She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, even with her hair thrown over her face, her mouth wide open and her butt sticking up in the air. Angel sat in the dark corner, just watching her, making sure she was still there. And she was. And that was what he wanted: her with him; always. He wasn't really sure what happened last night. He only knew that if he had left, she probably would have too, but she wouldn't have gone back to the hotel with him. Nope, she would probably be on a bus halfway to San Francisco, or wherever else she was planning on going. And that kiss. That kiss had sent a thousand lightning bolts through him, something that only happened once his lifetime and that had been a while ago. He really didn't know what to think of it and when she woke up she probably didn't want to discuss it. Running his hands over his oily hair and down his worn out face, the phone rang. And it was loud, causing Cordelia to stir just a bit before Angel picked it up and whisper a faint hello into it.

"Lorne? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to make sure that you were still there."

"I am. I'm not really sure if I'll be back today or not." Angel responded, scrubbing his head with edgy fingers.

"That's okay. We'll hold down the fort, you just stay with Cordelia." Lorne paused for a breath of air, or hesitated to say something else, Angel couldn't tell. "And Angel?"

"Yea."

"Listen to her. That's what she needs right now."

Angel hung up the phone and pushed the strands of hair back from Cordelia's face so he could see her eyes peaking out of the lids. He didn't say anything, just smiled. Listen. What else was he going to listen to? He had heard the grandmother stories, the Groo stories, her sniffles after crying for hours, her hard breathing during the night and even the two heartbeats beating as one. Listen. Maybe it was his turn to talk to her about what he actually listened to. Cordelia felt like her life was falling apart, and if he told her one more little tidbit like this, it just might.

She could see him staring at her. It was unnerving and weird, but comforting at the same time. She didn't know how long he had been up, probably since before dawn, but she was getting the feeling he had been in that chair beside her bed for a while. She didn't want to get up today. If she had had her way, she would be halfway to Timbuktu or Bali or maybe Aspen. She knew the boys and a certain ski instructor whose name was Sven would be happy to house her until she was ready to come back, if she was ready to come back. Groo leaving, a grandmother resurfacing and Angel sticking his butt into her business again, it just seemed like to much, and it was. She was only 23; she wasn't ready for this or for anything really. Something was wrong with her and she didn't know how to handle it or what to do about it. But then there was Angel, who always seemed to have the answers; who would swoop down and save her from the nasty demons that were catching up with her. Fully opening her eyes and stretching her arms over her head, she pulled down the covers and sat up in bed. The blinds were closed and Angel was nearly dozed off, his head dropping every few seconds.

"Dennis..." She whispered into vacant air above her bed. A tissue made it so Cordelia knew he was there, floating in front of her face. "Can you get my robe?" She asked again, the silky white coat floating over to her from her half packed suitcase in the corner.

"Thank you." She whispered again, grabbing the silk and wrapping it around her bare shoulders. Step by step she made it to the bathroom, hoping that a shower would do her good. Waterfalls down her back, warm to the nerves and her mind. The steam rising cleared her sinuses and her thoughts. Well, most of them anyhow. Maybe it was the steam that was playing with her or the scent of the new shower gel she had gotten, but of all the things that happened within the last month just seemed to be the worst. Or at least that was what her stomach was telling her. Quickly turning off the shower, she fumbled out of the bathtub and was head first into the toilet. She never got sick, never. The last time she was actually 'sick' was tenth grade when someone who was to remain nameless gave her the infamous kissing disease. She was in the hospital for three days and out of school for three more. Ever since then she had been the first candidate for the Marines and now...now she was sick? She didn't know; all she knew was that she wanted to go back to bed and that was not normal. Definitely not normal.

Doctors. What kind of doctor? He didn't know where to start, much less end. Angel squinted his eyes against the bright yellow pages and sat down at the kitchen table. She had been in the bathroom for over an hour and as soon as she got out and saw what he was doing, he knew that there would be another discussion about him saving her. As much talking as they did last night, he still didn't understand this concept of saving her. Flipping through the numerous pages, he finally found one that proved interesting at the best. Specializing in abnormal cases. Abnormal? Well, this was as abnormal as it was going to get. Dennis glided over a cup of blood and Angel gladly took it.

"Thank you Dennis." He told the ghost and took the cup from mid-air, taking a gulp of it. What was he doing? He was acting like a husband worried about his wife who didn't even know she was pregnant. Husband. That was a weird thing to think but then again, he kind of liked the idea of that as well. The door slammed down the hallway, alerting Angel to the arrival of the one and only Princess Cordelia. Was this it? His opportune moment to tell her that she was pregnant but that if she took an at home test it would come back negative. He didn't know, but maybe Dennis did. Or maybe Fred, Gunn, Wesley, or Lorne knew. Hopefully one of them did, because he had no clue how to handle this. He had had a child once, but now he was gone, wiped away into a dark hell dimension by time traveler with a thirst for vengeance. Of course, he didn't want to dwell on that. Maybe this was his second chance at having a child. Of course it wasn't his biological child, but maybe just maybe Cordelia would...no, nevermind. Thinking to hard again, Angel. He knocked his head with his fist, checking for any loose bolts knocked loose by the thought of Cordelia's lips on his. Her bare arms slipped around his shoulders and her attention shot to the yellow pages exposed.

"What's going on Angel?" A confused look came upon her brow as the chair slipped out from under the table courtesy of the friendly phantom that both of them were grateful for.

"Uh..." What was he supposed to say? Oh yea, Cordy, I'm in love with you and last night while you were sleeping I heard two heartbeats. Yea, that would go over well. Then she would ask how he knew. Hello: vampire hearing, a great asset that if he turned human tomorrow, he would miss dearly. Especially when it came to Cordelia and overhearing her conversations with Fred. He ease drop every now and then to hear them giggling about girl stuff, fashion by Cordy's choice, boys and food by Fred's choice. It was funny, really, he remembered one conversation very well, like it was yesterday.

"Cordy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Fred." Cordy leaned forward and propped her elbows up on the desk. Closing the fashion magazine before her, she pulled her full attention to the shy girl she had taken under her wing.

"About this shanshu thing, what do you think he would do first?"

"Him, personally? I don't really know. I suppose he would go back to Buffy. But I can't speak for him, sweetie."

"What would you do, you know, if this shanshu thing happened tomorrow?" Fred asked, leaning forward in the chair, her every move depending on the seer in front of her. He could see Cordy out of the corner of his eye, her thinking about what she would do. Taking a deep breath, she smiled at her apprentice, searching for an answer deep in her heart and soul.

"I'd take him to the beach. I remember this one time, when Doyle was still around and Angel had gotten this ring which enabled a vampire to go out into the sunlight without you know, bursting into flames and becoming a crispy critter. He was so happy that day. Well, not perfectly happy, but happy. You know, two hundred years between sunsets is a long time. And seeing your boss and best friend in the sun, is kind of a good feeling. Too bad he had to smash it, we could've had normal business hours."

"Kyerumption."

"Fred, what did we say about that word?"

"Sorry, it's just well...sorry."

"Angel? Earth to Angel?" Cordelia waved her hand in front of his blank staring face. Shaking out of his recollection of the conversation, he clasped her hand and pulled it up to his lips. Kissing the lightly bronzed tone that was her skin, he didn't feel the need to let go. She probably had the urge to yank it back and knock him upside the head, but she didn't.

"Angel, what's going on?" Her voice faltered, concerned why exactly he was giving her the silent treatment. It wasn't like the silent treatment was odd or anything because he did give her or one of the other members of their family the silent treatment at least once a week. Deep breath aside, he hoped he had enough courage to tell her what had been running through his mind since last night. Faint smile headed her way was over, but then came the hard part: telling her.

"I need to tell you something..."