"It's simple, really." Anya said when Cordelia, Angel, Wesley and Doyle presented their plan to her. "And there's no need for wish making or meddling with other dimensions. I know exactly how to do this."

Doyle and Cordelia exchanged another look that left Angel wondering if they'd developed psychic abilities. Doyle finally spoke. "Exactly how to do what?"

"Get Connor here. See, there are a million different dimensions. And in each one, you make different choices. Lives are lost, lives are gained. And every time you make a major decision, a new dimension branches off with the consequences of the opposite of the decision you made. For example, Cordy, when Doyle asked you to marry him, a dimension branched off where you said no. Just like there's a dimension where you didn't make the wish that got you into this mess in the first place."

Cordelia took the subtle insult with less grace than her husband had hoped she would. "The wish that got us into this mess, Anya, also happens to be the wish that got Buffy and Angel together, made Doyle not die, saved Alanna's life and did more good things than I can name. So you'll have to excuse me if I think that this problem is way worth my wish." She snapped, pulling Doyle to her back, guiding his arms around her waist. Her nerves were raw from the prospect of losing him again, and everyone else realized that. "Now, please tell us what genius plan you've concocted."

"Easy. We find a dimension where Connor is about to die, and bring him here. That way we don't mess anything up, and he gets to continue living."

"How long would it take to do that?" Giles asked, looking up from the book he'd been reading.

"A couple days maybe. I could call in a couple favors." Anya offered, trying to make up for setting Cordelia off.

"I hate to be the logical one for a change," Xander said, speaking for the first time, "But do we know what bringing someone from another time would do to here?"

Anya sighed. "That's a toughy. Especially if Connor is in a world where things are completely different. What was it like for you Cordy, when Connor was there?"

"Well, different. That's for sure. There was no Doyle, I was half in love with Angel, Buffy was dead, at least for a while, Wes and Angel were barely on speaking terms, we owned Wolfram and Hart, I went evil, slept with Connor, had his baby, a demon, by the way, got promoted to a Power, that was before the evil thing, umm, Angel spent a few weeks locked in a box under the ocean, Willow was evil, Anya died, there was this big Apocalypse thing going on. Life sucked."

Angel exhaled. "This is going to be harder than I thought. Even if we can find a Connor about to die, won't he know that he's someplace else? And if what I'm thinking is right, he isn't going to be on our side."

"Probably not." Cordelia affirmed. "It took quite a while for us to learn to trust one another. And even right before I left, things were still iffy. Angel, what if we let you go crazy in the past? Let you sleep with Darla and have Connor as a baby?"

Doyle spoke then. "Darlin', you're forgetting that a lot of things would have to happen from then on out. Wes would have to kidnap Connor and Holtz would have to take him to Pylea."

"No, that's it!" Cordelia announced happily. "Doyle, I love you." She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and kissing him solidly on the mouth.

"I know you do. I love you too, but what did I do?"

"That's the answer. We find the dimension I came from, and meddle a little bit. Anya, is it possible to split a person in half?"

"What do you mean?"

"When Connor's coming back through the door from Pylea, we make two of him, send one where he's meant to go, bring one here."

Anya nodded. "I've done stranger things. That wouldn't interfere with any dimensions and it would be easier to convince Connor that Angel isn't evil when he's human."

"Okay, so what do we have to do?"

"Make a wish."

"I thought you said we didn't need to make a wish?"

"That was when I thought we'd just pull him out right before he'd die. Now make the wish."

Cordelia knew she'd have to phrase it carefully. She gave it a moment's thought before speaking. "I wish there were two Connor's in the dimension I came from and that when he traveled back from Pylea, one would come here while the other went to where it's meant to go. And I also wish that they don't know they were divided and that what happens to one will in no way affect the other."

Anya switched into her demoness visage. "Granted."

Doyle patted Cordelia's thigh. "Well done, Princess. I don't think you left any loopholes open."

"I tried not to. Now we just have to wait for him to get here."

They didn't have to wait long. With little ceremony and even less noise, Connor fell onto the floor of the office. He groaned from the fall, much less impressive than the first time, Cordelia remembered, and looked up. When he saw Angel, he heaved himself to his feet, placing the sword he'd brought at Angel's throat. Buffy automatically took it away with a quick twist of her wrist.

"Connor," Cordelia said in her most soothing voice, the one normally reserved for her husband after a vision, or one of her friends when they were badly hurt. "It's okay. Things are a little different than what Holtz told you. Angel is human. He has a soul, he isn't an evil vampire."

"Who are you?"

"Cordelia Chase-Doyle. Look Connor, things have changed. When Holtz sent you through the portal into another dimension, he didn't mean for you to come here."

Connor looked around. "That seems obvious. In the dimension I was intended to go to, my father is a vampire."

"And in some dimensions he is a vampire. In some dimensions some of the people you're looking at are dead. In some dimensions, you're dead. And that's why we brought you here instead of letting you go to that other dimension."

"Because I'm going to die?" Connor asked, and Cordelia was struck with how different Connor seemed to be. She could only conclude that things had gone different in his life after being kidnapped as well.

"No. Because if we didn't bring you here, a clan of demons called the Dekai are going to find a way to change the past. A past that I already changed."

"Okay. So what does that have to do with me? I killed the Dekai in Pylea."

"Not all of them. Some of them managed to escape here about a year ago. Dekai like to meddle with time, they remembered how things were before I changed the past, want it to go back to that way. The only person they fear, is you. That's why we brought you here. We need you to stop them again."

"What? You can't handle it yourselves?"

"We could." Angel lamented, "but we don't have time to make them fear us as greatly as they already fear you. You ran them out of their dimension. We don't have time to waste. Lives are at stake Connor."

Connor looked at Cordelia. "So what did you change?"

Cordelia smiled at Doyle. "I saved someone very important to me. See, Connor, I fell in love. With a man who was dead. And on the anniversary of his death, your father and I went out and got drunk. And I made a wish to be able to get to tell him all the things that I never got to say before he died. A vengeance demon granted my wish and I was able to interfere, to save his life. Today, I married him. And if you don't help us get rid of these Dekai, I'm going to lose him again."

"So I should help you just because you already screwed up the present by messing with the past?"

"No, you should help us because we need your help. Because changing the past wasn't just about me. It was about the present I lived in. It was terrible. Angel was still a vampire, he was barely talking to Wesley, you thought that he was evil and wanted to kill him, demons were running all over the place, and I was going to die. Nothing was good; nothing was as it should have been. This present, with the exception of the current problem, is so much better, I can't even express it." Cordelia said, and Connor looked at her suspiciously, trying to determine whether or not she was lying. He could see nothing by honestly and raw fear, terror, in her eyes. She did love the man. And she was telling him the truth.

"Okay. I'll help. What do I do?"

"We find the Dekai, and, with your help, scare them into either giving up or going back where they came from."

"Sounds like a plan." Connor said. "Now, we have a few things to take care of. I need some clothes I can wear out in public, a few good weapons, I need to know where the Dekai are, and," he looked at Cordelia, "you're staying here. I don't need a miscarriage to worry about too."

Cordelia looked at Connor, stunned. "What are you talking about? I'm not pregnant."

"That's what you think. If I inherited one thing from my father, it was vampiric hearing. I can hear the extra heartbeat. You're pregnant all right."

Cordelia sagged against her husband, one hand automatically lying protectively over her stomach. Doyle looked at Spike for a second opinion. Spike shrugged. "Congratulations on the babe. She's definitely pregnant."

Cordelia wasn't sure how to react. She turned around to face Doyle. "It would seem we're pregnant." She said, and Doyle's face broke into a grin.

"It would seem so." Doyle agreed, and Cordelia squealed, throwing her arms around Doyle, happy tears streaming down her face. Doyle caught her around the waist, held her tightly to him. She wriggled out of his arms, braced her hands on his shoulders as she practically jumped up and down.

"I'm having a baby! We're having a baby! Doyle, we're gonna be parents!"

Doyle laughed, and kissed her solidly. "I think I got that the first time, darlin'."

"I know, I'm just so happy! You're happy too, aren't you?"

Doyle caught her face between his hands. "I love you, Princess, and I love that baby. I don't think it's possible to be any happier." He said, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "And just you wait until we get out of here and I'll show you just how happy I am."

Spike interrupted the moment. "That's all well and good, and I'm sure we're all ecstatically happy for you, but we've got more important things to worry about."

Cordelia leveled a glare at Spike that was so full of rage even he thought about cowering. "Nothing is more important than my child." She stated firmly, daring him to cross her. She poked him in the chest. "And so long as you remember that we won't have a problem. And thank you very much, after my wedding was ruined by a gang of demons, I'm facing losing my husband in the second dimension, and I had to bring a man I don't have a very good past with here to attempt to save the life I have come to know and love, I think that I am entitled to a few minutes of happiness over the news that I am pregnant with my first child. Don't you agree?"

Even Connor was trying not to laugh as Cordelia bullied the bleach blonde vampire. Spike was almost a foot taller than her, out weighed her by at least one hundred pounds, and had, at one time, tortured her. But when it came to protecting her newly formed family of herself, Doyle and their unborn child, or the older one containing all the friends that were gathered, she seemed to be ruthless.

"Fine." Spike relented. "Celebrate. But don't blame me when you aren't prepared."

Buffy didn't seem to have a problem celebrating. She rushed over, wrapped Cordelia in a tight hug, and the two women squealed in happiness together. After that on small display, everyone else joined in with the congratulating and celebrating. And for one small block of time, when a newly married couple was celebrating their first pregnancy with all their friends, all was right in the world, and nothing mattered except simply being happy. And being together.

Next chapter up soon. This story is drawing to a close, prolly 2 or 3 more chapters, but I've already got another story planned out. I just want to finish this one first. Feedback is appreciated.