Disclaimer: I do not own Angel: the series or Buffy: the Vampire Slayer shows or characters. I do however own the characters of Cathy Lucy Angel and Nicholas (Nicky) Wood. No money is exchanging hands. Please don't sue me. I'm just a poor college student without a dime.

Summary: This story is the sequel to Fast Forward. (Sorry, I spelled Lindsey's name wrong. It's Lindsey with an 'e' not 'a'.) Connor has finally come back home after living in Quar'toth for ten years. Each chapter will focus on a separate character's point of view as Connor adjusts to being back home and living with his family.

Pairings: Angel/Cordy, Faith/Wood, Fred/Wesley, Gunn/OC, Spike/Buffy, later on Connor/Dawn, Anya/Xander, Willow/Kennedy.

The song that inspired this story is This Year by Christina Aguilera. (Click to get the lyrics)

If you want to skip around to other chapters first you can, but they might not be up yet. I just put in the links in advance. They are all separate stories with different points of view.

Rating: PG-13 to R for Language. Mostly the F word. I use some other bad language, but nothing you probably haven't heard anywhere else.

This Year

By: Sensue

Chapter Six: March

(Angel's POV) x-over with Tru Calling (Harrison Davies)

Lorne's words were like a dropping bomb on my un-beating heart. Just the mention of the man who cruelly schemed to kidnap my son; who sent him to live in hell for ten years.

That's all it took.

I can feel it: the demon inside struggling for freedom.

I feel my game face under the surface desperate to escape my wanning control.

Anger: It's pure,

pulsating,

bubbling,

and in this moment, overflowing.

Logic has left me now. The only thing left is the instinct to kill those threatening my family.

I caught my grandchilde's eyes. I know he is thinking the same. Spike and I are hunters; killers, in fact. We spent a hundred years together with Darla and Drucilla, ravaging and massacring together. I know him. I know the look in his eyes, just as he knows mine. He turns, about face, and heads directly to the weapons closet. Spike grabs a sword, and then throws me my favorite broadsword.

I turn heading towards the door. A hand pushes against my chest in attempt to stop me. I don't let it. My instincts recognize my wife; which is why I didn't push her away. I went around her instead, Spike following behind me.

Once I get out the door, my senses focus. I can trace my son's steps through scent. Stupidly, only now do I realize that McDonald's scent had touched the ones that I loved. The sounds of running footsteps behind us made us slow. Cordy caught up after a few seconds. I gave her a questioning glance.

"Connor and Harrison are very upset. They don't know. Both of them think that Lindsey is a 'Good Guy.' They tried to go after you; to stop both of you, but Faith, Gunn, and Wesley caught them." She told us, trying to catch her breath.

Spike asked her, "Why didn't you stay with them, then? You know, tell them about the bloody bastard."

Cordy's voice turned cold, practically chilling me, "You think that I'm going to sit at home, while that sick sadistic bastard just walks around town? He deserves pain, the same pain that he bestowed on us when he manipulated my parents into betraying us, and then sent Connor to Quar'toth." As she spoke, her eyes became pure white. It was only for an instant. No one even noticed it.

Silently, I agreed with her. "Don't worry; pain is the least of his worries right now. Death should be at the top of the list." I shoot a look at Spike, "of course, he'd already BE DEAD if someone hadn't bashed me over the head and stopped me the first time."

Spike just shrugged, ignoring the comments. He directed us towards the warehouse we had 'interogated' Lindsey in. I motioned for Cordy to stay behind me, although she carried a crossbow. Spike stood off to my side as we broke through the poorly constructed wooden door.

As we entered the building, it was erringly quiet. Yet my senses couldn't lie; there was someone here. I heard a harsh cough coming from the corner. Spike took the lead, quickly soaring over to a stack of milk crates. I come up behind him to see McDonald lying there, barely moving except when the coughing shook his chest.

Spike had lowered his weapon, feeling Lindsey was no threat. I look at Cordy, her face revealed nothing. My weapon was still raised, but my rage was fading. Funnily, I was expecting Cordy to talk me out of killing him, especially since he looked already so deathly ill. That's why I was surprised when Spike's hand closed over mine, making me gently lower the broadsword.

"The bloody bastard's sick. The only problem with killing him now is that he won't even know who's doing it and what's the fun in that," Spike remarked half-heartedly, although I had the feeling that he really didn't want to kill him. I nodded in silent agreement, suddenly tired. Cordy came to stand by my side, her arms still crossed over her chest. Spike had leaned over him, a hand ghosting the man's forehead. He looked up at Cordy, "Princess," he commented, "he's got a pretty high temperature. What should we do?"

Cordy uncrossed her arms, and started waving them in the air as she spoke, "What should we do? You're asking me, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? We should leave him here to die. That's what we should do! It's what the fucking asshole deserves for hurting my babies!" With that being said, she stormed out of the warehouse, swearing under her breath.

My mouth dropped open; I couldn't believe what just happened. Spike looked just as shocked. My usually over-caring and medically educated wife just said that she wanted someone dead. That was a first. If I didn't pity that asshole, I'd take it and run…doing exactly as she asked and killing him without a second thought.

Lindsey started coughing again, jarring me from my dark thoughts. "Spike, let's get him to the Hyperion. After he's awake and aware of us, we can torture him." I say this nonchalantly.

"Sounds good," Spike huffed as he lifted Lindsey's dead weight over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. We walked out of the warehouse and ran into Cordy, who was still fuming.

"Why didn't either of you think to DRIVE here? I don't feel like walking anymore," she complained, ignoring Lindsey's pained breaths and moans. She pulled out her cell phone that she carried and punched in a seven digit number. "Wesley, hey, it's Cordelia. I need someone to come and pick us up at the warehouse on Pine Street. No, he's still alive! I'll tell you later. Okay, ten minutes. See 'ya." She hung up the phone with slightly more force that necessary. "I called Wes. He's gonna pick us up." That was the last thing that she said before she re-crossed her arms over her chest to wait silently for our ride.

No one said a word until Wesley's car pulled up. Cordy climbed in the passenger seat, put on her seat belt, thanked Wesley, and never once looked back at the three of us stuffed in the back seat.

Wesley, on the other hand did look back at us frequently. It was with worried eyes. He drove faster than the speed limit to get us home. He pulled in the lot and helped us get Lindsey inside and up the stairs. I put him in the room furthest away from everyone…and the one that was almost falling apart. Looking at him now, I could no longer see that cocky smile, manipulating eyes and devilish tongue. All I could see now was a rumpled homeless man who obviously hadn't taken a shower in quite a long time.

Fred had come up along with Wesley and Gunn. Her brow furrowed in concern, "Did Cordy check on him? 'Cause I think he needs a doctor."

I answered her without turning my gaze away from the bastard, "Cordy doesn't want anything to do with him. So just leave her out of this. Is there anything that you could do to help instead?"

She looked surprised, and then straightened, her southern accent drawling out her speech on how chicken noodle soup was her grandmother's cure for all illness. Then she scampered off to heat some up.

"Listen, no one is to be in this room alone with him. Weapons on him at all times. He's not to leave this room. I want to know when he's coherent. And then I'm going to share my feelings with him about being around my son." I make sure that every member of the team can hear this because I wanted them to all be on guard. The bastard isn't getting away this time.

Spike agreed to take the first watch as Fred entered the room with a tray of soup, water and a wash cloth. I left the room knowing that Spike would keep us safe as we slept. Wesley and Gunn followed me downstairs. I stopped to ask about Harrison and Connor.

Wesley took a deep breath, cleaning his glasses, as Gunn pointed to him. "Angel, the boys are upset at…well, the man they believe to be a good friend, is now their greatest enemy, in a sense. And they don't believe that he's evil." Wesley stopped me from walking by taking hold of my arm, "Angel," he lowered his voice, "to be completely honest, I breathed a sigh of relief when Cordy told me that he was still alive. Connor and Harrison are adamant about him not being as we described. Connor even went so far as to threaten to run away if we hurt him. They really believe that Lindsey is their friend and won't believe anyone who tells them otherwise."

I absorbed what Wesley told me, and then asked where they were. He said that they were in the garden. I thanked Wes, then went outside to find them. I walked in on them sparing together. Connor froze when he saw me, while Harrison took on his previous smug expression. I took an unneeded breath before I gestured for them to have a seat.

I gather my thoughts as I stared at my hands. Once I know how to start, I looked up at my son and his friend. "I know that you don't understand, but what you've done is extremely dangerous. Not only did you sneak out of the house without telling anyone where you were going, but you were hunting vampires and demons. Now Connor, I know that you think that you're unstoppable, but you're not immortal. One hard blow that catches you off guard and you can get hurt and die just like everyone else. And Harrison, you don't have any kind of supernatural strength or weapons training to rely on. You could've been killed out there and no one would've known about it." I gave them a couple of minutes to absorb my words, then started again. "Now, the both of you want to know about Lindsey. The Lindsey McDonald that I know works for Wolfram and Hart. He was one of the junior partners, in charge of the 'special projects' department. He worked to make my life miserable. Connor, you know about your birth mother, Darla. Well, he was the one who brought her back, as a human. He's the one who tried to kill Cordy with non-stopping visions and the man who manipulated her parents into kidnapping you. Connor, are you listening? Lindsey McDonald was directly responsible for your life in Quar'toth."

Connor stood up rapidly, "NO! You're lying. You just don't want me to do anything. Now you're trying to tell me that my friend is the one who ruined my life. I don't believe you!" His voice squeaked on the last word.

"Connor Angel," a shout came from across the garden, "Don't yell at your father! He's not lying. If you don't believe him; believe me. Harrison, Connor, the man you think is your friend, really isn't a friend. He is everything that your father said that he was and worse. And I don't want you to go anywhere near him ever again. I want you to promise me that."

"Okay, mom." Connor agreed, his face now despondent. Harrison just nodded.

Cordy came closer and kissed each boy on the forehead. "Okay, thank you. Why don't you both get some sleep now? It's been a really long day."

They slowly walked back inside, seemingly defeated. So I was left alone with Cordy. She seemed calmer now as she spoke, "Angel, I just wanted to tell you that you did the right thing. No matter how I feel about him. But please don't ask me to take care of him because I don't want to ever see his face ever again."

Looking in her tearing eyes, it was all I could do not to cry myself. I just took her in my arms as she cried for the first time since Connor's return. I whispered that it would be okay. That she didn't have to do anything that she didn't want and that everyone was safe.

After she felt better, I walked her up the stairs to our bedroom. As we got dressed for bed, she made a comment about our son. "I hope that you're not too upset about Connor and Harrison's little adventures in crime fighting," Cordy began, "they're only acting like us…well, actually like you. You know, charging into danger without thinking. Connor might not act like it, but he wants to be like you—a champion. And if you think about it, I was younger than him when I started hunting vampires with the Scooby Gang in Sunnydale. So it's sort of a family tradition."

"What did you just say?" She startled me, so I turned quickly around to face her.

She put her hands up in the air, surrendering, "okay, okay, you think before you charge."

I shake my head, "no, after that."

"What? I was sixteen when I started going out with Buffy—That's two years younger than Connor and Harrison."

"No…before that."

"Ohh," She stood up, then came over to our bed and patted the spot next to her. "Angel, I know this is hard to believe but Connor looks up to you. You're his father and he wants to be like you."

"Like a champion…" I finish for her, letting the word hang in the air. Cordy's eyes got large as she got my point.

"The prophecy," she whispered as she looked deep into my eyes, "Connor's the champion in the prophecy. Oh my god, Angel. What do we do?"

I was at a loss to answer her, my brow becoming as my wife joked, a broody brow. Our son was a champion, I mean, I knew that eventually he would be, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. "I don't know Cordy. This is going to be a big responsibility for Connor to face by himself. I don't know if he's ready for it or not. What I do know is that he has us to support him through this. Support him and to love him."

"He'll be okay, Angel, like you said he has us and he does have a partner already. Connor and Harrison are getting really close. They trust each other and watch each other's backs. I just wonder what Faith thinks about her brother hunting vampires. I bet she never thought that it would come to this." As she spoke she crawled into her side of the bed and pulled up the covers. Her socked feet brushed against my bare ones. Cordy's the only woman I know that wears socks to bed, always complaining of her cold feet.



I crawled under the covers myself, "I don't know. I'll have to ask her tomorrow." She turned so she was resting against my bare chest and her head was on my shoulder. "Good night," I whispered to her as I kissed her. Cordy whispered it back as she snuggled against me and fell asleep.

As usual, by the time I woke up Cordy had already been awake for hours getting the children ready for school and on the bus. I forgot that Lindsey was in my home for a moment. It was only a moment, when I remembered I went to the room that he slept in to see if he was awake yet. Spike had been there all night, a sword in his hands ready to strike if the man attacked. Lindsey lay on the bed. He looked better thanks to Fred. When I walked over to his bedside, his eyes opened to look at me with surprise and distrust.

"What the hell do you want from me?" He croaked out, his voice rough and dry.

Jeez. I hadn't been in the room more than thirty seconds and the guy was pissing me of. "What do I want? How about you dead? But first I want to know what you were doing with my son and his friend."

Coughing jagged his response. I rolled my eyes. "I was trying to help," he finally blurted in between.

Spike came up behind me, "Help, huh? Doesn't that sound all innocent? Especially since you're the one that helped Connor find the Quar'toth such a hospitable place to live for ten years." Lindsey cringed at the tone of his voice. I just stood there staring at him, mentally begging him to make a move against us, so that we could kill him for it.

He didn't, instead pulling himself to sit up and alleviate the coughing. Fred walked in just then, bringing him some tea.

"Good morning, Angel. Good morning, Spike. Mr. McDonald." She nodded at him. Fred was smiling the entire time as she spoke, "Isn't it a glorious day?"

"Yeah. It's great," Lindsey drawled out. I shot him a glare to shut him up. Fred seemed to be the only happy person in the hotel; I wanted it to stay that way.

"Hi, Fred. You seem happy and chipper this morning." I noticed, all the while keeping tabs on all of Lindsey's movements.

"Well, it's funny what being engaged'll do ta ya." She giggled as she held out the hand that adorned the ring.

I was surprised to say the least; I know that Wesley was planning on asking her, I just didn't think he'd do it so soon. Spike just smiled, and then hugged her in congratulations. Once I'd snapped out of my shock, I also gave her a quick peck on the cheek and congratulated her.

Fred asked Lindsey if he needed anything then walked out, still smiling. Lindsey sipped at the tea. After a few sips, he put the cup down on the nightstand. He started talking softly, "I know you don't believe me, but I have changed--."

"Oh, you mean like when you blackmailed Wolfram and Hart for a bigger office after I helped you with those blind children. Yeah, that was a big change. Or about the time you changed and tried to drive my wife insane. Yeah, I can see that you've changed…Into a kidnapping, lying son of a bitch."

"Yeah. I did it. I told you before; you don't know what it's like to be so poor, that you go through trash just for some food. I've made some bad decision, starting with working at Wolfram and Hart. That day you and Spike tortured me, well let me tell you, no one came for me that day. Not a single person that I worked with. They left me for dead. I had to crawl out of that warehouse. I must've passed out because I ended up in a hospital with everything I had stolen from me. I had no ID, driver's license, social security number, nothing. After they released me from the hospital, I went to Wolfram and Hart, to my office. People I had worked with for years! They claimed NOT to know me and had security throw me out. I went to my apartment, you know the one I shared with Darla, after we brought her back. Other people were living there. All of my things were gone. I've been living in that warehouse since then. Everything that I've worked for is GONE now!" He started laughing hysterically, "They did do something for me…I have an arm that works now."

I looked down, yes. His prosthetic arm was gone, replaced by a fresh and blood arm. I didn't notice it before. "Yeah…I think that it was payment for services rendered. Holland always said that the senior partners appreciated my sacrifice. Last week a black limo came by my new neighborhood and picked me up. They drugged me and when I woke, I was back in my 'home' with a new arm. Shortly after that, I started to feel sick, so I haven't had a chance to use it much, except to wipe my nose."

It was the look in his eyes that made me lift him by the shirt putting my nose to his. I growled at him, hoping to scare him. He laughed even more, "They took my life! So whatever you plan on doing to me: go ahead and do it. My life can't get any worse." Lindsey started coughing again, his voice breaking and cracking as he spoke.

I huffed, "Trust me, it can! If I find out that you've hurt my family in any way, well, let's just say that you'll be a living vegetable by the time I'm done with you!"

After he was done coughing, he took another sip of his tea, "I haven't' done anything to hurt those boys. The only thing I've done is help them. I mean, they're just boys wandering the streets hunting vampires…" He looked directly n my eyes, his mouth twisting into a condescending smile, "makes you wonder where their parents are."

I felt a blip, my control slipped a notch as I grabbed the cocky bastard by the neck. "You've done nothing but make my family's life hell. So don't you dare even mention their names, you little fuck." I growled in his face. My hand tightened against his neck, his breathing turned wheezing and shallow.

During this time, Spike had watched silently, keeping his eyes pealed for any threatening moves on Lindsey's part. As my hand tightened further, Spike jumped in, laying his hand on my arm. He didn't say anything; he didn't need to, we knew each other very well. He wanted me to stop on my own accord.

I didn't get a chance to decide though, as Connor barged in the room, yelling, "Dad, please, let him go!" He ran over to the bed, physically pulling me away from Lindsey. Then he stood in between us.

"Connor--," I started, "Leave! Go back downstairs."

"Dad, please," Connor pleaded further, "I know that Lindsey's hurt a lot of people, hurt all of us, but he's not evil. He's trying to redeem himself, I swear. He's no the man you know anymore, he's my friend. Dad, he saved my life the first time I met him and he's been helping us ever since. Dad, I hate what he's done to us, to me…I mean, living in a Hell Dimension for the majority of my life, isn't what I wanted as a goal, but I don't remember him doing those things. And I can't see him doing those things anymore. Don't kill him, Dad."

The first thought I had when Connor started pleading Lindsey's case was that the man obviously brainwashed my oldest. The thoughts I had after that were conflicting, especially as I took a moment to glance at the ill man choking on the bed.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. If Cordy was here, I knew that she'd tell me that people could change. Like me; I was the most feared vampire in the world before the gypsy curse. Like Faith; the murderous slayer. And Spike, the killer of slayers. "Alright, I will give him the benefit of the doubt, Connor. But not because of him. I still think that he deserves to die, but because I trust you, and your judgment, I'll give him ONE MORE chance. Just ONE! If he screws it up again, he's a dead man."

Both Connor and Lindsey let out a breath, relieved that I had made that decision. "I still don't want you anywhere around him though. He's to stay in the room. I don't trust him around Cathy or Nicky." I put my hand on Connor's shoulder guiding him out with me; I nodded to Spike, indicating that he should continue watching him, then left with Connor.

Ever feel like you never should've gotten out of bed? Well, that's what I feel right now. Already, this is the day from hell. I should know I once spent a hundred years there. First, I got up to fix breakfast in the kitchen, only to walk in and get yelled at by Cordy. Oops, I guess I forgot to mention that Fred and Wesley had gotten engaged. After a lecture from her on how I shouldn't keep news like that from her, I hunted down Wesley to see if he could shed a light on the prophecy, now that we knew Connor was the 'champion' spoken of. He was absolutely no help; he just sat at his desk smiling at the picture of him and Fred. He's completely in love and living on a cloud. And to top it off, Spike let Lindsey out of the room to stretch his legs. Spike stayed with him, of course, but that didn't prevent Lindsey from running into the children.

Nicky and Cathy remembered him, while Connor didn't. They remembered the man who had shattered their innocence and taught them of evil. Their panicked screams echoed throughout the hotel. Everyone froze, then launched out of their chairs/beds/etc. and flew up the stairs.

If my heart could beat, it would've stopped at the sound of my children's cries. They were completely inconsolable, clutching at my pants and trying to hide. Faith picked up both children and took them to the adjacent room away from Lindsey. Cordy gave Lindsey an openly hostile look and then ran in to help Faith.

I didn't notice that Connor had also run upstairs to check on his siblings until he ran into my shoulder. I turned toward him, expecting him to again defend Lindsey's crimes, so I wasn't prepared when his face lost all traces of color and he collapsed on the floor right in front of me. Luckily, I had plenty of experience catching Cordy during her visions before her part-demon/higher being transformation.

Lindsey tried to come forward, but Spike caught him and dragged him back to his "room" and locked the door on him with the padlock we had installed.

I yelled for Cordy, while I cradled our son in my arms. Connor's face was a chalky white and his heart, which had been beating out of his chest, was finally starting to slow down. His eyes started blinking as Cordy ran of the room and kneeled besides him. She gently placed a hand on his neck, taking his pulse with a couple of fingers while the other hand stroked his brow.

Connor leaned into her hand, closing his eyes again. His breathing became even more ragged. I was becoming even more worried. Cordy continued her gentle ministrations, massaging his temples and whispering reassurances. It didn't seem to help, because he pulled himself up into his mother's arms and started sobbing against her chest.

I rubbed his back and head, willing our son's pain to vanish. The others quietly left, leaving us alone with him. After a few minutes, he was able to talk to us. We first moved so we were leaning against a wall in the hallway, my arm around Cordy who still held Connor in hers. I put my other hand on Connor's, squeezing it to give him my support and comfort.

He leaned his head on my shoulder as he spoke, "I remember. I remember him now. I didn't before, but now I do. He…pushed Cathy to the ground before he grabbed me. Nicky, he—he was crying and screaming the entire time at Lindsey to let me go. Then there was a noise, a loud noise. Then a demon appeared, Sa'jahan. He screamed at me, telling me that I would never get a chance to kill him. The air and sky just exploded as he opened the rift into Quar'toth. Lindsey pushed me into it, not the demon. He did it. God, Mom, Dad. It's all his fault; all of it."

He turned to look at me, "I had to learn to hunt and kill; how to survive. I had to become the 'Destroyer.' Eventually, I found a way out…I came back home, to you. But I'm not your little boy anymore. I can't even remember what I used to be like. All I am now is the Destroyer. It's all I am." His voice shook as his body trembled, his posture hunched and closed off.

I let go of my wife and stood up suddenly needing to hold him in my arms. I held out my hand for him to take as I pulled him up off the floor. Once he was standing, I put my arms around his shoulder, pulling him close to me. I pulled Cordy up as well, as we walked together into our bedroom.

Connor looked surprised, but lay down on the bed as I motioned him to. Cordy lay down next to him, on her side of the bed, as I did the same. She leaned her head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his middle. I turned on my side, so I was facing him, and stroked his forehead gently until he started to yawn.

I closed my eyes as the memories flooded my mind. Connor as a baby; us feeding him in bed while we tried to get some sleep. Him running into the room to snuggle with us in the middle of the night because he had a nightmare. As Connor got older, he brought in his ideas of breakfast in bed for us every Sunday, half of it floating in the tray for us.

I was about to fall asleep when the sounds of sobs jarred me completely awake. Tracing the sounds back to their origin, I was stunned to find them coming from Lindsey's room. I wasn't sure if I should go to him, but my legs had a different plan, since I found myself in front of the doorway before I realized that I had gotten up.

It was now Gunn's watch, so he sat outside his door, rolling his eyes towards the door. "Asshole's been crying for the last two hours, since he ran into the kids, and he ain't stopped yet. I'm 'bout to go in there and kick his ass! He ain't got no reason to be cryin'. He's the one who did this to us. Damn it, Nicky's still cryin'. And Cathy won't let go of Nicky…she's sleeping in his bed again. We thought that they got over it and now, 'cause of that pig, they be scared out of their minds again."

I just nodded at him, and then entered the room. I still wanted him dead, but I wasn't about to kill him just yet. I just stared at Lindsey, watching as the sobs shook his body. I don't think that he even knew that I was in the room until Wesley ran in carrying the Prophecy.

He stopped crying; now realizing that the both of us were listening to him.

Wesley spoke feverishly, "Angel, I understand the Prophecy now. Look," he pointed to a passage, "It says that the champion's enemy will change. I was assuming that you were the champion, but now that we know that it's Connor, Connor's worse enemy was Lindsey. I mean, he was the one who kidnapped him and sent him to hell. So, as you can see, he clearly isn't the same man…Lindsey's changed; he's who the Prophecy speaks of." Wesley's face glowed happily, now that he'd finally cracked the puzzle that was the Prophecy.

"Wait one damn minute now!" Lindsey was raspy and harsh, "I know nothing about a Prophecy. I'm not in a Prophecy."

Wesley stood taller, "Well, the prophecy is about you, contrary to your beliefs. None of us are happy about this but according to the prophecy, from now on, if you hurt anyone, even inadvertently; you will have the same hurt onto you multiplied by three." He had a thoughtful look on his face, "perhaps that's why you were sobbing. After all you made Nicky and Cathy cry for an hour after you ran into them."

He looked at us in amazement, biting his lip to keep from swearing. He stood up out of bed, and pulled the book containing the prophecy away from Wesley, turning the pages and reading it for himself. After he read it, he threw the book to the ground and started running his hands through his hair and swearing under his breath. "I've been CURSED!!! Urrg."

I didn't say a word, I knew that it was true, what I didn't know was how.

Our lives had just taken a serious turn. Whether it was a good turn or a bad turn was still under question.

We had had one of our "Family Meetings" shortly after our discovery of Lindsey's curse. It was decided that Lindsey would stay under guard until he proved himself trustworthy. Lindsey was upset at the turn of events. He hated it and called it a curse. We called it Divine Justice for everything that he put us through. We still didn't know how it had happened, but were grateful that he couldn't do anything harmful without repercussions.

Connor and Harrison were wary of him now, not trusting him anymore. They continued their nightly hunts, this time working with the rest of Angel Investigations to stop demons and help our clients. It was decided unanimously that they would now become paid members of the team. Cordy was right, Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang had started hunting vampires as fifteen year olds. Connor and Harrison were old enough to be apart of our mission.

Cordy and I had talked with Faith and Robin about Lindsey's continued stay at the hotel and how it would affect our youngest children. We all had to sit down and tell them that Lindsey wasn't going to hurt them. It took a while, but they were starting to feel safe again, relaxing in his presence.

I was so busy adjusting to all of the changes that I had completely forgot about the Irish holiday that I usually looked forward to every year. Irish holidays in the states were very hard to come by; St. Patrick's Day was the only one that they recognized.

So when Lorne walked in dressed completely in green, it took me for a loop. "Hey, Angelcakes. Where's your pin?" He looked me up and down.

I stared at him, unable to make a coherent thought besides, HE'S COMPLETELY GREEN. ALL OF HIM. "Huh?"

"Oh, well, I'll do it anyway." He leaned closer, grabbed me by the shoulders and KISSED ME. It was on the cheek, but it still flabbergasted me.

I pulled away quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "Lorne, I mean. I know that you've, you know, liked me, but you know…I'm married and everything. Not that I'm not, you know, flattered, I mean, I've always had…admirers some of them male, but Cordy…"

Lorne started laughing, it was a humoring laugh. Like he was humoring me, by thinking I was funny. "Oh, sweet cheeks." With that said, he patted my cheeks, THE OTHER CHEEKS MIND YOU, and walked away from me, leaving me to scratch my head.

Cordy walked down a couple minutes later, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a green sweater. She walked up to me, threw her arms around me and kissed me passionately. I was about to suggest we take an 'adult hour', but was interrupted by thundering footsteps coming down the stairs. The kids, all of them, wore something green. Cathy even had green ribbons in her hair.

Cordy leaned down to kiss each of them as well, and then sent them on their way to school. Harrison and Connor both wore green t-shirts. Harrison's a crude joke about beer, while Connor's was plain.

Now I'm really scratching my head. "What's going on?" I whispered in Cordy's ear.

Before she had a chance to answer, Spike came in, grabbed my face with both hands, and kissed me on the lips. It was quick, so quick that I didn't get a chance to deck him before he moved away and kissed Cordy the same way.

Now, it was okay for him to kiss her neck or wrists, as he usually did. It was regal to do so, but he just kissed my wife on the lips. HELL, he just kissed ME on the lips.

"OK. What the HELL is going on?" I stood there in the middle of the room staring at the green demons that had taken over my family.

Fred, Wesley, Faith, Robin, Gunn, Andrea, and Lindsey must've been in the kitchen when I shouted, because they all came running into the foyer to see what I was yelling about. They too wore green.

It was Gunn's shirt though that clued me in, the shirt read, "Kiss Me, I'm Irish."

Cordy rubbed my arm, "Angel, it's…"

"St. Patrick's Day," I finished for her, "I remember now." The shock melted away replaced by embarrassment.

Lorne continued laughing. Spike looked at him, with that look I KNEW that he heard us talking, and then fell to the ground, laughing uncontrollably, while pointing at me. "You should've seen your face!! That was classic."

Cordy hid her giggles under her hands, while the others shook their heads, not understanding what had happened. They just left the room, going back to their morning coffee rituals. Connor and Harrison smirked at each other.

I stood there for a minute, letting them get their laughs in. "You know, there was a myth that St. Patrick raised people from the dead. In some demon sects, it was said that he was a vampire. Of course, there's that whole converting to Christianity thing that sort of contradicts that. Now, everyone just drinks the green beer."

"I could go for a green beer." Harrison remarks, still smirking, "Hey, Connor, let's go get some. It's a good suggestion, Mr. A."

I just stare at him, "Um. No."

He opened his mouth, then closed it as I chased him out the door, Connor trailing behind his friend…running towards the light where I couldn't follow, the laughter trailing behind them.

Boys.

Looking at my giggling wife, I soon chased Spike and Lorne out too, continuing the Irish tradition.

The End of March.

NEXT: April.

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