Chapter 8

Katherine was completely exhausted by the time they got back to the hotel. She practically dragged herself out of the car and through the hotel lobby. She hesitated at the base of the long staircase.

"Want a lift?" Angel asked.

"What do you mean?"

Angel turned his back to her and crouched down. "Hop on."

Katherine climbed on his back and he stood up straight. He took hold of her legs and said, "hold on." She did.

He bounded up the steps so fast that it ignited the last remaining spark of energy she had left. "Yea!" she cried. "Faster!"

Angel did his best to comply, but it had been a long day for him as well. He bounced her down the hallway and into his room. He made one final loop around the room before bouncing her off his back and onto the bed.

"Okay. Time to get down to some serious bedtime stuff. Teeth, pajamas, and in you go," he told her.

"Will you tell me a story?" she asked.

"First, teeth and pajamas, then a story. Deal?"

"Deal." She agreed quickly.

Angel heard her start the water in the bathroom and assumed she was brushing her teeth. He turned the bed down and laid out her nightgown. After a few minutes went by, he decided he'd better see what was keeping her.

"Katherine? Everything okay in here?" He walked into the bathroom and stumbled over a stray shoe.

Katherine was in the tub, already half filled with water. "You said I could take a bubble bath every night if I wanted," she reminded him.

He had to smile. "So I did. Well, as long as we're here, why don't we kill two birds with one stone."

"You kill birds?"

"What? No. That's just an expression. It means to like, do two things at once. In this case, I'll tell you a story while you take your bath. See?"

She nodded.

"What kind of a story would you like to hear?" he asked.

"Tell me a story about when you were my age," she suggested.

Angel swallowed hard. He would do anything for her, but his childhood memories were not a place he liked to visit.

"Aw. You don't want to hear about that stuff. That was like, a million years ago. Booorring."

She was not dissuaded. "Please?"

Angel squinted his eyes tight and tried to recall a happy childhood memory.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived on a farm with his mother and father. He went to school and did chores and played with his friends and had a satisfactory life. He sometimes imagined that he was a prince. But a prince isn't really a prince without a princess. Then, one day, his mother and father brought home a wonderful surprise. A baby sister named Katherine."

"Like me!" she said.

"Just like you! You're named after her. Anyway, she was very small and cried from time to time and didn't always smell so great, if you get my meaning, but he loved her. As she grew, he taught her how to fish, and to whistle, and to catch a butterfly on her finger. Now the boy could pretend that he was a prince anytime he wished, because he finally had his princess. The End."

"Tell me another one," she begged.

"Oh, no. We have to get you dried off and into bed. It's late. If Cordy comes up here and finds you still awake, she'll have my hide."

Katherine smiled at that. "Okay. I don't want Aunt Cordy to get mad at you."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. Out."

Katherine got out and Angel dried her off. She got dressed and hopped into bed.

"Where's Spike?" she asked.

That caught him off guard. "What?"

"Spike. I wanted to sleep with him," she said.

Angel shuddered. He was definitely going to have nightmares. He looked around the floor and found the stuffed animal and handed it to her. "Here he is. Listen, are you sure you don't want to rethink this name thing? I think Taffy is a really nice name."

"His name is Spike," she said simply.

He'd just have to learn to live with it. "All tucked in?" he asked.

She nodded. "Daddy?"

Angel froze. Did she just say…

"I had a nice day," she said sweetly.

"Me, too," he finally choked out. "Do you think I could kiss you goodnight?"

She reached up and hugged him around the neck and squeezed. He held her close and kissed her cheek. "I love you so much," he told her.

She settled back in bed and asked again, "Will you tell me another story now?"

He would tell her stories until the sun came up if she wanted. He thought for a moment.

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Elliott and he had a friend who was from another world...