "Come on." She picked up her jacket and headed for the double doors. "Let's go walk."
Angel released a groan. "Wouldn't you rather have some ice cream?"
"Yeah, let's go get ice cream," Danielle beamed, leaving out the door.
"Tricky little something isn't she?" Lorne smiled.
Angel let off an unneeded breath before following the child out.
Meanwhile, in Sunnydale Buffy, Willow, Anya, Dawn, and Giles sat around Buffy's dining room table, all thinking over what Willow had told them. Something or someone was coming to LA, which meant trouble for Angel. Trouble for Angel automatically meant trouble for Buffy, regardless of whatever it was.
"We can't just sit here," said Buffy. "Trouble is headed Angel's way, more than usual."
"Well, what can we do?" Dawn asked. "Wait. Are we road tripping to LA?"
"Sounds like our best bet," Buffy said.
"I hate to be the big buzz kill here, but we do sort of have things of our own going on here," Anya reminded them. "We can't just stop everything to save an extra stubbly creature of the night."
"Angel's not just a vampire," Buffy insisted.
"We understand, Buffy, but Anya makes a very good point," Giles had to agree. "It would be very difficult for all of us to just head over to Los Angeles."
"I'll go alone," said Buffy.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Willow asked. "I mean, you know what happens when Angel's around. Sparks of all kinds fly. Big, heaping, passionate sparks of… passion."
"You're right," Buffy sighed. "Hate it when you're right about this stuff. Well, someone has to go to back Angel up."
"Well, that's easy," said Anya. "Send someone who's, well, useless."
"Who do we have like that?" Buffy wondered.
At that moment Xander entered the dining room. "Hey, guys and girls. Sorry I'm late. Accidentally nailed myself to a wall. Very amusing story, a must tell." Everyone exchanged a look, knowing the answer to Buffy's question had just walked in. Xander just looked at them in confusion, wondering what was up. "What?"
Angel walked some distance behind Danielle, yet was careful to keep up with the girl. They had just left the ice cream parlor and the kid could polish off a chocolate sundae faster than her mother. Angel couldn't help, but smile at the free spirited child that skipped and moved swiftly before him. She was just so much like Doyle, especially in the eyes. Having her around caused the vampire to think of his late friend constantly, which felt more like a good thing than a bad one most of the time. Angel watched as Danielle stopped to take a seat on a nearby bench. He smiled lightly and sat down next to her.
"Don't tell me you're tired already, Danny," said the tall vamp.
"No way," Danielle replied immediately then rested against his large arm. "OK, maybe a little. Uncle Angel, will you tell me another story? Please?"
"Let me guess. Doyle, right?" Danielle nodded her reply and Angel thought for a minute. Doyle had only been with his team for a short while, but there were still good moments. "Did I ever tell you about his thing for those donuts with the chocolate glaze?"
A/N: Not as long as it should have been, I know. I'll make it up to you… one day. Please review!