Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Joss Whedon.
AU: This story takes place in an alternate universe, were Darla was never pregnant. Were the group never visited Pylea (i.e. no Fred), and the rest you should be able to pick up as you go along.
Authors Note: For some bizarre reason my first chapter disappeared off the face of the earth. So I have to replace it with a brand new first chapter. Hopefully everything else will make sense now.
September 2005
It was a cool midnight in Los Anglos, as Catrina started to jog through the park. She was too busy dreaming of a newborn moon, Chocolate Cake, and Kade Foster to notice the man running towards her. Too busy to notice that he was not a man.
Too busy to notice in till the demon punched her in the jaw. Catrina fell backwards, waiting to hit the ground. Trying to remember how to defend herself. What was she supposed to do, bite, kick, sing?
She didn't half to defend herself because just then a man appeared among the trees carrying a long sword. This man (Angel) screamed for her: a battle cry. The demon turned, and swung at angel.
Angel stopped the demon's arm mid swing, and twisted it backwards. Now it was the demons turn to scream, and it did, but angel just drew back his sword then plunged it into the demons stomach. The demon died there, on the sidewalk, a lump of flesh between Catrina and her hero.
"Thanks" Catrina said.
Angel didn't know how to reply, the whole Boy Scout routine belonged to Superman, or at the very least an Angel from a different time.
So Angel who had rescued hundreds of girls a year, said nothing.
He just vanished into the wood. Leaving Catrina to wonder were her hero went next, did he truly vanish into smoke, did he return home to a loving wife?
Actually at this pint even Angel didn't know what would happen next. He had received a phone call earlier that evening from willow: Buffy had died, and willow was barely alive.
Willow's voice kept on breaking up over the phone light, Angel remembered just saying yes to all her questions. Would Angel Pick Her and Stella Up from the airport? Yes. Would Angel be at gate three? Yes. Would angel look after Stella once they arrived? Yes.
Angle kept on asking himself why all the yeses? Why did he agree to raise Buffy and Spikes daughter Stella? Why did he agree to defend Stella from Spike?
Because Stella was ultimately Buffy's child and he loved Buffy.