Disclaimer: Since my name is not Joss Whedon, I don't own 'Angel' or any of the characters associated with the show. The challenge (details below) belongs to me and so does Courtney.

The Baby Boom Challenge.

Inspired by the movie of the same name. Lilah Morgan's life is going great until her cousin dies, leaving Lilah with an unwanted inheritance - her baby daughter. Now, Lilah must juggle her very demanding career at Wolfram and Hart with taking care of a mischievous baby.

Requirements.
- The story should take place during Season Three or Four of 'Angel'.
- The baby should be a girl, aged between ten and fifteen months, ie. old enough to crawl and make trouble, but small enough to have to be carried around and wear diapers.
- Lilah must bring the baby to work, preferably to a very important meeting.
- Lilah changes the baby's diaper - without actually knowing how.
- Lilah does NOT abandon the baby on the doorstep to the Hyperion, or sacrifice her to the Senior Partners. She's stuck with the baby. Whether she becomes Mother of the Year, or turns the kid into a mini-her or something between the two extremes is up to you.

Bonus.

- The baby calling Lilah 'mama' at some stage, and Lilah's reaction.
- The baby biting Gavin.
- Lilah hiring a nanny, preferably going through a string of them, either because she's not happy, or the baby is too much of a handful.
- The baby winning over a powerful, important demon client by being adorable.
- Lilah getting into a 'soccer mom' conversation with the mothers of other babies.

Note: Lilah may be involved with Wesley, or another person, during the story, but she should be the baby's principal carer.

Author's Note I: Sorry about the update delay. Next chapter will probably be from Courtney's point of view.

Author's Note II: To MysticWolf1 – I'm from Ireland. It's paediatrician over here. I keep forgetting to adjust the spelling for US readers.

Author's Note III: To Darklight – Thanks for your suggestion. I'll definitely be using it. Harmony's so fun to write, especially with small children.


Chapter 4.

The next morning.

"Is this it?"

The first, last and only applicant for the newly vacated position of her assistant nodded happily.

"Uh-huh."

Lilah exhaled in frustration. "I would have thought that you people would be eager to get out of the steno pool."

"Oh they are." Her would-be assistant assured her. "Who would want to stay in that hellhole? But when they heard who wanted an assistant . . ." She trailed off, realising what she had just said. "Sorry." She apologised sheepishly.

"And you weren't scared off?"

The young woman was either too brave or too dense to be intimidated by Lilah's iciest, most threatening tones.

"Marvellous." Lilah scowled. "I guess this means that you're hired. /At least, / She amended silently. /Until I can find someone half way decent to replace you. /

"Great!" The blonde woman beamed. "You won't regret this."

"I already do." Lilah managed to say between gritted teeth. "You start immediately."

"Fab." Harmony grinned happily. "This is going to be a blast."


"But it's only for one afternoon!"

Mrs Ethel Murray, Head of the Wolfram and Hart Daycare Centre, shook her head firmly, not moved in the least by Lilah's alternate threats and entreaties.

"I'm sorry, Ms Morgan." Her voice held a note of patience born of more than two decades worth of experience in dealing with toddler's tantrum's and childish squabbles. "But as I . . . Delia!" She frowned at a tiny, dark haired girl, no more than two years old, who was orbiting around the furniture and the other children, spinning in circles and singing to herself. "If you keep that up, you're going to fall and hurt yourself."

"Fall, fall, fall." Delia chanted in a sing-song voice, spinning faster and faster and, by some miracle, keeping her balance. "Always falling."

Mrs Murray shook her head in resignation. "As I was saying Ms Morgan, we have our hands full here. I'm afraid that I simply cannot enrol Courtney in the daycare centre for any length of time. All of our places have been filled. On a first come, first served basis." She added, cutting off Lilah's argument before she could give it voice. "Therefore, I simply cannot . . ."

"If you watch her during this meeting, I will give you a thousand dollars." Lilah blurted.

Mrs Murray's eye's gleamed. "Done."


Half an hour later.

Lilah had learned to respect her former colleague, Lindsey McDonald, on an all new level.

It wasn't until one found oneself without the use of one's hand – such as when the aforementioned hand was holding a baby – that one really realised what one was missing.

During the days that had followed Lindsey's amputation, Lilah had taken a malicious pleasure in her colleague/rival's struggles as he grew accustomed to his prosthetic hand, enjoying his fumbling attempts at organising such simple things as files and contracts one handed.

While she hadn't lost a hand, she had gained an even bigger problem than Lindsey had ever had to deal with and, unlike him, her woes could not be rectified with a simple trip to a witch doctor and an evil hand transplant.

There were times that Lilah doubted little Courtney's parentage.

Surely someone as sweet and boringly good as Lynn Morgan could never have produced such a little bundle of pure evil.

"Alright," Linwood Murrow's calm, slightly smarmy voice cut across her musing. "Has everybody got their copy of the contract?"

Delighting in the use of both hands, Lilah liberated her copy from her briefcase.

"Mr Parke?" Linwood fixed Gavin, whose contract was looking more than a little the worse for wear, with a steely gaze. "What has happened to your copy?"

Throwing a poisonous glare in Lilah's direction, Gavin fumbled for a reply. "It was, uh, eaten, sir."

"By your dog?" Linwood gave the younger man a look of disgust.

Lilah was hard pressed to suppress the smirk she felt tugging at the corners of her lips.

Evil or not, the kid had her uses.


Two hours later.

"Who's a cute little baby? Who's the most adorable baby in the whole world? You are. Yes you are."

Courtney chuckled obligingly, reaching for this new stranger's light hair.

"What's going on here?" Lilah took a double take, staring at her new assistant with the something vaguely resembling respect. "You like babies?"

"Uh huh." Harmony beamed. "I used to babysit for my little cousins all the time. I love kids. I could just eat them up. I won't though." She added hastily. "The daycare centre dropped her back about an hour ago. Said she doesn't play well with others."

"Hammy." Courtney graciously allowed the vampire to pick her up. "No yucky Hammy."

"See?" Despite the fact that the baby had given her a name more suited to a piglet than a would be fierce vampire, Harmony beamed with pride. "She likes me."

"So much for her having good taste." Lilah muttered under her breath. She plastered her most 'sincere' smile on her face. "Since you two are getting on so well, maybe you'd like to watch her while I catch up on some paper work."

"Sure thing, bossy." With Courtney cradled in her arms, Harmony held up the baby's pudgy hand to make her wave goodbye. "Say bye bye to Auntie Lilah."

Lilah could scarcely believe what she was hearing.

/First 'Auntie Lilah', now 'bossy? / She thought incredulously. /What did I do to deserve this? /


Three and a half hours later.

"Burning the midnight oil?"

Lilah and Courtney looked up in unison, glaring at the unwelcome stranger.

Harmony had departed for home more than an hour ago and Lilah was once again attempting to concentrate on paperwork with a wriggling infant in her lap.

"Linwood wants the revised forms now." Gavin announced, still sore from his supervisor's sarcastic comments about his organisational skills, or lack thereof.

Although the man probably knew exactly what fate had befallen the contract, he had enjoyed telling the other man off, knowing how humiliating it was for a man with Gavin's pride.

"Here." Lilah passed Courtney into his arms. "Make yourself useful. I'll be done in a minute."

Holding the child awkwardly, Gavin started to pace up and down, giving the child a fake smile every now and again.

Courtney glared up at the Asian lawyer, a scowl on her pretty face.

Her Auntie Lilah didn't like this man, so she wasn't going to like him either.

"OWWW! Motherf . . ." Gavin scowled at his colleague. "She bit me!"

"Courtney!" Lilah's face was the picture of outrage as she took the baby girl back to her desk. "Bad baby. Very bad baby." She smiled sweetly at Gavin. "Sorry about that." She handed him the form she had amended and watched him stalk out of the room before giving Courtney one of her rare genuine smiles. "Good baby. Good baby. Very very good baby."

Courtney chortled happily.

She always aimed to please and, if it involved biting someone, so much the better.

TBC.