The noise of the blow dryer startled Katherine a bit at first but once she got used to the sound she enjoyed the feeling of warm air swirling over her. Once her hair was dry, Angel dug around in the bathroom drawer and came up with a new toothbrush. He showed Katherine how to put the toothpaste on and how to scrub in circles.
"This tastes good. Can I eat it?" Katherine asked.
"No, don't actually swallow it. Just rinse it around in your mouth and spit it back out," Angel told her.
"Is it poison?" The girl asked, concerned.
"No, of course not. It just isn't…you know…food. Are you hungry?"
The child nodded.
"Well, Fred should be back pretty soon with dinner. Hope you like Tacos."
Katherine didn't know how to answer. She had never heard of Tacos. She hoped it was something big. She was really hungry. She hadn't eaten for almost two whole days. Not that that was anything new.
Then, with an incredible rustling of bags, Cordelia came bursting into the room.
"Knock, knock. Anybody here want to see what I bought?"
Katherine got a little swept up in Cordy's excitement. "I do!"
Cordelia began pulling clothing out of bags and laying it on the bed.
"You are so going to love what I got. First, TA DA! Isn't this the most beautiful nightgown you have ever seen?"
Katherine agreed. "It sure is. What's a nightgown?"
Cordelia didn't answer. She had moved on. "And this! Don't you just love it?" she asked, holding up a pink T-shirt with a sparkly flower on the front. "I wish I could wear a child's size 6. I would have bought two!"
Each new item pulled from the bag produced a squeal from Cordelia and a dazed look from Angel. Katherine couldn't believe that Cordelia had bought a whole bed full of clothes just for her. She had only ever had one item of clothing to wear at a time.
"What would you like to wear right now?" Cordy asked.
Katherine didn't know what to choose. She looked over the clothes on the bed and picked up a white nightgown. "This feels soft. Can I wear this?"
"It's exactly what I would have picked!" Cordy said. She turned to Angel. "Fred came in when I did. Why don't you go down and help her get the food set up and Katherine and I will be down in a sec."
"Sure," Angel said, "I'll see you downstairs."
Angel left and Cordelia helped Katherine into her new panties and nightgown. She brushed out her hair and then fastened the front back with one of the new clips she had bought for her.
"You look beautiful, honey. Would you like to look in the mirror?"
Katherine nodded and followed Cordelia into the bathroom. "See?" said Cordy.
Katherine stared at herself for a long time. Cordelia stared, too. Since the child first arrived, she admitted to herself now that she had had doubts. She desperately wanted to believe that this girl really was Katherine. For Angel's sake. But it seemed so impossible. Looking at her now, any doubt vanished. She could see it clearly. This was the baby she had rocked to sleep. The baby whose diapers she had changed. The baby that spit up on her designer dress the night of the ballet. This was her little Katie.
Cordelia's memories were interrupted by Katherine's small voice.
"I never really saw myself before. Not good. Sometimes when we went to the stream and it was sunny I could see myself a little in the water. Do you really think I look pretty?"
"Trust me kiddo. I know gorgeous when I see it and you have definitely got gorgeous going on. Come on. Let's go show your dad."
They walked down the stairs to the lobby. Angel and Fred were just finishing up getting the food and drinks out. Fred began talking before they even reached the bottom step.
"I went to get Tacos but then I thought you might like pizza instead. I didn't really know what kind of pizza you would like. I like everything on mine but Cordy is so picky. Gunn eats anything. Lorne only eats cheese and he picks half of that off. Anyway, I decided I should just get some of everything. Then I thought about drinks. Pizza's nothing without soda. Of course, I didn't know what kind of soda you would like, either. Cordy doesn't drink soda at all. Lorne doesn't drink anything non-alcoholic and Gunn only likes orange. Angel's really not a problem since he really only drinks…well, you know…"
Fred hoped she hadn't offended him, but Angel wasn't listening anyway. His eyes had followed her all the way down the staircase. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was. She looked like a porcelain doll.
Cordelia saw the look on his face and said, "What do you think, Daddy? Doesn't she look…"
"Exactly like her mother," Angel finished.
Lorne and Gunn came up through the basement just then and walked towards the group. Noticing the little beauty at the base of the stairs, Gunn whistled. Lorne bowed deeply.
Katherine looked puzzled. She asked Cordelia, "Why did they do that?"
"Well, now," Lorne said, "I was taught to always bow before royalty and you look just like a princess."
Katherine smiled at that. She was still very skeptical about the green demon, but she had to admit he had nice manners.
"Okay, everyone. Let's eat," said Fred.
The coffee table between the two couches in the lobby was filled with pizza, plates, napkins, and soda. Angel got a plate and placed a piece of cheese pizza on it and handed it to Katherine with a napkin.
"There you go. See how that tastes."
Katherine sat down on the couch and picked up the slice of pizza. She crammed as much of it into her mouth as she could and bit down. At first, she had no expression on her face at all. Then, a hint of a smile appeared around her eyes and soon she was smiling broadly.
"This is good! What kind of animal is a pizza?"
Everyone in the room began stuffing into their mouths to cover their laughter. Fred nearly choked and Gunn offered her a can of soda. Finally, Angel explained in general terms how pizza is made. Katherine tried some of each kind of pizza and drank three cans of soda. They all wondered how long it had been since she had last eaten.
As she ate, the group took turns filling her in on different aspects of life in her new world. Holtz had already told her a great deal. He had told her of automobiles, telephones, planes, and electricity. He had also described television to her and she was anxious to see this amazing talking picture machine. Angel promised to bring up a set that was stored in the basement and hook it up for her tomorrow. As they talked and told her stories, Angel hoped she might be willing to share some of the details of her life in Quor-Toth.
As the evening progressed and she seemed at ease, he tentatively tried to feel her out. "Is there anything you can tell us about the place you came from?"
He hoped the question hadn't sounded strained. He was so desperate to hear about everything she had been through and to know what her life had been like. But the little girl didn't seem hesitant at all.
"Well, there aren't any lights like these. We made candles and burned torches. At night, we had a fire in the fireplace. Mara cooked on the fire."
"Who's Mara?" Cordelia asked.
"She's the lady who took care of me," answered Katherine.
"Where was Holtz?" asked Angel.
"I didn't see him that much. I lived with Mara ever since I was a baby. Daniel came around a couple of times a year and brought food and skins and things. I think that's how he paid Mara for taking care of me."
Everyone had stopped eating. All eyes were fixed on the small girl as she continued to speak.
"There were lots of kids there. I don't think any of them were hers. I'm not sure why she took care of all of us. I guess she must just like children. Or maybe other people paid her like Daniel did. Anyway, Daniel showed up a couple of weeks ago and started telling me about you," she pointed to Angel, "and said he had a plan to get us back here."
She looked at Cordelia. "What was it was like where you grew up?"
Cordy brightened immediately since she was her absolute favorite topic of conversation. She began a long recitation on growing up in privileged L.A. and the importance of wearing just the right thing and knowing just the right people. She elaborated on her high school accomplishments and vast popularity.
As she talked, Katherine grew quiet. She leaned her head against Angel's arm and was soon fast asleep. Cordelia seemed oblivious to the fact that she had lost her audience and continued to ramble.
"Uh hmmmm," Fred cleared her throat and pointed to the sleeping girl.
Cordelia looked annoyed. "You'll get your turn to tell her all about Texas in a sec, Ms. Ewing. Just let me finish the part about how I made varsity cheerleader my sophomore year."
"I think you're going to have to save it for tomorrow. Look." Fred pointed again.
Everyone looked at the little girl who was now sleeping peacefully.
Angel gently picked her up and started for the stairs. "I'll take her up. See you guys tomorrow."
"Night," everyone said softly.
Angel carried her into his room. He held her against him with one arm and turned down the covers of his bed with his free hand. He was about to lay her down but then he hesitated. He looked at the empty rocker in the small room next to his bed and couldn't resist. He sat down in the rocking chair and reached for the blanket on the chest beside it. He carefully covered her as he began to rock slowly. He wasn't sure how long he had been rocking. He must have dozed for a time. He sensed someone in the room and opened his eyes to find Cordy sitting on his bed.
"Hey," she said. "You've been up here for hours. Have you been sitting there rocking her this whole time?"
"I couldn't seem to put her down," he confessed. "Earlier tonight, I kept thinking about how I've missed so much time with her and how much she's grown. I was feeling pretty cheated. But this last while, sitting here with her, holding her, rocking her…I look at her and she's so tiny. And I am so grateful that there is still so much left. Another month and…"
"Why go there?" Cordelia asked. "You're right. You're so lucky to have her back. Don't waste a second on what could have been. Good or bad. Just enjoy your daughter."
Cordy got up and straightened the bed covers and turned them back evenly. "She'll sleep a lot better in bed, you know," Cordy advised.
"Soon," he promised as he continued to rock his little miracle and he was still rocking when the sun rose in the morning.