---This chapter is a much shorter than I usually write. I broke up the chapters. They were way too long! Alright read on...
Chapter 18

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

Meanwhile in Kaia's Bedroom…

Kaia had changed into a pair of pajama pants with a matching tank top and was now snuggled under the comforter watching Fred scurry around the room putting away the vast amount of clothing she had purchased. All of the shoes, which included boots, sandals, pumps, and sneakers, were stacked on shelves in the huge walking closet. Fred had placed clean towels and washcloths in the bathroom for her as well. Fred…that girl had to have been a saint in her past life, because she was too sweet for words. But yet still she managed to maintain a kick butt, tough attitude, which made Kaia admire her immensely. It couldn't be easy to be the only girl around three strong men all the time, but Fred actually thrived in their company.

She was hungry and tired, but she was ignoring both feelings as she waited for Angel to make good on his promise to come up to check on her. It had been so long since she had been cared for…loved. Lorne did his best to be as loving as possible, but that was only on the occasion when she actually ventured outside. Speaking of which, she should call him…let him know she's all right. She had left his club so abruptly last night. He's probably worried. Maybe she could get one of the guys to get a message to him for her. "Hey Fred…can I ask you to do me a favor," she asked, causing the other girl to pause in her motions.

Fred placed the clothes she had just finished folding in the armoire, shutting the drawer closed. "Sure…what do you need," she asked.

"Well…I need you to get a message to a friend of mine," she said. "I went to his club last night, but I had to leave after my little run in with Spike. His name is Lorne…and well…he's a demon. The 'Host' is what they call him though in the demon underground."

Fred's eyes widened. "You know Lorne," she asked, the suprise evident in her voice.

"Yeah, why…do you," Kaia countered, furrowing her brows.

Fred nodded eagerly. "Yes we know him. He's a really good friend of ours. He even used to live with us when we lived in the hotel. And he works with us occasionally at Wolfram & Hart. He handles all of our 'celebrity' clients."

"Oh wow," Kaia exclaimed, suprised herself at the concidence. "I can't believe Angel and I both knew Lorne, but didn't know of each other's existence."

Fred sat down on the side of the bed. "How did you even meet Lorne? I was under the impression that you didn't have any friends." Fred closed her eyes in embarrassment. "Oh jeez…I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way."

Kaia smiled. "It's okay…really. You're right actually. I don't have friends or many friends anyway, but Lorne was the only person in this town I actually considered a friend. I saved his life one night and we've been cool ever since."

"Well now you don't have to worry about that loner stuff, because you have more friends now," Fred told her, her face breaking out into a wide smile. "Not to mention you gained a sweet, but sometimes overprotective father."

Angel came into the room hearing the tail end of the conversation and smiled. "I'm supposed to be overprotective," he said sardonically. "That's what fathers do…be overprotective."

Kaia rolled her eyes but she couldn't help but smile. "I'm a big girl now you know," she said sarcastically. "If I can kick demon ass, then you know I can take care of myself."

Angel shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah I know you can take care of yourself, but now it's time I take care of you," he said softly. He turned to Fred and gave her a meaningful look. Fred's mouth formed an 'O' and she hustled out of the room saying a quick goodbye.

"Where's Spike…is he still outside the door," Kaia asked, smothering a yawn.

Angel took a seat where Fred was sitting and smoothed his hand down her hair. "He's still out there," he said. "Gunn's calling a couple of his contacts to come out here. We don't trust using any men from Wolfram & Hart. When they get here, I'll place them around the grounds and a couple of them outside your door."

Kaia groaned. "Oh Angel I don't want any bodyguards," she wined. "I'll be fine. I've taken care of myself for seven years."

"Yeah…but…just humor me okay," he said softly. "It would make me feel better…okay?"

"Okay," she responded, her voice equally soft.

"Now come on…I saw you trying to hold back that yawn," he said. "Close your eyes…take a nap. I have to go back downstairs to talk some business with the guys, but I just wanted to come up here and check on you."

"Are you going to talk about me," she asked, her voice tinged with sleep.

"Yeah…that little device that Lindsay was using to communicate with us had a disc in it," he told her. "Wesley's checking it out now to see what data it contains." He paused in conversation, not sure of what her reaction would be to what he was about to ask her. "I asked Fred to run more tests on your blood," he said cautiously. "Are you okay with that?"

Kaia frowned. "Is she going to be like running experiments? I know she's a scientist. I don't know if I'm comfortable with her doing that."

"She would never do anything to hurt you Kaia," he said. "The more we find out about your body the better. You're a mixture of an alien breed and a vampire. We need to know everything about your physiological makeup just in case something happens. I'm sure my bosses have that info on you already. I just want to be prepared for whatever they decide to throw our way."

"Yeah…that makes sense," she replied. "As long as she doesn't have to draw anymore blood." Kaia visibly cringed at the thought.

"You got a thing with needles huh," he said as he took her hand in his. She nodded and he saw a brief flash of fear mixed with anguish in her eyes before it was gone. What had they done to his daughter in that place? Lindsay mentioned something about experiments…what kind of experiments. He knew she wasn't ready to talk about that place she was kept yet…at least not tonight. But she and Fred had said something about dreams. He at least needed to know about that.

"Kaia…you and Fred said something about dreams downstairs," he started, hoping that he didn't freak her out by broaching the subject. "What dreams exactly? Were they like visions or something?"

She took a deep breath and nodded again. "I've had dreams before that actually came true, but these dreams somehow were different. I started having these dreams about two figures…two men when I turned 18, but I couldn't see the faces. That had never happened before. I could always see everything clearly in my dreams. But there were things that were distinctive like smell. It all felt so real…and then when I moved here…the dreams changed. Suddenly, I could see the faces clearly. One of them was yours…the other was Wesley's.

"Wesley…you saw Wesley's face," he asked, his expression one of shock. Kaia rolled her eyes. "Yes…Wesley. Inside I was freaking out when I saw the both of you for the first time yesterday. I couldn't wait to leave that room…to get away. It was one thing to have the dreams. You could just tell yourself they were dreams...that it wasn't real. Then when I saw the both of you…I began to think maybe they weren't just dreams after all."

"This may sound like a stupid question, but how did you know which one of us was your parent," he asked cautiously.

"Because in one of the dreams, I called you 'dad'," she said, smiling fondly.

"Oh," he said simply, then returning her smile almost shyly.

"Yeah…oh," she quipped. "But I didn't really know for sure you were my father…it was more of a feeling. When Fred ran the tests…well then I knew for sure."

Angel nodded and sighed. "Well I have to go back downstairs now," he said reluctantly. "Are you going to be okay? I could stay a while longer...you know until you fall asleep."

Kaia shook her head. "I'll be fine. Go...you have to talk to the guys right? I'll just take a little nap and then I'll see you later."

"Okay," he said, as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He then got up from the bed and walked to the door, looking back over his shoulder to glance at her once more. She had already turned on her side with her back to the door. He watched her for a couple minutes before leaving and closing the door softly behind him. He saw Spike leaning against the wall and he nodded to him. Angel continued down the long hallway to his room, even though all he wanted to do was stay right there in that room and watch over his child, but he couldn't...not right now. First he needed to change out of the blood stained shirt he was wearing and then he needed to get down to business. He needed to start making plans on how he would protect his daughter from Wolfram & Hart.

Note: Alright guys...for those of you who have also read my other Angel story 'True Destiny Continued', I'm finally going to update today and I apologize for taking a month to update. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then just ignore this.

P.S. Please review.