Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Angel series except my own.

Kaia became alarmed at the expression on Fred's face. "What," Kaia exclaimed. "What's with the Oh God?"

"Angel has a son already. His name is Connor." Fred began pacing, wringing her hands nervously

Kaia's eyes lit up in interest. "Really...but where is he? Why haven't I seen him around here?"

"Because Angel used Wolfram & Hart's resources to cast a spell on Connor to make him think he was someone else," Fred replied. "He did it to protect him, so that Connor could have a normal life. He now lives with a family, who thinks he's their son. They had a spell cast on them too. Connor's even in college. Angel checks on him every now and again...without Connor's knowledge of course."

"Wait I'm confused," Kaia said, running a hand through her hair. "You said vampires are infertile right...which I already knew by the way. So how do you explain Connor then? If Angel can't have...well...you know...if he can't get off then how could he even have sex to produce a kid?"

"Well...Darla, she was a vamp Angel ran with her in the past when he was on his killing spree, would come to Angel in his sleep and...well...have sex with him," Fred told her, her face contorting at the thought of Angel and Darla together. "Angel thought he was dreaming, but it was really happening. He never told us about the dreams until it was too late. Darla suddenly disappeared from his dreams and his life all together. Then she appeared nine months later looking very pregnant. It wasn't supposed to be possible...two vampires conceiving a baby, but Connor was part of some sort of prophecy. It's...complicated."

Fred crossed the room and sat down on the bed again. "Why would you think Angel would be your father? I know you're adopted but still...I don't get it."

"I don't know for sure if he is," Kaia replied honestly. "It's just a feeling. I'm telepathic. Telepaths sometimes have dreams that are sort of like visions. I've been having these weird dreams for years about Angel. At first I couldn't see his face...I would just dream about this man only seeing the shape of his body. I could smell him too. It's the same thing I smell when I'm around Angel now. Later on, actually when I moved to L.A., I could see his face...as clear as day. I had a dream the same day I met you guys. In it we were sparring and talking and then right before the dream ended I called Angel dad. My dreams have come true before, so that's why I think it may be possible."

"Wow," was all Fred could manage. Kaia was a telepath. Lorne was sort of a seer and so was Cordelia when she was alive, but this was different. "So you feel in your heart that Angel is your dad," Fred asked slowly.

"With all my heart and soul," Kaia replied firmly.

Now she understood why Kaia was so adamant against staying. She was worried about Angel...about her father. Well they didn't know yet if Angel was indeed her father, but it could be a strong possibility. It would explain so much, especially why Wolfram & Hart messed with Kaia's file and why they even had a file on her in the first place. Fred had a sinking feeling that Wolfram & Hart knew the whole story behind Kaia's true parentage. Her face contorted in anger at that thought. She was getting so tired of their games...the way they always constantly played with their lives...especially Angel's.

"What's wrong Fred," Kaia asked, her tone worried. "Tell me. What is it?"

"It's just...I have a feeling Wolfram & Hart knew about you all along," said Fred tightly. "They had to know. Why else would they have a file on you and such a strange one too?"

"What do you mean strange," Kaia asked. "Gunn says you guys specialize in all things weird. What could be stranger than normal about my file?"

"That's just it," said Fred quickly. "Your file had nothing in it about your abilities. All it had was regular information. We only have files on things demonic, weird, or powerful in our file room. Why would there be such an ordinary file in there, unless someone deliberately took some of the information out? Someone's trying to hide something...trying to cover something up. I think we're getting closer to what it is."

Kaia's face hardened at the thought of people messing with her life. It was bad enough growing up in that lab, thinking that she wasn't worth anything but being a lab rat. Then she had escaped and found her parents but that didn't make her feel completely happy. They loved her, but deep down she never felt she belonged to them. Two fat tears finally escaped her eyes and she jumped up from the bed, rubbing her hands down her arms furiously as she suddenly felt a chill go through her body.

Fred watched her and her heart broke. It must be awful to know you were a pawn in some idiot's plan. She remembered the hopelessness and anger she felt when her professor had sent her to a demonic dimension...on purpose. "Look Kaia we'll get to the bottom of this," Fred reassured. "Come with me," she demanded.

Kaia wiped her hand across her eyes, smearing her mascara in the process. "Where are we going," she asked.

Fred crossed the room to meet her and reached up a hand to wipe away the smears of mascara. "We're going to my lab...at least the one I have here in the house. We keep vials of all of our blood here in case we need it for any reason. I can get Angel's blood and draw some blood from you. With the technology I have downstairs, we can find out almost immediately if your Angel's daughter. Go wash your face first. There's some toiletries I had sent over too while you were gone, like facial cleansers and stuff. The stylist left some makeup here for you too. It's in that small black bag there on the face basin. Go freshen up and we'll head down to the lab."

Kaia nodded and headed to the bathroom adjoining her room and did just that. As she exited the bathroom, she took a cleansing breath. "Alright let's go. I want to find out if Angel is my Dad or not."


Downstairs the guys were sitting quietly in the dining room. Wesley was working on something on Fred's lab top, while Gunn was just finishing up his breakfast. Spike finished his container of blood in one long gulp, slamming the empty container on the table. He slid his chair back and placed his feet on the table. Angel, who was sitting next to him reading the newspaper, reached a hand out blindly and pushed Spike's legs off the table. "Don't ever put your feet on my table again," said Angel calmly. He then shot a glare at Spike before returning to reading his paper.

Gunn pushed his chair back and walked over to the kitchen area, dumping his dishes in the sink. He walked back into the dining room, stopping to casually lean against the island. "Hey Angel don't you think we need to talk," he said brusquely.

"You want to talk...about what," Angel asked, his eyes never rising from the paper.

Gunn sighed. "We need to talk about Kaia...about what we're going to do about her situation. Don't you think we need to get to work on finding out just who she really is and who's after her?" That got Wesley's attention and his fingers stilled on the keypad.

"Yes Gun we do," replied Angel, finally meeting Gunn's eyes. "I need to talk to her first. She's holding back from us...not telling us the whole story."

"You think," Gunn remarked sarcastically. "All she's done since she's been here is hold back, except with Fred. The two of them are acting like they're long lost buddies or something. Not that I mind, but---."

"But what Charles," said Wesley, his tone hard as he turned around to look directly at Gunn. "You don't trust her. That you've made quite clear, but the fact remains is that she needs our help."

"I know that English," said Gunn, reverting back to the old nick name he had personally given to Wesley. He often wondered why he hadn't been calling him that lately. It was almost as if they had drifted apart so much that he felt he couldn't say it. Now he usually just called him 'Wes' like everyone else. "I'm just saying to help her and to keep our hides in tact, we need to know everything," Gunn continued. "She needs to come clean with us...about why these people have been chasing her for 7 years. Seven years Wes. That's a long damn time to be on the run. Don't you wanna know what's she's hiding? What they want her for?"

"Yes of course I do," Wesley answered, his voice strained. "We all have questions that we need the answers too and we're going to get them. We just have to give her time. If we push her too much, she may get scared and pull away from us entirely. She'll run again."

"Wes is right," Angel chimed in, finally placing his newspaper down on the table. "Gunn you have to admit that she's relenting...coming to trust us...even if it's just a little. We just have to give it time, but---."

"But what Angel," Wesley asked, curious as to what caused Angel to pause in conversation.

Angel sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I also agree with Gunn. We do need to find out what happened to her to make her so scared of trusting people and we need to find out exactly who is after her. I'll have to find a way to get some answers without seeming too pushy. Sooner or later they are going to trace her back to us. We need to be ready to face whatever we're going to be up against."

Wesley hated to admit it but they were right. They did need answers and soon her time would run out. "Alright, you both are right," he said finally. "The question is how are we going to get her to talk."

Spike placed his hands behind his head, appearing slightly bored with the conversation. He still couldn't believe that Angel had just welcomed this girl into his home...a girl he barely knew. It was obvious that she brought trouble with her. Wesley had called him last night and given him the low down on what had happened to him earlier...how he had nearly been shot. That made Spike just a tad bit annoyed. Wesley always carried himself like he had a stick up his ass, but he was good man...a good person. You could always count on him to be there, even if he was pissed at you. He was a better man than Spike was that's for sure. Just take the way he was handling the whole Gunn and Fred thing.

Fred...that girl. It irked him that she was jerking Wesley and Gunn around, even if she wasn't doing it on purpose. She can't help it if she's so cute and sweet, but she could help her actions. First, she dates Gunn, and then leaves him. Then she hooks up with Wesley months later and they date for a couple months. Finally, she dumps him, because she realizes she's still in love with Gunn. Wesley had been heart broken, especially since he had been in love with Fred even before she and Gunn had hooked up the first time. Now Wesley was still being a good sport, still being a friend to the both of them. Spike couldn't have done it, but then again he and Wesley were as different as night and day.

Now there were some interesting developments in the little 'love triangle'. A new player was in town...Kaia...and she seemed to have good old Wes all turned around. Granted, Wesley had changed a lot from his Sunnydale days. His glasses were now replaced by contacts and he had become a pretty decent fighter. He had gained some weight and added some muscle to his slender frame, but still...the way he had grabbed Spike today was well...a little surprising. Even though Wesley could take care of himself fairly well in a fight, he had never seeked one out. He was never aggressive that way. Spike chuckled softly at that. Good old 'stick up the ass' Wes seemed to be getting some balls when it came to women. Maybe Spike could continue to flirt with Kaia to get his goat...rile him up a little so that he would finally make a move on their new house guest. Angel looked over at Spike and saw him smiling. He frowned as he realized Spike wasn't even paying attention to what they were saying.

"Spike, you're a part of this team," Angel said harshly. "I expect you to listen and pay attention when we're discussing business."

Spike turned to Angel, one of his eyebrows rising as he gave Angel a look of curiosity. "Oh so Kaia is business now," he asked, his tone sarcastic.

Angel blew out a breath. "I didn't mean it like that Spike," he said, his voice showing he was clearly annoyed. "It's just that we're planning to investigate her further, so that means technically she is one of our cases now. I need to know if you are with us on this, because yesterday you didn't seem too inclined to help."

Spike scowled. "Yes you're right Angel," he replied angrily. "I didn't want to help, because I don't entirely trust her. But as you've said, I am part of this team and I intend to do my part. If that means standing behind you guys as you welcome a strange and very dangerous girl into your lives...well so be it."

"Look, I know you don't trust her, but at least try to be act a little more civil to her," Angel replied. "I want her to feel like she can trust us...all us and that includes you. Understand?"

"Fine," Spike ground out. "I'll do my best mate, but I'm not making any promises." Spike grabbed his empty container off the table and walked into the kitchen, pausing to drop it in the garbage before standing to lean against the island next to Gunn. "Where the hell are they anyway," Spike asked. "I thought she just went upstairs to change clothes. And speaking of clothes, what about that huh? Did you blokes see her today? She's a hot little number...don't you think so...Wes?"

Wesley gave Spike a blank look before returning his attention back to the lab top. Spike smiled and nudged Gunn with his elbow, while nodding in Wesley's direction. Gunn returned the smile and nodded. "Yeah I know," Gunn whispered, leaning down slightly. "He's totally into her, but he's faking like he's not." Spike's smile grew broader at Gunn's words. Someone needed to give Wesley that little push he needed and he was just the man to do it.

Note: Okay in the next chapter I'll start off with the lab scene first and then we'll go on to the next fight scene. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. The story only encompasses about 2 days and we're already up to 13 chapters! Can you guys believe it? Anyway review please.