Chapter 2

Katherine sat in a chair in Angel's office sipping the cup of water Fred had gotten for her. "This water is very cold. Your stream must be close."

"Stream?" Fred looked amused. "Honey, there's no stream. Our water comes from a faucet. It's attached to a pipe that brings water from the ground indoors. The faucet is right in there in the bathroom." Fred pointed.

"What's a bathroom?" asked Katherine. Fred smiled again.

"Maybe I'll explain about that a little later, you know, when it's just us girls."

"What's your name?" Katherine asked.

"My name is Fred. And that's Gunn over there with the big lump on his head, and that green guy is Lorne."

Katherine scowled. "He's a demon."

Lorne shifted uncomfortably but managed a little smile.

"Lorne is our friend," Fred explained.

Lorne chanced a bigger smile and leaned down to Katherine. "Well, you are just a little cutie patootie, honey," he said as he offered her his hand.

Katherine shrank backward in her chair and Lorne retreated.

Gunn nodded to Lorne. "Hey, man. How 'bout a hand out in the other room?" Lorne gladly went with Gunn and Fred followed them out.

Cordelia assumed they were going to take care of Holtz's body and thought it would be a good idea to try to distract the girl. Cordelia came over and sat down in the chair next to Katherine.

"I'm your Aunt Cordy. I know this must all seem pretty scary to you. A strange place, all these new people. But I want you to know that you're safe here. You don't remember us, but we all love you and everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Cordelia reached out her arms to Katherine. Katherine seemed open to the idea of a hug from her new Aunt Cordy and allowed herself to be folded into Cordelia's arms. She enjoyed a brief moment of comfort but then sat up straight and looked at her father.

"You're Angel. Daniel told me all about you."

Angel looked concerned. "What did he tell you?"

"That you're a monster. That you killed his family. That you killed a lot of families. He told me you're a vampire."

Angel looked at her evenly. "What do you know about vampires?"

"I know they're evil. That they kill people and drink their blood. Do you drink blood?"

Angel knew there was no point in making things anything other than what they were. She was his child. She would have to live in his world the way it was. He knew he needed to be honest with her right from the start.

"I drink pig's blood." Angel answered simply. "I am a vampire, but I'm not evil. Back then, when I did the things Holtz told you about, I wasn't the same person."

Katherine looked confused. "How can a person be anyone other than who they are?"

This was not going to be easy to explain. Angel began, "It's complicated. I don't know how…I mean…you have to understand…I didn't…"

As Angel attempted to stammer out an explanation, Katherine noticed the activity in the lobby and asked, "What are they going to do with him?"

Katherine looked worried and Cordelia took her hand. "Lorne and Gunn have to take him now. They need to…to bury him. I'm sure they'll find a nice place where he can be at peace."

Katherine's face relaxed a little. Suddenly Cordelia had an idea.

Her voice became harder. "On the other hand, don't you think it's kind of horrible? I mean, dumping him in the ground and covering him with dirt and then just leaving him there forever?"

Angel was on his feet. "Cordelia! What are you doing? Katherine, it's okay. Don't pay any attention to her. She has these visions. They've obviously damaged her brain!"

Cordy stood and faced Angel. "You have to admit, the whole thing is pretty cruel. Leaving him to rot in the ground for all eternity. Even Holtz doesn't deserve that."

Angel looked down at the child, expecting her to be horrified. Instead, she was calm. "It's okay, Aunt Cordy. It's not really him. They only bury his body. Daniel's already gone. The real Daniel is in Heaven. I guess he's finally with his family."

Cordy smiled at Angel and he understood. Now he knew what to say to his little girl so that she could understand. Angel walked around the desk and squatted down to Katherine.

"A long time ago, when I was very young, I was killed by a vampire and my soul was taken from my body. But instead of burying my body, the vampire made it into another vampire, like her. Her name was Darla and she called my vampire body Angelus. Darla and Angelus did many terrible things together. They did all of the things that Holtz told you about, and then some. They were evil. Holtz had every right to hate them and want them dead. But after many years of doing evil things something happened that had never happened before. Some people, called Gypsies, did a spell that brought my soul back from where it was and put it back in my body. When that happened, I wasn't Angelus anymore. I became Angel. And ever since that day, I haven't fed on another living person. At first, I mostly tried to stay away from people altogether. It took me a long time to figure out what I was supposed to do; where I fit. I wasn't evil. I wasn't human. I finally realized that I might be able to use my life to help people. Maybe I could try to balance out some of the evil that Angelus had done. The people here, Cordelia, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, they help me do that. The visions that Cordy gets are sent to her from a higher power. They guide us to people who need our help."

Angel realized he had been talking for a very long time and he didn't know if the child was taking any of it in.

"Did Daniel know? Did he know you have a soul now?" she asked.

Angel decided again to be honest. "Yes."

"Then why did he still hate you? Didn't he understand that it wasn't your fault? That it wasn't you."

Angel took her hands in his. "He hated me because he needed to. The reason for what I had done didn't matter. All that mattered was vengeance. As long as he blamed me, he had a purpose. Seeing me punished gave him a reason to go on. Something to live for. Without that hatred, all he would have in his heart was the terrible feeling of loss and that was too much to bear."

As he spoke, Angel mind flashed back to seeing Wesley in the hospital after his throat had been cut. He knew his words not only applied to Holtz, but to himself as well. In his heart he knew that Wesley was his friend. He knew Wesley had done what he felt he had to in order to protect the baby. But when Katherine was taken from him, all he could feel was hate. Hate and blame, and he clung to it. Because without it, all he had was unbearable loss. He realized now that needed to see Wesley. He needed to forgive him. Soon.

For now, he focused on the daughter who sat miraculously before him and gently asked, "Can you understand any of this?"

"Yes. I think Daniel understood, too. I think that's why he said I belonged here with you. It's why he tried so hard to bring me back. I think he wanted to make things right. Don't you?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, I think maybe he did."

Fred came back in from the lobby. "Gunn and Lorne are taking care of…you know…things."

Cordelia piped up, "Speaking of taking care of things…" She took a long look at the ragged looking child before her. "I'm thinking food, clothes, and bath, although not necessarily in that order." She flashed a huge smile. "I volunteer to shop!"

"What a surprise," said Angel sarcastically.

"I'll cover food," offered Fred.

"Guess that leaves me bath detail." Angel said.

Fred called back on her way out of the hotel, "By the way, help yourself to the stuff in my bathroom. There's shower gel, a big pink poofy sponge, bubble bath, shampoo, conditioner, lotion…" Her voice trailed off.

Angel looked confused.

"I'm off, too," said Cordy.

Angel looked at the tiny girl before him and had a momentary feeling of panic.

"Cordy, wait! Change of plans. How about, I shop and you bathe?"

Cordelia stopped and turned to him.

"Oh, okay. No problem. She's going to need enough clothes for at least a few days, until I can take her shopping with me. Get a couple of pairs of shorts, some tanks and T's, and at least one pair of blue jeans, flare, of course. Nights still get a little cool so she'll probably need some Capri pants, too. Make sure you buy the kind with elastic since you'll totally have to guess on the size. Buy at least two nighties, one long and one short. Get enough panties to last at least a week. Oh, and get the kind with the wide lace at the top but don't buy bikinis or thongs. She's a little young yet. If you have any trouble just ask the saleslady. I'm sure she'll be glad to show you everything."

Angel hung his head and sighed. "Bath detail it is."

"See ya soon," Cordy said as she rushed out.

Katherine came out of the office and looked up at her father. "Is something wrong?"

Angel looked into the face of the child he had thought was lost to him forever and the gaping hole that had been in his heart for weeks was instantly filled. He reached down and took his daughter's hand.

"No. Nothing's wrong. In fact, things have never been so right. Ever seen a big pink poofy sponge?"