THE GIFT

by kinoa

Angel is given his family. Connor decides to stand by Angels side and learn the family business. (Follow up to The PTB's Boss Sends Help)

6. The Gift

The Gift

Chapter 6

"AAAhhhhhh!" Cordelia screamed as she entered the house. She ran to Fred and Wesley and hugged them. "I missed you guys. I even missed you 2." Cordelia hugged Buffy and Spike. Angel came in with Dr. Martin. Fred and Wesley came over to greet and hug Dr. Martin.

"What are you guys doing here?" Cordelia asked as she started to make some coffee for everyone.

"We just got here an hour ago. I told Fred that I wanted to introduce my parents to my wife, and I called Buffy and Spike to see if they wanted to go since Spike was from England also." Wesley said. He waited to see how long it would take for Cordelia and Angel to realize what he had said.

"Wait a minute, did you just say 'my wife'?" Cordelia asked as she turned around from the stove which she had just lit.

"That is what my husband said. He is taking me to England for our honeymoon." Fred said as she showed Cordelia her ring. Cordelia and Angel both hugged Fred and Wesley and congratulated them. "Oh Fred I am so happy for you. Wesley you finally got what you have wanted since we rescued her. Now all we have to do is get Gun to find someone and we will be on our way to the next generation of Angel Investigations."

"We have an even bigger surprise for you two." Buffy said. "Your pregnant?" Angel asked. "No not yet. The surprise is more of gossip than news." Buffy didn't say anything more. She just waited to see how long Cordelia could take it with out asking.

"Well?" Cordelia said. "Well what?" Buffy said. She was having fun keeping everyone in suspense. "Buffy spill it before we end your career as a slayer right here and now." Cordelia said.

"Oh, right I was just thinking of something else for a second. Guess who is dating who?" Buffy waited before saying anything more. She wanted the suspense to build.

"Spike what is she talking about?" Angel asked. His curiosity was finally getting the better of him.

"Your Dr. John has been seeing Hunter lately. They have had several dates already. When we left he had come up to Sunnydale to spend the weekend with her at her house. Hunter is practically dancing now when she fights a demon or Vampire." Spike said.

Cordelia and Angel just looked at each other. They really were shocked at the news. "Never in a million years would I guess that Hunter would find someone. Especially Dr. Thompson." Cordelia said. She went over to the stove and put a large pot of coffee on. Buffy, Spike, and Angel came over to the stove. Spike was looking at the stove. "Just like old times. Brings back memories. Look Buffy. It's an old fashioned wood stove. It looks like the only modern convenience in here is the refrigerator." Spike was looking at the kitchen more closely now. He was pointing out all of the oil lamps to Buffy. They went into the living room and was showing her all of the oil lamps that had to be lit in order to be able to do anything.

"Hey are you guys hungry?" Cordelia asked everyone. "I don't think so Cordelia we just came from the Jenkins where we had dinner. We followed them over here and they just left before you got here. We are kind of tired now." Wesley answered for everyone.

"You can't go to bed yet. You have to tell me when you guys got married, how was the ceremony, did you guys get married in a church or did you go to a justice of the peace." Cordelia was so excited she was forgetting to have her special tea.

"We just got married today at Fr. Barris's church. He performed the ceremony and Spike was Wesleys best man and Buffy was my maid of honor." Fred went up to Cordelia and hugged her and whispered in her ear. "This is our first night as husband and wife so yes we do want to go to bed." Fred drew back. She had a nervous smile on her face. She wasn't sure if Cordelia understood.

"Well I guess you can have the bridal suite then." Cordelia gave Fred a kiss and went to Angel and whispered something in his ear. "Buffy and Spike do you want to sleep in the barn with Cordy and I? The house only has 3 bedrooms and we are giving up our bedroom to Fred and Wesley for their Honeymoon." Angel asked. He looked at Wesley and Fred who where blushing. He knew they had been sleeping together for a while so he didn't understand why they were blushing.

"Lets do it Buffy. It will be fun. 'You know Angel and I used to trade women sometimes. Maybe you'll get lucky tonight.'" Spike whispered the last part in Buffy's ear.

"Don't ever think like that ever again Spike." Buffy pulled at his ear to emphasize how serious she was. "Ow, Ow, Ow. Okay, Okay I was just joking. Besides Angel would probably stake me if I ever touched Cordelia in a non medical way." Spike said as he rubbed his ear.

"Okay lets get as many quilts as we can. You want to come with me Wesley and Fred and I'll show you how the house works. Then Angel and I are going to take a shower and then turn the room over to you. Buffy and Cordy you can take a shower in Connors bathroom if you want. Cordelia took the pot off of the stove and then took their guests upstairs along with Angel. Cordelia piled a bunch of quilts on top of Angel and Spike and told them to take them down stairs then to come back so they could take a shower. Angel brought up Wesley and Fred's suit cases and Spike brought his and Buffy's.

Wesley and Fred went back down stairs and waited for the others to take their showers. Cordelia told Buffy to wear something warm because the nights were still cold over here.

Cordelia asked Angel to help her change the sheets on their bed before they took a shower.

Thirty minutes later Cordelia and Angel came down stairs. They both had on sweat pants and matching jackets. Cordelia picked up the pillows and Angel picked up the pile of quilts. Spike and Buffy came down also. Fred came over to Cordelia. "Your starting to show your pregnancy quiet a bit now Cordelia. Are you sure it's okay for you to be climbing up in the hay loft?" "Sure, Dr. Martin said it's good for me to exercise. She said the delivery will be a lot easier on me if I exercise regularly. I even went horseback riding the other day." "You have horses here? Can we go for a ride tomorrow?" Fred asked excitedly. "Sure, does Wesley know how to ride?" Cordelia asked. "No I don't think so. At least I never heard him mention riding."

Fred went over to Wesley to ask him. "Wesley do you know how to ride a horse?" "Yes, why?"

Fred turned to Cordelia. "He does Cordelia." "Good we can go horseback riding tomorrow then. Maybe we can take a picnic lunch."

Cordelia was about to head out to the barn when Dr. Martin came up behind her. "Cordelia didn't you forget something tonight?" Cordelia looked around and saw Dr. Martin with a cup in her hand. "Oh my goodness, I forgot to have my tea. Thank you." "What are mothers for if not to make sure that the kids take all of their medicine." Cordelia took the cup from her. "Good night everyone. If you need anything Wesley ask Connor." "Good night everyone." Angel and Buffy said as they followed Cordelia out the door. Before Spike headed out of the door he turned and said "If the barns a-rocking don't bother knocking tonight or tomorrow morning." With that said he closed the door and ran after the rest. Wesley and Fred said goodnight to Dr. Martin and Connor and headed upstairs.

"I guess I'll go to bed also. Goodnight Connor." Dr. Martin said as she took a cup of tea that she had made for herself also when she had made Cordelias. "Goodnight Grandma." Connor said. He didn't feel like sleeping yet so he grabbed his jacket and went outside for a walk. He went over to the barn and listened for awhile. When he didn't hear anything he opened the barn door and went in. Connor was bored stiff and was feeling like he had energy to burn.

"Hey Cordelia and Buffy!" Connor yelled. "What do you want Connor?" both Cordelia and Buffy answered at the same time. "Can Angel and Spike come out to play?" He could hear them all laughing.

Angel got up and went over to the side of the hay loft. Spike came over and stood by his side.

"What do you want to do?" Angel asked. "Tarzan has been neglecting Boy. Boy wanna play follow the leader." "You want to go?" Angel asked Spike. "I'm game Tarzan. Is it okay if I go and play with Tarzan and Boy Buffy?" "Yeah go play." Buffy said. "Can I go play with Boy Momma?" Angel asked Cordelia. "Sure, you've both been good lately so go play and get it out of your system. Be careful though, I don't want anyone coming back with a shotgun wound again." When Angel and Spike got the okay they jumped down from the hay loft. Connor took off and was out of the Barn door before they hit the ground. Buffy came over to sit with Cordelia. Angel had put a couple of bales of hay together so they could lean up against them and to protect them against the cold air hitting Cordelia on the head. Buffy sat down next to Cordelia and pulled the covers over her legs. They talked about what their lives had been like and all of the things that had been happening since they last saw each other. Cordelia told Buffy all about what had happened at the convent and at Sr. Margaret's funeral.

"How do we play this game Tarzan?" Spike asked as they started running after Connor. "We have to find him then we have to go where ever he does until we catch him. Then who ever catches him becomes the next leader." Angel said. "There he is." Spike spotted Connor in a tree that was in the back of the house. They both started running after him. Connor was young though and very inventive. It took Spike and Angel an hour to finally catch him. Angel was the first one to get to him. They were only able to do it by Spike distracting Connor and Angel coming up behind him. Fortunately the trees around them were very old and large and Angel was able to walk on the limbs without making any noise. He jumped at Connor from the limb next to the one Connor was on and they both fell to the ground. Angel jumped up and gave his Tarzan yell.

"Boy will never win over Tarzan. Tarzan is leader now." Spike was laughing so hard he almost couldn't follow. For the next hour Angel led them on a merry chase through the surrounding fields and through several fields loaded with sheep. They finally caught up with him by getting ahead of him and hiding behind a rock fence. The wind was blowing towards them so Angel couldn't smell them. Connor and Spike left about 50 feet between each other. As Angel jumped over the fence they both tackled him. It surprised Angel to the point that he Vamped out. Even though they had both piled on top of Angel he threw them both off and started running back to the barn. "That's not fair Tarzan, we caught you and it's my turn now." Spike yelled at Angel. Since Angel wasn't stopping they had no choice but to take chase. Angel ran as fast as he could, which fortunately, was just a little faster than Spike and Connor.

Angel ran into the Barn and jumped up to the loft and hid in the corner were Cordelia and Buffy were talking. Spike and Connor came running right after him. Spike and Connor jumped up to the loft also and looked for Angel. After watching them search through the hay Buffy asked them "What are you guys looking for?" "Angel, we know he came up here." "Oh, he's over here hiding behind us." Buffy said while pointing with her thumb towards the corner. Spike and Connor jumped him. "You cheater." Spike and Connor had piled on top of Angel and Spike sat on top of his head while Connor took his shoe off and was tickling his foot. Angel was laughing so hard he didn't have the strength to push them off. When they finally stopped they retreated behind the girls. Spike sat behind Buffy and Connor sat behind Cordelia, but Angel didn't come after them.

"Now, now boys if you can't play nice we won't let you ever play together again. What happened?" Cordelia asked. "He cheated Cordelia. He didn't play fair. We were playing follow the leader and when the leader gets caught whoever caught him becomes the next leader. I was the leader at first then when Angel caught me he became the new leader. But when we caught him he didn't give up the leadership. Instead he came running back here. I'm going to tell Grandma if you don't punish him for not playing fair." Angel was sitting in the corner grinning from ear to ear.

"Boy and Spike are poor losers. Tarzan no play with Boy again. Boy always threaten with running to Grandma. Boy sore loser. Connor jumped up and started for the door. "I'm telling Grandma. Then you'll be sorry." Angel, Spike, Buffy and Cordelia were laughing their heads off.

"Where did this game come from." Spike asked after they were able stop laughing.

"Angel and Connor like watching the old Tarzan movies. When we went to see Sr. Margaret we stayed at this old retreat house that they have on the property. They have a bit of a forest close to the convent so one night after leaving the convent Connor challenged Angel to a game of Tarzan and Boy playing follow the leader. You should have seen this Master Vampire husband of mine acting like a little kid again and chasing after Connor in the snow and trees."

"I haven't had that much fun in a long time Spike. You and Buffy need to hurry up and make your own boy so that you can have as much fun as I am having with Connor now." Angel was laying on his back and on top of the 2 bales of hay.

"What happened to Connor that he did such a 360 degree turnaround? When we left he was still as hot tempered as Angelus." Spike asked no one in particular. He was making himself comfortable by laying his head in Buffy's lap.

"What do you mean as hot tempered as Angelus?" Angel asked as he jumped off of the bales of hay.

"I was there Angel, you weren't. Angelus could turn on a dime. One second he could be just as fun as you were, and in the next second he would have his hands around my throat and threatening to tear it out. I can't tell you how many times Dru saved my life. Both you and Angelus had a very soft spot in your heart for her. Dru would start pulling on Angelus's arm and calling him Daddy. For some reason that would hit him in the heart like an arrow and he would let go."

Spike sat up and looked at Angel. "I am going to ask you something Angel and please don't take it as an accusation, but I always wondered how you could possibly bring yourself to kill Drusilla when you loved her so much? And don't tell me that you didn't love her because I know that both you and Angelus loved her as though she was your real daughter and that's why you both responded so quickly when she would call you Daddy."

"How did you know when I was coming thru and it wasn't Angelus who was in 100 control of this body?" "I don't know Angel. I would just get a feeling that you were different. I guess you weren't putting out vibes of pure evil. But I learned to be real careful because Angelus would take full control over you again without my knowing it. Now that I've heard all of Dr. Martins explanations for how our bodies work now and how Angelus controlled you I can think back on all of those years that Dru and I were with Angelus and Darla and I understand things that happened back then." Angel was quiet. He didn't speak for awhile.

Angel looked at Spike. Even in the dark Spike could tell that whatever Angel was going to tell him it was going to be the truth. "A part of my heart died when I had to kill Drusilla. You were right Spike, she did hold a special place in my heart. I did look on her as though she was my daughter. When you and Angelus used to switch partners and Angelus had sex with Drusilla that was the evil part of him that is in some men that forces their own daughters to have sex with them. I was repulsed by that act and I didn't want Drusilla to suffer anymore at Angelus's hand, at my hand. Some of the things that she was doing during those last years went against everything that I stand for now. But I knew that she was doing them because of what I did to her. I wanted it all to end for her Spike I wanted her soul to rest in peace. She was a good girl when Angelus turned her and took her over and over again. My heart ached for her Spike and that's why I found it so easy to kill her. If Connor or one of Cordelia's and my children should be turned into a Vampire I would do the same thing for them. No one should have to suffer as I have Spike. No one." Angel got up and went to Cordelia. "Do you hate me for saying that Cordelia?" "No Angel. I would thank you for having the courage to love us enough to do it." Angel just stood their and hugged her.

"I think it's time to go to bed now. I'm pretty tired. I won't admit it in front of Connor but I have to work a little harder now to out do him so I am pooped now. Spike and Buffy lets keep the sex to more traditional moves okay? I don't think these old barn walls can take your kind of sex."

Both Buffy and Spike answered at the same time. "Yes Daddy." Angel grabbed a bale of hay and threw it at them. "Go to bed." Angel grabbed another bale of hay and threw it at Spike who caught it and stacked it on top of the others. He was making a wall to separate them so they could each have some privacy. Angel went to their makeshift bed and lifted the quilt and Cordelia laid down. He covered her then laid down beside her and covered himself.

They laid down quietly for awhile. Cordelia was laying on her back and looking out at the stars. They could hear Spike and Buffy making love on the other side of the hay. Like Fred said, 'listening to people having sex was like smelling popcorn, you just had to have it also.'

Angel started kissing Cordelia. He ran his hands under her jacket and played with her breasts. Her nipples were hard because of the cold. He unzipped her jacket and opened it so that he could have easier access to them. Within minutes they were soft and supple.

Both Buffy and Cordelia had breasts that were large enough to attract men to them. Spike and Angel were no different. He could hear Spike sucking on Buffy's breasts also. He wondered why both he and Spike liked doing that so much. He knew that not all men did it to the length that he did. He would often spend a large amount of the love making time at Cordelia's breasts. He felt Cordelias hand go down his pants and grab on to him. She ran her hand up and down his growing erection. Angel pulled off Cordelia's jacket all of the way then pulled off her pants. He removed his own clothing, but instead of laying back down beside her he just stood there looking at her. Her stomach was growing each day it seemed and was now raised two or three inches higher than her hip bones. Tomorrow they would have to go looking for maternity clothes for her. As he stared at her his erection was getting longer and harder. He got on his knees and raised her hips up so that he could more easily reach her opening. Silently he began to pump her. He did it gently and slowly at first. Then he stopped and kissed her vigorously. He pursued her mouth as if he had to catch it and entrap it in his. He raised his head and finished the love making act. When he was done he laid down beside her and placed his ear on her stomach. He listened to his daughters heart beat. He started to sing an Irish song that he had heard a long time ago. He didn't know where it came from inside of him because it had been almost 3 centuries since he heard his mother sing it. He started off slowly and softly. His Irish accent was very heavy as he sang it. When he was done he kissed Cordelia's stomach and said 'Goodnight my sweet Mary Kathleen.'

Cordelia was running her fingers through Angels hair. "Good night Mary Kathleen." Cordelia said. Then Angel raised himself up and laid beside his wife. He pulled the quilts over them and pulled her into his arms.

Buffy and Spike had been listening to Angel. Buffy whispered in Spikes ear. "I think I am ready to share our lives with one of our own now Spike." Spike looked deep into her eyes, 'Are you sure pet?" "Yes Spike I love you more and more each day and I think that I am ready now to share you." Spike hugged her closely and kissed her. They fell asleep in each others arms as did Angel and Cordelia.

Everyone woke up to the sound of the cow mooing. The calves were using up her milk so she didn't need to be milked but she did want to go out to the pasture. She kept up her mooing until Angel got up and let her out through the back of the barn.

"How many people are going to go horseback riding?" Angel asked Cordelia. She didn't answer so he climbed the ladder to the loft again. He found her asleep again. He laid down beside her and started to tickle her under her nose with a straw. Cordelia rubbed her nose but didn't wake up. He tried again. This time she held her finger to her nose and started sneezing. Cordelia looked around. She saw the light coming in. "Angel can you close the doors to the loft or Spike will set fire to all of the hay." He jumped up and closed the doors. Spike and Buffy were still asleep so he motioned for Cordelia to come over to him. He grabbed another straw and started to tickle Buffy's nose. Cordelia did the same to Spike. They rubbed their noses at first then they did like Cordelia and started sneezing.

"Knock it off you two." Spike and Buffy sat up. Spike rubbed his eyes. "Well now what are you two doing, starting a nudist colony over here." Cordelia and Angel had forgotten to put their clothes back on. They jumped back over the hay wall and put their sweat pants and jackets on.

"Your going to have to make a run for it Spike. He grabbed Cordelia and picked her up in his arms and took her into the house. "Put me down Angel, I have to go so bad." Angel put her down and Cordelia ran upstairs and used the bathroom that Connor used. It opened out to the hallway and into his and Dr. Martins room. Cordelia closed the doors. She just barely made it to the toilet. "Kathleen your going to have get off of my bladder. I almost didn't make it this time." When she was done she went downstairs to the kitchen. Angel had already started the stove and had the large coffee pot on the back burner.

"I had to scold your daughter a while ago." "Why?" Angel said as he started to pull some potatoes out of the vegetable bin. "I told her to get off of my bladder, I almost didn't make it to the toilet." "She couldn't be that big yet that she would cause you a problem." Angel said as he stopped cutting the potatoes and looked at her. He was thinking of when Wesley was teasing him about feeling like he had to pee all of the time because Cordy would start having to go to the bathroom all of the time as Kathleen got bigger. "No she isn't that big yet but once in awhile she gets herself in a position where she is pressing on my bladder. It kind of feels like she is stretching her legs and that's when she makes me have to run to the bathroom. It's usually in the morning though and not all of the time. I'm glad we came now Angel instead of when I'm a lot bigger."

They didn't notice Spike and Buffy watching them from the door. "Ahh, what a scene of perfect marital bliss." Spike said to Buffy.

"I'll just ignore you for now. Buffy are you going to go horseback riding with us today?" Cordelia asked. "No I'll be the perfect wife and stay here and keep Spike company."

"So that makes it 5 so far. Most likely Connor will want to go. So that means I'll have to call Mr. Jenkins and get 2 more horses. We have to ask Fred and Wesley if they can use a western saddle or if we need the English type of saddle. Most likely that is what Wesley is used to."

"Good morning everyone." Fred and Wesley said as they came downstairs. To answer your question Angel, yes I can ride with a Western saddle." "Good then I'll call Mr. Jenkins and ask him to bring two more horses and saddles over." Angel threw the potatoes that he had cut up into a cauldron so that he could rinse them. He put the cauldron into another bowl where they could sit in water while he rinsed them. He pumped the pump a few times and got all of the water he needed. After rinsing the potatoes he threw them into a large frying pan. They created a lot of sizzling noise. Then he chopped up some onions and threw them in with the potatoes, seasoned them then covered the pan. It was obvious that Angel intended to cook every ones breakfast this morning. Normally he would of added more to the potatoes but in a small village like this was fresh produce was seasonal so there wasn't too much besides what could be kept in cold storage through the winter. The onions and potatoes were from the previous summer. Angel pulled out a large ham for Cordelia to cut a few slices off of. The coffee by now was boiling so he pulled it to the side a little so that it wouldn't boil over. Angel grabbed the broom and banged on the ceiling a couple of times. "Hey you two breakfast will be ready in 15 minutes." They heard Dr. Martin and Connor answer simultaneously, "I'll be down in a few minutes."

While the food was cooking Angel pulled out Cordelia's cell phone and called Mr. Jenkins.

"Mr. Jenkins, good morning, this is Angel Martin would it be possible for you to bring over 2 more horses this morning? Yes they're for our guests. Thank you 11 o'clock will be fine. Good bye." Angel closed the phone and gave it back to Cordelia.

Dr. Martin and Connor came downstairs. "Good morning everyone." Everyone answered with a good morning.

"We need a volunteer to set the table. Connor would you bring in some more wood for the fireplace and the stove please?" Cordelia asked as she brought out a bowl of eggs. "We need some more eggs so see if the chickens have laid any yet." "Sure, I'll be back in a minute." Connor said as he started out the door. "Common Wesley lets help him." Fred told Wesley as she got up to follow Connor out of the door. "I haven't had to do this since I left Texas to go to school in California." Connor showed them where the chicken laid they're eggs and handed them a basket that they used to collect the eggs. He left then to get the wood for the house.

When they got back they gave the eggs to Cordelia. She rinsed the nesting material off of the eggs then gave them to Angel. Cordelia continued to make the toast that needed constant attention. This afternoon she would have to start a batch of bread dough for the evening meal and the next day. In just a few minutes both Angel and Cordelia brought the food over to the table. Angel had a pot of blood warming slowly on the back of the stove. He tested it to see if it was warm enough or if it had started to cook but he found it to be just right. He poured a couple of large mugs of blood for Spike and himself. He didn't have anything to add to it so they would have to take it straight. Everyone waited for Angel and Cordelia to join them.

"Could I have everyone's attention please?" Everyone stopped talking and looked at Angel.

"I would like to offer a prayer before we start. If everyone would hold hands I will give the offering. 'Thank You heavenly father for all that we have here today. Thank you for our friends that are able to join us. Thank you for the love and kindness that you give to all of us. Amen.'"

Everyone echoed his Amen. "Dig in everyone." Angel said as he took a slice of buttered toast and dipped it in his blood.

Cordelia got up and went to the refrigerator and pulled out the grape jelly. She took a big spoonful of it and put it on her toast. Angel was picking up on her craving so he was eyeing the bottle of grape jelly. "Can I have some of that Cordy?" Cordelia passed it down to Angel. Angel took a large spoonful of the jelly and placed it on his bread.

"You've become a very religious person Peaches. Angelus must be plucking his own eyes and ears out by now." Spike commented as he drank his glass of blood.

Angel was quiet for awhile. He was trying to think of a good return to Spike's comment. He leaned forward on the table as he reached for his cup of coffee instead of the blood.

"Spike I never thought that I would ever say this but here it goes. Even as a human before Darla turned me I never gave God a second thought. The good Sister that taught us our Catechism on Sundays used to tell us that if we had to give ourselves an excuse for doing something then it was most likely wrong and we shouldn't be doing it. Well after my mother died when I was 12 years old I was giving myself excuses for almost everything I did. It got to the point that I just stopped rationalizing what I was doing. I did it by just putting any thought of God out of my mind. I didn't think about Him again until I was given my soul back. I had myself convinced that God would never want to give me a second thought because I was such a rotten human and an even more rotten Vampire that was slowly corroding from the inside out and that corrosion that came out of me had spilled out onto humans around me. With Dr. Martins help I have come to understand that God does still love me. In thanksgiving for all that He has done for me and for giving me the privilege of being one of His Champions here in this world I have made it one of my priorities to come to know Him and to thank Him for all that He has done for me. Cordelia and I have talked about it and we have decided that our children will be brought up in the Catholic Church and they will be brought up in the old tradition of family prayer. So you might as well get used to it Spike."

"I know this is going to shock everyone but Buffy and I have gone to church a few times. We have come to realize that Slayers just don't live very long and we have been making the most of the time that we have together. Buffy wants to have children with me now. Neither one of us knows how long she may have left in this world. I guess she doesn't want to leave me alone."

"Don't worry about Buffy leaving you early Spike. Buffy is the last Slayer to receive that title by the previous Slayer dying. That title will now be kept within your family. It will be passed on to your daughter." Dr. Martin said. If she had, had a feather she could have knocked over Buffy with it.

"Who gave this information to you? Was it Sr. Margaret?" Buffy had recovered enough to start asking questions.

"Yes, Sr. Margaret gave me this information to pass on to you and Spike before she died. She also said that Spike is to officially change his last name to Summers. Willow should be able to help you with all of that. You are the last of the Summers are you not?" Dr. Martin asked Buffy.

"Yes, the Summers name will die out unless I have a boy and he takes the name of Summers."

"You and Spike will have 2 boys and 1 girl. Your first will be a girl the next will be twin boys. Each generation of Summers girls will produce 1 girl that will become the next slayer when the mother becomes unable to perform her duties or as a Slayer or dies. From now on this is how the title of Slayer will be passed on. Wesley you will need to discuss what the future of the Watchers are with Giles. Your only purpose in life from now on Wesley will be to take care of Angel and Angel Investigations. You will see to it that all children complete their education in the correct field that they will need in order to take over from their parents. In each generation 2 of the children will be chosen from among all of the children to follow in my footsteps."

Dr. Martin sat back in her chair and let all of this soak in and then waited for a response.

"These are the orders given to you from Sr. Margaret?" Wesley asked. He said it as though it was something that he was told all of the time.

"Yes Wesley. When Angel, Cordelia and Connor came to see Sr. Margaret and before she died she spoke with each of them privately. The night before she died she gave me these instructions. You have the heaviest load to carry Wesley because you will be the last one to leave this world. This of course doesn't include Connor since he is part of the next generation. You will be the last to leave this world because it will be your task to make sure that everything is working as it should."

"How will I know which child will take my place?" Wesley asked. His head was already spinning with the immense amount of responsibilities that were being laid on his shoulders. "Fred will know."

"Isn't it ironic that the only Vampire to kill two slayers will become the father of generations of slayers." Angel said.

"Well now that we have been given our orders for the rest of our lives it's time to have some fun while we can." Angel pulled Cordelia into his lap as she got up to clear the table. "Cordelia and I have already made a good start towards the next generation and I know Wesley and Fred are working hard at carrying out their orders. So lets get busy and clean this kitchen up. Wesley and Connor lets go and get the horses saddled. Tonight Spike we men will be going out to have some fun. Mom are you coming with us?" "No, not today Angel. My backside isn't used to that hard seat. If I could see it I am sure that it would still be red from bouncing around on that hard seat. I think I'll get some bread started for tonight."

Dr. Martin hesitated for a second. She was trying not to smile. "Uh Angel, I had a complaint from my grandson. It concerns your playing fairly. Do you know anything about this." Angel, Wesley, and Connor were almost out the door when Dr. Martin mentioned this. He came back in and gave Connor a dirty look while Connor had a big grin on his face. "Yes Mam it just so happens that I do." Angel came back in and stood before her like a little boy. "Can you tell me what happened? I always like to hear both sides of the story before I pass judgement." Dr. Martin was doing her best not to laugh. Angel saw the slight smile that played across her face. He took that as a signal that this was all for fun.

"We played this little game that we have between us. We call it Tarzan and Boy. We play hide and seek as only Connor, Spike and I could do. Who ever catches the first person to play IT wins and becomes the new leader. When I became the leader and Spike and Connor caught me I didn't give up the leadership. I just threw them off and ran back to the barn." Everyone was having a good laugh over Angels Mom calling him on the carpet.

"Do you think you were being a very good example for your son when you did that?" "No Mam." Angel was shuffling his feet like a little boy.

"Okay this is my judgement call. You have to remember Angel that you have to always be a hero to your son. You always have to do your best Angel. You always have to remember that someone is watching you. Your always a teacher to your children. Your children put you on a pedestal that is so high up that it's hard to stand up their all of the time but you have to do your best to stay up there. Don't forget that Angel." "Yes Mam." "Now for you Connor." Connor stood up. He was having a good time seeing his father getting disciplined. He was in for a big surprise though when Dr. Martin slapped him on the back of the head lightly.

"Ow what did you do that for." Connor said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh stop it I didn't do it that hard. That was for being a tattle tale." She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Don't get mad, get even." Now get out of here all of you. I'll clean up the kitchen.

"Thank you Mom." Cordelia said as she gave Dr. Martin a kiss on the cheek then went upstairs with Fred to get some jeans on. When she got up there though and put her jeans on she found she couldn't even zip the pants up.

"What am I going to do Fred? I don't have any maternity clothes yet." Cordelia looked at Fred. It seemed as though Kathleen had grown some more over night.

"Why don't you wear those sweat pants you were wearing last night?" Fred suggested. "I guess I'll have to, but I have a clean pair that I can use." Cordelia grabbed a clean pair of sweat pants and put them on then grabbed a blue flannel shirt that she had bought for Angel. They went down stairs then and to the barn. The men had the horses saddled and were waiting for the ladies.

"How do I look?" Cordelia asked Angel as she turned around.

"You look like a beautiful mother to be that doesn't have any maternity clothes. I guess we'll have to go shopping for you when we get back. Let's get going." Angel helped Cordelia to get in the saddle and Wesley helped Fred. The men mounted their horses and they took off. Angel led them towards the town then over to his families farm. They were riding on the side of the road so it took them another couple of hours to get there.

As they came into the yard in front of the house Angel stopped and dismounted. He helped Cordelia to dismount. He knew she had to pee real bad after all of that bouncing because he felt like he had to also. Angel took Cordelia by the hand and told the rest to stay here and they would be right back. Cordelia dropped his hand and went running to the back of the house. Cordelia almost didn't make it she had to go so bad. Angel relieved himself at the same time. It felt odd to him since he so rarely had to do it. He figured though that he was probably going to be doing it a lot more though until Cordelia finally delivered their Kathleen. They went back to the others.

"Everything okay?" Wesley asked. At the same time he was looking at Connor out of the corner of his eye. They were remembering the joke that he had told about Angel. Angel noticed them laughing and he remembered the joke also then. Cordelia and Fred were wondering what Connor and Wesley were laughing about. "Yes Wesley everything is okay. Lets tie the horses up over here. I wanted you to see the farm where I was born."

They tied the horses up and Angel showed them around the house and barn. "Wesley I want to find out who owns this farm now and no matter what it costs I want it and I want it to be restored to the way it looked when I left. I am going to turn it over to the Jenkins to manage it for me. They can rent it out and keep the money for repairs and taxes. They will keep a portion of it as a fee for taking care of it also." Angel then lead them over to his mothers grave. "This is where my Mother is buried Wesley. Cordelia and I have discussed it and if I should die after my redemption both Cordelia and I are to be cremated and our ashes brought over here and placed next to my Mother. This will be our family cemetery. If any of you want to be buried over here you are more than welcome." "Okay Angel I'll get started on it as soon as we get back from England. How many acres belong to the farm?" Wesley asked as he started to walk around the tree and had a good look at the property.

"I don't remember exactly how many but I think it's at least 100 acres and maybe more. We had better start heading back now it looks like it's going to rain." It took them an hour this time to get back to the house they were renting. Angel lead them through fields this time and they crossed several farms but they made it. Just as they lead the horses into the barn it started coming down hard. Wesley and Fred helped Connor and Angel unsaddle the horses and wipe them down. Cordelia had run inside to go to the bathroom and brought out some hot cocoa for Angel and herself. "I made some hot cocoa for the rest of you in the kitchen. Don't make too much noise though because Mom has the bread rising right now. Angel and I are going to stay out here for awhile. We still have our bed quilts in the loft and I don't know about Angel but I could do with a nap right about now." "Thanks Cordelia, that hot cocoa sounds good. We'll see you later." Wesley, Fred and Connor went back into the house and left Angel and Cordelia alone.

As soon as they were out of sight Angel ran to the back of the barn and relieved himself again. It seemed that this was going to be a regular thing just like it was for the morning sickness. He was back in a few minutes and went up into the loft to join Cordelia. She was sitting on the quilts and drinking her hot cocoa. When he tried to cuddle up to her she squealed in protest. "Angel take you clothes off their all wet. Put them over the rail so they can dry out. If their not dry enough when we go back in I'll go in and get you something to wear." Angel took his clothes off and hung them over the rail so his clothes could dry. Then he slipped in under the covers and snuggled up next to Cordelia and she gave him his cup of hot cocoa. They just sat for the next 30 minutes and watched it rain. When the cocoa was all gone Cordelia took her clothes off and crawled in under the covers with Angel. They slept then for the next 2 hours.

Connor was sent outside to call Angel and Cordelia into dinner. He came in quietly and went up the ladder into the loft. He saw the clothes hanging over the rail to dry. 'What a perfect opportunity.' Connor thought to himself. He grabbed the clothes and quietly went back into the house and placed the clothes on the bed then went back out to the barn and started making more noise as he went in. "Aren't you two ever going to come in. Grandma said that dinner will be ready in 30 minutes. This is your one and only call." Connor waited for a reply. "Well be in, in a few minutes Connor." Cordelia said as she sat up. She got up to get her clothes.

"Angel, I think we have a problem here." "What's wrong?" He asked as he looked around.

"Someone seems to be pulling a prank on us and I think his name is Connor." Cordelia said as she grabbed one of the quilts from their makeshift bed and wrapped it around herself. Angel got up and did the same. They made their way back to the house. Fortunately the rain had stopped but the ground was soaked so they had no choice but to walk through the mud and then track it through the house. As they walked through the house Angel spotted Connor innocently helping in the kitchen as though it was common to see Angel and Cordelia walking through the house wrapped in quilts. "Since this is your fault Connor you can clean the mess on the floor that we are leaving behind."

"That little joke didn't work to well did it? I think Cordelia is having more problems with her pregnancy now so I would walk lightly around both of them from now on. Don't forget Connor that Angel is picking up on her physical and emotional changes. If Angel should perceive any threat to Cordelia he just may unknowingly react in an animalistic fashion. So tread lightly my dear boy, tread lightly." Dr. Martin was talking loud enough for everyone to hear.

"So your saying fun time is over." Connor said as he cleaned the mud off of the floor.

"All I am saying is that you need to be careful from now until your sister joins us in this world. Fred would you set the table please?" "Sure Dr. Martin." Fred started setting the table for all of them. By the time she was done the food was ready and Angel and Cordelia came down stairs after taking a warm shower. Both of them were in a better mood now.

"Dinner is served everyone." Dr. Martin said as she put the food on the table along with small steaks and glasses of warm blood for Angel and Spike. Dr. Martin had made a lamb roast with mashed potatoes, gravy and peas, and fresh bread. She knew Angel loved fresh bread to dunk into his glass of warm blood.

After eating their dinner Angel gave the men the bad news. "I am going to have to give you guys a rain check on our night out. We discovered today that Cordelia has to finally make the scary leap into the world of 'Maternity Clothes'. So the ladies will be going shopping tonight in Galway. If anyone wants to go I think we can all make it into the van?" He got an okay from everyone so they all got up and started to help with cleaning the kitchen. Connor had already put two buckets of water onto the stove before he sat down to eat so they had hot water to start cleaning the dishes with. All of the food was put away and the dishes cleaned and put away within 30 minutes. They all piled into the van which was a little tight with so many people. But they managed to fit in. Angel and Cordelia sat in the front, Dr. Martin and Buffy sat in the two middle seats. Spike, Wesley and Fred sat in the back with Connor sitting on the floor between Dr. Martin and Buffy.

It took them an hour to get to Galway. They still had 2 more hours in which to get some shopping done. The men sat on a bench between the stores and eating ice cream like a bunch of kids. Connor was checking out one of the music stores. Spike was making a remark about a young woman with long red hair flowing down her back. He looked over at Angel and noticed his ice cream was melting down the side of the cone and down his hand.

"Angel your ice cream is melting." Angel didn't respond. He had his head down as though he was watching something on the ground. Once again Spike called out to him. "Angel, are you okay?" Wesley was next to Angel. When Spike called out to him for a second time and he didn't respond it grabbed his attention. He took the ice cream cone and threw it away and wiped his hand. Angel grabbed onto Wesley's arm. That's when he knew that Angel was in a lot of pain.

"Angel what's wrong?" "I don't know. All of a sudden I got a sharp pain as though someone just shoved a sword right through me." Spike came over and kneeled in front of him. "Where exactly is the pain?" Angel put his hand on his groin area. When he did that he looked at Spike. They both said it at the same time. "Cordelia." Spike and Wesley helped him get up and they ran to the maternity clothes store where they left the women. They saw a bunch of women gathering around the changing room. Dr. Martin and Buffy each had an arm around Cordelia's waist and were helping her to walk out of the changing room. Angel pushed every one aside and got to Cordelia. "What's wrong Cordy?"

"We need to get her to the hospital Angel. They've called for Ireland's equivalent of 911. They should be here in a few minutes." Dr. Martin told Angel. She let go of Cordelia and pushed Angel to the side and called Wesley and Spike over while Fred and Buffy took care of Cordelia.

"Angel when the ambulance comes don't get in it. I want to come in the van. Do not get in the ambulance with us. They are going to think that there is something wrong with you also. Give Wesley your keys so he can bring the van over to the entrance. Do you understand Angel?" Angel just looked at Dr. Martin. "Tell me the truth, is she losing Kathleen." Dr. Martin put her hand on his cheek and smiled at him. "In all honesty Angel I don't know. But I have faith that God has given you and Cordelia this baby that will be born in about 4 months." "But why is she in so much pain. I feel like I've been run through with a sword and it's still in there." "Angel she will be alright. The pain isn't any worse than if she was having contractions. She is handling the pain better than you are. Here comes the paramedics. Spike don't let him come into the hospital as soon as we get there. He can come in either when the pain subsides or he is able to handle it better. I am going to ride with the ambulance. Follow us but keep him outside when we get there." Angel gave Wesley his keys and went to Cordelia. The paramedics had her on the bed and were taking her vitals. Dr. Martin was listening for Kathleen's heartbeat. She looked at Cordelia. "She has a nice strong heartbeat Cordelia. Let's get you to the hospital so that we can find out what's wrong. Let's go guys." She said to the paramedics.

Another wave of pain came over Angel and he held onto Spike. Spike had to practically carry him outside. He had Fred and Buffy but they were missing Connor. Spike guided Angel over to a seat and told the girls to stay with him while he went to get Connor. He was back within a few seconds and with Connors help they were able to get Angel to the front and the Van. The paramedics were just loading Cordelia in the back of the ambulance and Dr. Martin got in to sit next to her. Angel saw her holding Cordelia's hand. Spike and Connor helped Angel to get in the front seat then they helped the ladies to sit in the back and they took the middle seats. Connor saw that Angels hand was grabbing the arm rest so tight that he was going to leave an imprint. They followed the ambulance to the hospital but Wesley parked to the side. Angel continued to experience the pain while they were sitting in the van. It came in waves so he was able to rest for a few minutes in between. After about an hour it stopped and he was able to relax. It took him another 10 minutes to get his breathing under control. He opened the door and stepped down. Instead of landing on his feet though his legs buckled and he went all of the way down. Spike and Connor got out and helped him to stand again. Angel took a deep breath and he went into the hospital emergency entrance.

Dr. Martin was coming over to the nurses desk just as Angel and the rest came in. "How is she?" "She is okay Angel. She's resting right now. Kathleen is resting also. Apparently she didn't like her Momma going horseback riding. Cordelia was having contractions. We got them to stop and we did an ultrasound and Kathleen is fine. All of Cordelia's vitals are normal now and she isn't in pain any longer. All she needs to do is to rest for a few days. You can go into her now. They will release her after she has rested for awhile." Angel hugged her. "Thank you, thank you." When he finally let her go she looked at him. "How are you feeling now?" "Better, I felt better as soon as her pain stopped. What did you do for her?" "We gave her some drugs to stop the contractions. Right now I want her to stay here for at least an hour until we are sure that everything is under control. When we go home now Cordelia is going to have to be laying down so we are going to have a problem as to how we are going to all get home."

"I can drive everyone else home and then come back for you 3." Wesley said. "That sounds good." Angel said as he left the group to go to his wife.

Angel parted the curtain and made sure that it was closed after he stepped in. He bent down and kissed Cordelia on her forehead. He reached for her hand and kissed it. Cordelia opened her eyes. "Hi, you gave me quiet a scare Cordy." "I'm sorry. I guess this means I can't go horseback riding anymore. Kathleen's poor little head must have been bouncing all over the place." Cordelia said with a smile. "Mom said that you will have to rest for the next few days then we need to get you home. I am going to see if we can get our suite over here at the Galway Inn. Do you mind not going back to the house?" "No but tell Mom to see if there is some way that we can take my yeast back with us. I like making bread for you with the same yeast that your mother used to use. I know it's not really the same one but just knowing that some small part of it came from that original batch that your Mother used is very comforting. I feel like she is still in the kitchen with me making bread for her little boy." Angel kissed her hand then called the Galway Inn. He rented two of the suites for the next 3 nights and told them that they would be there in about an hour or so. He then called Wesley and asked to speak to Fred. "Fred would you gather all of Cordelia's and my things and send them back with Wesley. We won't be coming back to the house. I have made reservations for the next 3 nights at the Galway Inn for all of us. Send the last of the blood that I have in the refrigerator also. Thanks."

"All set. All we have to do is wait for Wesley to get back and then we'll go to the Inn. Why don't you get some more sleep until he gets back." Cordelia did as he said and closed her eyes and went to sleep. Angel rested his head on her stomach and listened for Kathleen's heart beat. He found it. It was strong and steady as usual. He pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and rested his head on the side.

Dr. Martin came in one hour later. "Angel, Cordelia wake up Wesley is here." Angel got up and looked around for Cordelia's clothes. "Where's her clothes?" Angel was looking around. "It's usually placed in a bag under the bed the patient is on, at least that's the way they do it in the states." Angel looked under the bed and found a bag. "Aha! I found them. Let's get you dressed Cordy and then we can go to the hotel." "Your not going back to the village?" Dr. Martin asked. "No I made reservations for the next 3 days at the Inn that we were at before. I got 2 suites so if the others want to come and stay here they can, but I want Cordy to have complete rest and no work." Cordelia looked at Dr. Martin and had the biggest grin on her face. Dr. Martin turned away so that Angel wouldn't see her laughing.

"I think I'll stay also so that I can keep an eye on Cordelia. I think Connor though is in seventh heaven and is going to miss taking care of the animals. I think Fred and Buffy will convince Wesley and Spike to come to the Inn also though." Angel was done dressing Cordelia. He helped her down from the bed and put her in the wheelchair. She winced a little at the pain from the movement into the wheelchair. Dr. Martin noticed that Angel did the same. They headed for the lobby to pay her bill and get all records of her problem and what was done so that it could be given to Dr. Thompson when they got home.

Wesley was waiting in the front. "How are you two doing now?" "What do you mean us two?" Cordelia asked as Angel lifted her into the van and she went to the back so she could lay down. They all got into the van and headed for the Galway Inn. "Wesley you haven't answered my question yet." Cordelia was starting to worry about what happened to Angel.

"He felt everything you did Cordelia. Didn't he tell you?" Wesley answered. "When we left you ladies in the store we went to get some ice cream cones and were sitting on the benches eating our ice cream and watching all of the people. Spike noticed that Angels ice cream was melting so he told him but he didn't respond. Apparently that was when you started having problems. Your pain hit him like a freight train. Angel if that was just a sample of what women go through I feel sorry for you. Because we men just weren't built to take that much pain for any length of time."

"Maybe this was just a dry run so that you would have a better idea as to what you will be going through Angel." Cordelia said from the back of the van. They rode along in silence for awhile. "Wesley pull over please. He didn't do it right away so she said "now Wesley now." Angel helped her out of the van and over to the side where she started to throw up. "Mom come over here and hold her." Dr. Martin went to Cordelia and helped her. Angel went over by a tree and leaned against it while he started to throw up as well. When he was done he went over to Cordelia and helped her back to the van. "You must have forgotten to take your tea." Angel said as he helped her to get back into the van. "What gave you your first clue Dick Tracy?" Cordelia said as she crawled back to the seat and laid down. "About the 2nd heave." Angel didn't bother getting into the front seat. He just pulled himself into the second seat and made the seat go all of the way back. Dr. Martin closed the side door and got into the passenger seat in the front.

By the time that they pulled up to the Inn Angel was feeling strong enough to go in and register them. Dr. Martin and Wesley helped Cordelia into the Inn. When Angel was through registering for the 2 suites he gave one set of keys to Wesley and the other to Dr. Martin. He picked up Cordelia and went to the elevator. When they reached the floor for the suites Dr. Martin opened the door for Angel and he took Cordelia directly to the master bedroom and put her on the bed. "I don't suppose you brought my medical bag Wesley?" Dr. Martin asked when he came in. "I thought you would want it so here it is." "Thank you Wesley." She took the bag and went into Angel and Cordelia's bedroom and closed the door behind her. Fifteen minutes later she opened the door and closed it quietly behind her.

"This has been a rough day for both of them hasn't it?" Wesley asked Dr. Martin. They sat down at the kitchen table. "Yes and I think it will get harder from now on. Wesley I will be going back to the convent next week but it will be just to start the processing of the papers for my leaving the convent. It will take at least a month before I come out to Los Angeles. I am going to ask Spike and Buffy to stay at the Hotel with you guys until the baby is born. Buffy said it's been quiet in Sunnydale and they are only a couple of hours away if they have to return for anything. I am going to set things up in such a way that Angel and Cordelia won't suspect that they are there in order for Spike to take care of Cordelia and Angel. He can go and work with Dr. Thompson during the day. "

Dr. Martin was silent for a moment. "You know Wesley there is no scale that we can measure pain against. What Cordelia went through tonight was only a small sample of what she will be going through when she goes into labor. Tonight we saw how hard it is going to be on Angel. Something tells me that we are in for a rough ride before Kathleen makes her appearance in this world. We've been treating this like a joke so far but I think it will be harder on Angel then we ever imagined."

"Remember what I told Connor this afternoon when Angel got mad and ordered Connor to clean up the mud they were leaving behind?" "Yes but you don't really think he could lose control where Angelus could come through do you?" "Angelus wouldn't take over control as in when Angel loses his soul but I think he could be in so much pain that he may not be thinking right." Dr. Martin just left it at that and got up. "I will be staying here tonight so that I can keep an eye on Cordelia. Why don't you go back now. We'll be okay for tonight." "Okay Dr. Martin. We'll probably all be over here tomorrow. Goodnight."

Dr. Martin carefully opened the door to Angel and Cordelia's bedroom and checked on Cordelia. She checked her pulse and felt her forehead. As far as she could tell Cordelia was doing fine so she went back out and grabbed a blanket and curled up on the couch. She was tired and went to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next morning when she woke up she could hear the whirlpool bath running in Angel and Cordelia's bathroom. She opened the door and went into the bedroom but stopped at the open door of the bathroom. "Angel and Cordelia, are you two hungry?" They both answered simultaneously. "Yes." "What would you like for breakfast. Wesley brought your sheep's blood as you asked Angel." "Good. Cordelia can't decide on what she wants so I am ordering for her. Order a stack of buttermilk pancakes, a side of 2 scrambled eggs and 2 sausages. I'll take 2 eggs over easy and a small steak. A large pot of decaffeinated coffee and a pitcher of orange juice, and a nice tall glass of milk for Mary Kathleen Martin." "Okay I'll let you know when they say that it should be here." "Thanks Mom." Angel said, Cordelia gave a thank you also. Angel turned the mood music back on and they settled back into the whirlpool. They sat for the next 15 minutes just looking outside and enjoying the view. Angel started to wash Cordelia's hair. When he was done she sunk down below the water.

"We better finish bathing now Angel I'm starting to look like a prune." Cordelia said as she started to bathe. "Ah but you're my prune." Angel said as he began to wash her back. They were out of the bath within a few minutes. Cordelia started to get dressed but Angel stopped her. "What do you think you are doing Mrs. Martin?" "I'm getting dressed." "I don't think so. You were told to stay in bed for the next 3 days." Angel stood over her with his fists on his hips just daring her to try to go against orders. Cordelia just looked at him and was trying to figure out if it was worth an argument. After all, she thought, she could have lost Kathleen last night so she caved in.

"All right Angel I'll be good and do as Mom said. Ask her though if I can come into the kitchen to eat my breakfast. I promise I'll go right back to bed as soon as I'm done." Cordelia said as she got back into bed and pulled the covers over her lap.

"Okay, I except your word. I don't think we want to risk losing Kathleen." Angel sat next to her on the bed. He looked into her eyes as though he was trying to find something in them. He leaned over and picked her up and put her in his lap. He hugged her tightly to his chest.

"You scared me last night Cordy. I felt everything that you did last night. I don't think that I have ever experienced pain like that for such a long period of time. I was even thinking of breaking the link between us so that I wouldn't have to go through it anymore. It was the first time where I had an option as to whether I wanted to except the pain or turn a switch off and it would stop. But then I thought about what you were going through and that you didn't have any choice. It made me realize how much stronger you are then I am. It made me realize how much you must love me." Angel put her back on the bed and covered her up.

"I'm sorry Cordy. I'm sorry that I had those thoughts last night. I'm sorry that I love myself more than I love you." Angel had been looking down but he raised his head and looked at her. "I promise that I won't ever do that again. I promise that I will be with you through everything. I promise to love you and our children more then I love myself. I used to think Cordy that I could only prove my love to you by giving you the best sex that all of my years of experience could possibly give. But I know now that sex is just a complement to love. It adds dressing to the real center piece. The real center of a marriage is the love that a man and woman give to one another. I now know that it's true what they say. Women give 100 and men give only 50 to a marriage. Last night while we were waiting for Wesley to come back I realized that this wasn't a vacation for you and Mom. It was for Connor and I but all it was for you and Mom was another working day which was made harder since you didn't have the modern conveniences that you do at home. That's why I didn't want you to go back to that house in my village. When Wesley comes back I am going to tell him that I want my family farm to have all of the modern conveniences. So that the next time we come here you won't have to work so hard and I am going to get a maid to help you while we are here." Angel hugged her again. "I'm sorry I have been so self centered Cordy. I love you and I promise to be a better husband."

Dr. Martin knocked at the door. "Angel the food is here. Cordy you can come and eat at the table with us if you want." "Well be there in a minute Mom." Angel said as he helped Cordelia to get out of bed. She stood on her toes to put her arms around his neck. "Angel I love you and no matter what you think of yourself I still see you as the man that I love and that's all. Now as far as you being weaker than me when it comes to having baby's we women have always known how weak and fragile men are. Men just were not made to endure the pain like women are. I could never stop loving you Angel no matter how many times you cry uncle." Cordy gave him her best million dollar smile and a kiss. She put some sweat pants on along with a T-Shirt and they went into the kitchen. They were both hungry and the food smelled so good.

"I thought I was going to have to come after you two again." Angel and Cordelia sat down and started eating. They were both hungry since they both had emptied their stomachs before coming to the Inn. Angels blood had started to get a little cool so he warmed it up again in the microwave. When it was done he came back to the table and started in on his steak. He dunked each piece of meat in the blood before he ate it. When they were done eating Angel made sure that Cordelia had her tea before she went back to bed.

"Mom do you remember the clothes that I was trying on at the clothes store before Kathleen started throwing a hissy fit?" Cordelia asked as she prepared her tea. "Yes." Dr. Martin answered. "Do you think you could go back and pick them up for me. I liked all of the ones I had taken into the dressing room with me and you know the size I was trying on." "Sure, I can take a taxi. It will be nice to go shopping." "Why don't you wait for the others to come Mom and we can go together. Besides I don't want to leave Cordelia alone. Let me call them to see when they'll be here okay?" "Okay Angel, maybe some of the others would like to go also."

Angel went to the bedroom to get his cell phone. He called Wesley's number.

"Hello this is Wesley." "Wesley, this is Angel when are you guys coming over here?" "We will be there as soon as the Jenkins come over. I am going to use him to find out who owns your old family farm. He will be my contact for everything over here. Then we will all be coming into Galway. Connor isn't too happy about it. He said that he is going to miss taking care of the animals. We really need to get him a dog or something Angel. He says he misses all of the animals from Quortoth. Apparently he had pets that he misses a lot." "Well take care of that when we get home. Why don't you send the rest over here. Cordelia wants Dr. Martin to go back to the mall and pick up the clothes she was looking at when she started having contractions. I want to go with her but I can't leave Cordelia alone. I almost forgot Wesley, Cordelia wants to see if there is a way where we could take some of the yeast back with us to California. Ask Mrs. Jenkins when you see her if she knows a way we can do it?" "Okay Angel, I'll tell the rest to pack up their things and go into Galway. Goodbye."

"Okay, they should be here in an hour or two. Wesley has to stay to talk to Mr. Jenkins. He said he is going to use Mr. Jenkins to find out who owns my families farm." Angel noticed that Cordelia was done with her tea. "Lets go Cordy, back to bed." While Angel escorted Cordelia back to bed Dr. Martin put all of the plates back on to the cart and pushed it out to the hallway. When she went back in she found Angel laying on top of the covers next to Cordy.

"Do you two mind if I use your bathroom. I would sure appreciate a soak in your whirlpool?" "Sure Mom. Take as long as you like." Cordy answered right away. Dr. Martin checked to see if there was a bathrobe she could use in her own bedroom then went back to Cordy's bathroom. "I'll see you later." Dr. Martin closed the door after her and started the whirlpool water. While it was filling up she disrobed and started to light the candles. She was looking out of the window and watching the clouds come in. She sat on the edge of the whirlpool and took her hair down. Dr. Martin looked at herself in the mirror. For a woman of her age she thought she was still pretty good looking. She had kept her figure over the years and her breasts were no longer firm but still not sagging. Because she exercised whenever she could her hips and legs looked good. 'I think I can still get a man to take a second look at me. My face doesn't show to many wrinkles because of all of the rest I get, thanks to Mother Superior. Enough with this Mary your just as vain as the next woman.' The whirlpool was full now so she turned the water off and stepped in and turned the whirlpool on. Now this is luxury. She poured some eucalyptus oil in the water and let the steam carry it so that it penetrated her sinuses and left her feeling more relaxed.

Thirty minutes later she reluctantly got out after bathing. Since her hair was so long she had to get into the shower to wash it. The eucalyptus oil was all over it. When she was done she dried herself off and put the bathrobe on. She wrapped her hair in a towel to let it soak up more of the water then grabbed the hair dryer and her brush then went back into the bedroom.

"How was it?" Cordelia asked. Her and Angel were playing cards when Dr. Martin came out.

"I was in 7th heaven. Now all I need is for someone to volunteer to brush my hair and blow dry it." "I will make the ultimate sacrifice and do that for you since Cordy is supposed to stay in bed." Angel came and sat on the floor with his back against the bed and plugged in the hair dryer." "Come sit between my legs Mom so I can blow dry your hair." Dr. Martin did as he said.

Angel was almost done when they heard someone knocking at the door. He excused himself and got up to answer it. It was Wesley and the rest. "I thought you were going to stay for awhile to talk to Mr. Jenkins?" Angel asked as he opened the door wide so that everyone could come in. "Mr. Jenkins came just when I got off of the phone with you. While everyone else was packing and loading the 2 vans I took the time to talk to Mr. Jenkins about what you wanted to do and the part that I wanted him to play in it. It turned out that Mrs. Jenkins is quiet a computer buff. In fact I would say that she is just as knowledgeable as Willow. Before we left the village we went to see Mrs. Jenkins. Your going to want to sit down when you hear this. Where is Dr. Martin?" Wesley and Angel went to sit at the kitchen table. Angel called Dr. Martin who was getting dressed now that she had her suitcase.

Wesley asked Dr. Martin to sit at the table also. He pulled out a couple of sheets of paper and laid them on the table. "Angel Mrs. Jenkins was working with the parish priest to put all of the church records to CDs. When I asked her if she had any records on the Martin family that used to live in the village back in the 1700s she said that she had just got through transferring the records for the 1700s onto CDs. She was able to bring up all records on your family. Angel she was able to tell us where your Father, Sister, and step mother were buried when Angelus killed them. They are in the town cematery. I also found out who now owns your family farm." Wesley looked at Dr. Martin. "Apparently your father inherited the farm Dr. Martin. I also found that someone in each generation inherited the farm and all though no one ever wanted to return to Ireland to live their they did keep it in your family and continued to pay the taxes on it. You Sr. Mary Tares Martin are now the current owner of the farm."

"What? I didn't know I owned any property over here. When my father died I was already in the convent and I was going through my novitiate. I told the lawyer that was the executor of my fathers will that anything that I inherited from my father was to be turned over to my lawyer to handle. I never saw or heard anything more. I was to busy to even be curious about material things that I may have inherited. Of course I'll turn it over to you Angel. It's rightfully yours anyway." Dr. Martin was happy that she could give this to Angel. "Thank you. Let me at least pay you for all of the taxes that you have been paying on it for all of these years." Angel said.

"Don't you dare. Consider it a gift from your adopted mother to your biological mother. Now I don't want to hear anything more on it. Besides it would go to you when I leave this world anyway."

"Well it looks like you have made a good start already. Thank you Wesley. Dr. Martin and I are going to the mall to pick up the clothes that Cordelia was trying on when she started having contractions last night. Does anyone want to go with us?" Hands went up. Fred, Buffy and Connor wanted to go. Angel went to check on Cordelia and reminded her to stay in bed or else.

When he came back into the living room Dr. Martin had got her purse and they all went downstairs and loaded into the van. When they came back after 3 hours Angel and Connor had their hands loaded with packages. It turns out that Angel had wanted to see what she had chosen and he looked around and picked out 5 more outfits for her. He also wanted to go shopping in the baby store where he bought 10 outfits in various sizes for Mary Kathleen. He also bought receiving blankets with Irish designs on them. Dr. Martin finally had to stop him. "Angel if you buy anymore it will have to be shipped. You will have to pick up some extra suitcases as it is."

"When I go shopping for my girls I don't know when to stop. Lets go."

Angel, Connor and all of the women came in to see what Angel had bought. Wesley and Spike stayed in the living room. They could hear ews and ahs coming from the room. Spike looked at Wesley. "Peaches was always good at picking out just the right clothes. Darla taught him how to dress properly. He practically had to tie me down in order to get me to dress properly so that we could go to all of the parties and balls that Darla wanted to go to. Except in those days we just took what we wanted. Drusilla always enjoyed the dances also. Darla made us practice dancing over and over again until we did it perfectly. That woman had a temper. She even got Angelus to do exactly as she wanted. I think he did what she wanted though because it was the only way to shut her up."

When Cordelia was done going through all of the new clothes everyone but Angel left the room. "I am going to go back to my families farm Cordy. Wesley has found where Kathleen is buried. I don't know exactly when I will be back but promise me that you won't get out of bed Cordy." "I promise." Cordy crossed her heart and held up her fingers like a Girl Scout. Angel gave her a kiss and walked out of the room.

"Lets go Wesley." Angel said as he headed for the door. "Where are we going?" "We're going to see my sister."

"Angel I think Spike and I should go with you also." Dr. Martin had come out of her bedroom when she heard Angel. Angel took a few minutes to think about it. "Okay, but if something happens I don't want any drugs okay?" "Okay Angel I promise, no drugs." Dr. Martin said. She went to him and put her arm around his waist and hugged him. Spike grabbed his coat and hat and followed Wesley out the door.

They still had some daylight left when they got to the village cemetery. Spike and Dr. Martin stayed in the van while Angel and Wesley followed the cemetery map to find Kathleen's grave. They had to go to the very back of the cemetery which was behind a small hill and underneath a group of very old trees. This part of the cemetery was overgrown with weeds and brushes. It took them thirty minutes to find Angels fathers grave and his sister Kathleen's grave.

When they finally found them Angel just stood their staring at them. "Would you leave me alone for awhile Wesley?" "Sure Angel. Angel don't forget what Dr. Martin taught you. Angelus is the one that killed your family not you. You and Angelus are two different beings."

Wesley went back to the van and got in. "How is he Wesley?" Dr. Martin asked from the back seat. She had decided to take a nap while waiting for them but when Wesley opened the passenger door to get in she woke up. "I think he is going to be their for awhile. You might as well go back to sleep." "Yes I think I will. He did the same thing when he visited his Mothers grave for the first time. Cordelia finally had to go and get him."

Several hours later Spike woke up. Wesley and Dr. Martin were still sleeping so he quietly got out of the van and went in search of Angel. He followed his scent until he found him. Angel was stretched out between his fathers grave and his sisters. He was sleeping but he was also having a violent dream. He seemed to be running from someone. He was breathing hard and his legs were moving. Then he started calling for Kathleen. He was yelling at her to run as fast as she could.

Spike turned when he smelled Dr. Martin and heard her skirt rustling among the weeds and brush. She put her fingers to her lips when he started to speak. She went and kneeled on the ground next to Angel and softly called out to him. "Liam, Liam Martin." When she didn't get any response she tried again. "Liam stop playing with your sister and get in here this very minute." This time she got a response from Angel. "Momma, Momma someone is chasing Kathleen. She can't run fast enough and he is going to catch her in another second. Momma call Da tell him someone has Kathleen." "Who is chasing her Liam." "I'm almost there Momma I can almost touch him. Let go of my baby sister you monster. I have his arm Momma I can see his face now." Angel turned over and started yelling in his sleep. "No....No....it's me Momma it's me." "How can that be Liam? How can you be catching yourself?" "I don't know Momma but it's me." "Angel come inside now." "I can't Momma "I" won't let "me" go." When Dr. Martin heard what Angel was seeing in his dreams she backed off from her participation in his dream.

Dr. Martin pulled on Spikes arm and told him to follow her. She went back about 100 feet from Angel then she stopped and turned around. "Start calling his name Spike and I'll do the same. I want him to come out of his dream naturally." Dr. Martin started walking forward and calling out Angels name. Spike did the same. "Annngggelll, Annngggellll, come out come out wherever you are." Spike called as he continued to walk forward. Dr. Martin called out to Angel as though they were looking for him. As they got closer they saw movement in the grass where Angel was. They called out to him again. "I'm over here." Angel stood up and brushed the dirt and grass off of his clothes. "Sorry I guess I fell asleep."

"It's getting late Angel I think it's time for us to be getting back. Everyone will be worried about us, especially Cordelia." Dr. Martin said as she started walking back to the van. Spike walked around the graves. The fact that it was starting to get dark didn't bother him since he could see in the dark almost as well as he could in the light. "Is this where they buried your sister Angel?" "Yeah. My fathers grave is to her right. Lets go." Angel started to follow Dr. Martin. When they were far enough away Spike took some of the soil from Kathleen's grave and put it in a plastic bag then and put it into his right pocket then he took some from his fathers grave and did the same but put the bag in his left pocket. Spike ran after Angel and Dr. Martin when he was finished.

Angel was quiet on the ride back. When they got back to the Galway Inn he just said goodnight to everyone and went into his bedroom. Cordelia tried to engage him in conversation. "Hi, I missed you. Did you find your sister and fathers graves?" "Yeah." "Do you want to talk about it?" "No." "Would you like to be alone for awhile?" "Yes."

After that interesting conversation Cordelia got up and went into the kitchen. It was 8:30 p.m. and she hadn't eaten yet. "Is anyone hungry?" Cordelia shouted. Connor and Dr. Martin came out of their rooms. They both shouted "Yes." Cordelia got on the phone and called the other suite. "What are you guys doing for dinner, are you ordering room service or going out?" After a few minutes she said okay and hung up. "They're coming over here and were going to order room service for tonight."

A few minutes later they heard a knock at the door. Connor let them in and they all started to give their orders to Cordelia as to what they wanted. Cordelia called room service and gave their orders. When she got off of the phone she stood up and took Dr. Martins hand and pulled her into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She sat on the bed and patted the bed, signaling to Dr. Martin that she wanted her to sit by her. She came and sat next to Cordelia.

"Okay, what happened that has caused Angel to need some major brooding time?" Cordelia asked. By the look on her face Dr. Martin knew she wouldn't be able to postpone this until tomorrow.

"Remember what happened when he visited his mothers grave?" "Yes, he laid next to his mothers grave for so long that he fell asleep and I finally had to go and get him. Why?" Dr. Martin got up and picked up her hair brush and came back to the bed. As she was talking to Cordelia she started to undo her hair and brush it.

"Spike and I went after him this time. Spike went looking first. When he found him he said Angel was talking in his sleep and moving a lot. I came up to him shortly after Spike did. We watched and listened for awhile. He was talking a lot in his dream and we could understand easily what he was saying. Apparently in Angels dream a man was chasing his sister Kathleen. His mother was in his dream and she was calling to him and told him to stop playing with his sister and she wanted both of them to come into the house. This is where I tried guiding him through his dream and I played the part of his mother, but during his dream when he finally caught the man he yelled out 'No, no, it's me Momma it's me.' I asked him 'How can this be Liam, how can you catch yourself? Come inside now.' He answered with 'I don't know Momma, I don't know but "I" won't let "me" go.' That's when I backed off and out of his dream. I think Angel is still having problems with forgiving himself for killing his sister, but I don't believe this is being caused by Angelus. I think that Angel has this buried deep inside of his mind and it didn't resurface until he visited his sisters grave. When he said "I" won't let "me" go, I knew then that he is the one that won't let it go."

Cordelia had tears in her eyes. She reached for Dr. Martins hand. "I have faith in you Mom, I know that working together we can get him to let go of this guilt that he is punishing himself with. Just tell me what I have to do and I'll do it." "Tomorrow I will hypnotize Angel like I did you, and I will do my best to help him to let go of this guilt. Something else that happened in his childhood is making him hold on to this. Lets go and have our dinner and then I'll go and talk to him. We'll get through this Cordelia and everything will be okay." As they walked back into the kitchen they heard a knock at the door. Spike opened the door. "The foods here guys."

The waiter pushed the cart in and gave the bill over to Spike to sign for everything. "Cordelia are you going to sign for the food?" Cordelia took the bill and signed for it. When she gave it back to the waiter he handed her a bottle of Southern Comfort. "Don't tell me. I bet I know who this is for." "A Mr. Angel Martin called in a special order and asked one of us to go to the local liquor store and purchase this for him. He said that he would pay cash for it." The waiter wouldn't release the bottle until he was paid. Cordelia went to her purse and pulled out a $50 bill and gave it to the waiter who promptly turned over the bottle. "Thank you Mrs. Martin." The waiter said then turned and left. Cordelia held up the bottle and looked at Dr. Martin. "Lets eat, we can give it to him later." Dr. Martin said. They all then grabbed their orders and sat around and watched cartoons on the Warner Brothers station.

When Dr. Martin and Cordelia were done Cordelia warmed up some water for her special tea and some regular tea for Dr. Martin. She also warmed up a large mug of blood for Angel. Dr. Martin helped her take it into her bedroom. When they entered the room all of the lights were out and Angel was sitting on the balcony. They took the drinks out to the table on the balcony and pulled up a couple of chairs, pulled blankets off of the bed and wrapped themselves up and sat down to drink their tea. Angel hadn't said anything. He reached for the bottle and poured a small amount of the Southern Comfort into their tea then poured some into his blood. He downed the whole glass at one time. He ran his finger around the inside of the glass and then licked the blood off of his finger.

Angel put the glass down and turned to Cordelia. He had a funny looking grin on his face. The hair on the back of Cordelia's neck stood up. The look he gave her scared her. Angel leaned over his chair towards her and then stood up and walked around to the back of her chair. All of the time he was walking around her he kept his hands on her shoulders and then to her neck. Dr. Martin saw the look of terror on Cordelia's face. She started to get up and said "I think I'll leave you two alone for the night." "Sit.... down." Angelus said with a menacing low tone. Dr. Martin carefully sat down again. Angelus pulled Cordelia up by the neck. She cried out in pain but Angelus put his hand on her mouth. Angelus moved one of his hands to her breast and kept the other one at her neck. Remember what I said before Cordelia. Angelus squeezed her left breast hard. Cordelia screamed in pain. Once again Angelus moved to stop her from alerting the others. She moved her arm and hand over her stomach trying to protect her baby. Angelus picked her up and carried her over to the bed and threw her on it. He turned and looked at Dr. Martin. "Don't make a sound Dr. Martin or I'll break her neck before you can even say anything."

"Why are you here Angelus? Where is Angel?" Dr. Martin asked as softly and quietly as she could.

"Angel let me take over because he couldn't take it anymore. Now since Mrs. Martin might loose Angel's sweet Mary Kathleen if I play with her anymore I think I'll have a little fun with you." He walked over to Dr. Martin and grabbed her around the waist and pulled her body to his. "It's been a long time since I had a nun. I killed hundreds of them back when I had control all of the time. The fear that ran through them when I pulled their veils off made their blood taste so sweet." Angelus pressed his face against Dr. Martins. He was searching for the signature smell of fear that would tell him her blood would be sweet. Dr. Martin wasn't afraid as he would like though. She knew that deep inside that this was Angel.

Angelus reached up to her neck and holding her head so that she couldn't move it he kissed her hard and roughly. Their was no tenderness in his kisses. It was all about control as it was with many rapist. Many rapist find their sexual arousal is heightened by the control that they gain over another human. As he continued to kiss her he grabbed her blouse and ripped it off of her.

Cordelia had crawled off of the bed and was moving as quietly as she could towards the door. Angelus had Dr. Martin on the floor. He had taken her blouse completely off along with her bra. While he was kissing her his hand started to rip her skirt off. When he was able to remove all of her clothes his hand started going up and between her legs. Dr. Martin did her best not to scream. She continued to whimper though, she was like a trapped animal and the hunter was teasing her because he enjoyed seeing her scared out of her mind. Then she felt him at her breast and his hand between her legs. Angelus was being rough with her.

"Dr. Martins mind was going through all that she knew about the act of rape. Many police say that you should be passive and submit to the rapist or else they will use your unwillingness to cooperate as a sign that they can beat you. Angelus unzipped his pants. Cordelia knew what he was going to do. She reached for the door but Angelus saw her and was in front of her before she was able to open the door. He picked her up and threw her on the bed. Angelus grabbed her at the throat and lifted her slightly as he said "Don't try it again or I will break her neck and I know that you know how easy and quickly I can do it." Angelus returned to his toy. Dr. Martin saw how big his erection was. She hadn't had sex since her husband had died. She knew this was going to be very painful. She started to call Angel. "Angel help me, please help me. Stop Angelus. I know that you didn't mean for this to happen Angel. St. Michael help Angel." Angelus slapped Dr. Martin several times to shut her up. Cordelia was remembering her own rape. She got off of the bed and crawled to the corner and put her hands over her ears and kept her eyes shut tight.

Angelus seemed to be having a hard time functioning then. He could barely control his hands. He quickly grabbed Dr. Martin's legs and forced them apart. Angelus tried to enter her but he was quickly losing control of Angels body. One moment Angelus was forcing himself on her and in the next he lost complete control and collapsed on top of her. Dr. Martin was crying uncontrollably. When she was able to regain her composure she pushed Angel off of her body and sat up against the bed and night stand. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked for Cordelia. She saw her then still sitting in the corner. She knew she had to get control of the situation so she dressed herself again as best she could. Fortunately Angelus hadn't actually torn any of the material on her skirt but her blouse was torn beyond repair. She put her bra on and found her slip and panties and put them back on then she looked in the closet to see if Cordelia had something she could wear. She found a white blouse that was similar to what she had been wearing. When she tried it on she found it to be to long but otherwise it would do for now.

Dr. Martin went to Cordelia in the corner. She still had her eyes shut tight and her hands over her ears. "Cordelia, it's me, Mom." Cordelia opened her eyes and looked up slowly. Then she reached up for Dr. Martin and grabbed onto her and started crying. They hung onto each other for awhile while they both cried. Dr. Martin pushed Cordelia away but continued to hold on to her shoulders. "Cordelia I'm alright. Angel took over before Angelus could force himself on me. Remember you said you would help me to help Angel?" "Yes, I remember." Cordelia put her hands down and stood up. "Okay then come over here and look at Angel." Cordelia went to the other side of the bed. She saw Angel curled up. He had his thumb in his mouth and he was sucking on it like a baby.

"I think Angel is trying to find out why he can't let go of Kathleen's death. He knows that something is buried deep inside of his past and he is trying to find out what it is and he is doing it in the only way that he can think of. The problem is though that he didn't figure on Angelus taking control while he is away on this journey. I can help him by hypnotizing him Cordelia but I have to wait until he advances in age enough where I can get him to look and concentrate on one object and to listen to my voice. Now I want you to help me figure out what age he is at right now. Many children continue to suck their thumb during adolescents. Angel could be anywhere between a newborn to 10. I don't think he is any further then that though. Lets see if we can get him to stand.

Dr. Martin kneeled next to Angel. "Liam, get up baby." Angel looked at her but gave no response to her voice other than to wake up.

---

TBC..................