CHAPTER TWO
Thalia tottered back to bed, having had to use the bathroom yet again. Dawn was just breaking and all too soon Connor would crawl out of bed to go to work. She eased herself back onto the warm, rumpled sheets for some last minute snuggling.
Connor reached up a lazy hand and stroked her hair. "You're so beautiful in the morning."
She smiled. "You only say that because it's still dark out. Wait until the sun rises and you can see just how scary I look."
"You'll always beautiful," he argued, kissing her. "Always." He pressed his lips to hers again then scooted down on the bed to plant a kiss on her belly. "And how's my boy in there?"
"Not ready to make an appearance. We'll just have to try again tonight." She ruffled Connor's hair.
His pretty, mobile lips parted in a wide, hungry smile. "You can't hide in there forever, son."
"No, it only feels like he will." Thalia laughed then grunted as the baby kicked. "Oh good, you woke him up."
Connor lifted her night gown and pressed his lips to her taut flesh. "Morning, little one." The baby kicked again. "He's obviously grumpy in the morning."
Thalia finger combed Connor's mussed hair. "Just like his daddy."
"I'm not grumpy. I just like to lounge about," Connor protested as she reached over and turned off the alarm before it could ring.
"It's a good thing I like lounging with you," Thalia said, turning so she could stroke his back. Neither of them ever lounged for long. Connor often was up and off for a day at the fire station even before the sun was awake, and she was at Angel's Catering to start cooking while the rest of the world still slumbered.
Before Connor could become too interested in her touch, the phone rang. Thalia tensed, afraid they were calling Connor in early for a big fire. She tried not to show how nervous his job made her. Connor picked up the phone. "Oh, hi, Buffy," he said. "No, Dad's right. It's not too early to call. We're up. I'm getting ready to go to work. Sure, she's right here." Connor handed Thalia the phone.
Thalia smiled as he moved off to get dressed. "Hi, Buffy. Nope, not doing anything important, just watching my husband's ass as he gets dressed."
Connor glared over his shoulder. "Don't tell her that." He disappeared into the master bath.
"Sure he has an ass, Buffy...okay, it is a little one but I can tell you how to find it since you'll probably be required to kick it. First you need two hands."
Connor popped his head around the door frame. "Stop that!"
Thalia laughed. "She heard you, skinny ass. He's as red as the fire truck he rides around in."
"They're green now," Connor grumbled from the other room.
"Sure, Buffy, I'd love to get together today. I don't have much else to do. Mostly I just pop in to work to make sure things are going smoothly at this point. Why don't you come here and I'll cook us up something...No, don't worry about it. I have to cook for the Twig or he'll just eat a protein bar or some bastard creation like that. You and I can go shopping along State Street and go for lunch...great, you can test those butt finding techniques after breakfast."
"Thally!" Connor yelled, his voice echoing around the bathroom.
She laughed again. "Bye, Buffy."
Connor came out of the bath room and kissed her hard. "You're awful."
Thalia cocked up an eyebrow. "You're sure?"
He kissed her again. "You taste sweet but you're rotten at the core."
She kissed him back. "You like me that way."
He cupped her chin. "You bet." His fingers strayed over her belly. "You turn out like your mom, little man, and you'll be very naughty."
She tapped Connor on the head. "Please, he'll be naughty from both sides of this family, demon boy."
"Half demon," Connor protested.
"I'm just glad your half doesn't have horns, though a tail might have been interesting," Thalia said, levering herself up and out of the bed. She peered out the window. It was a murky grey outside.
"Pervert."
"And you love it." Thalia smirked at him. "It's a beautiful grey fall day. I think I'll make a hot, stick to your ribs breakfast."
"Just don't overdo it, baby," Connor fretted. "Stress equals labor."
Thalia snorted. "I'd do jumping jacks if I thought I'd hurry this boy along."
"Oh, there's an image." Connor rolled his eyes.
Thalia swatted him. "See, told Buffy it's possible to find your ass."
He rubbed his stinging backside. "Very funny."
Thalia dressed and waddled her way down the steps. She was stirring the bubbling trahana when Connor let Buffy in.
"That smells so good," Buffy said, coming into the kitchen. "You really didn't have to cook for me, Thalia. It was supposed to be a fun day out for us."
"Does he look like he should skip a meal?" Thalia pointed a spoon at Connor who was getting the bowls down. He made a face at his wife.
Buffy's lips quirked up. "Not really."
"I don't let clients see him. They'll think I'm the worst cook in the world," Thalia said, ignoring Connor's glower. "Get me the honey, Honey."
Connor got it out of the cupboard and nearly dropped it when Thalia grabbed his butt. "See, Buffy, you can find his ass if you're fast enough."
"You're in such a mood today, woman," Connor grumbled, leaning in for a kiss.
"Bet it makes you sad you have to go to work," Thalia replied, and Buffy grinned.
"Very much, now behave yourself." He tapped a finger on her nose. "We have a guest."
"I'll behave if you do tonight when we go talk with your father and the others," Thalia said. "Or nobody will be grabbing your butt for a long time to come."
"Buffy's laughing at us," Connor said, his face looking like a flawless ruby.
Buffy tried not to snicker. "I'm not laughing. You two are fun. I don't get to see much of that any more. I spend too much time alone, bouncing around the world." Her eyes dimmed, her shoulders drooping.
Thalia looked at her sympathetically. "I can't imagine that. I've always been tight with my family. It's only me and my sister left now, and her kids. My parents were killed in a car accident soon after I started dating Connor. God, how they hated him." Thalia stirred the trahana a final time. "Babe, could you spoon this out for me. I'll get the katiki cheese."
"Sure. Buffy, have a seat. I'll get you coffee, too," Connor said, taking his wife's place in front of the stove.
"Thanks." Buffy sat at the table. "Why didn't your parents like Connor?"
"They heard the word 'Reilly,' told me to not bring him home unless he miraculously became Greek and that was that. They didn't even try to like him," Thalia said sadly, getting the cheese and orange preserves out of the fridge. "How do you like your coffee, Buffy? Glykys, like Connor?"
"I'm not sure I know what that even means," Buffy said as Connor set the bowl in front of her.
"Sweet as honey," Thalia said, taking Buffy's bowl. She tossed in cheese, drizzled on honey then spooned in the preserves. "There you go."
"What is it exactly?" Buffy eyed the unfamiliar food suspiciously.
"Trahana soup with katiki Domokou , honey & spoon sweets," Thalia said, doctoring up a bowl for Connor.
Off Buffy's still confused expression, Connor tapped the orange preserves. "Spoon sweets."
"Ah...and trahana ?" Buffy asked, obviously preparing herself for octopus pate.
"Pasta, it's a porridge-like pasta. Welcome to Greece," Connor said, going for the coffee pot.
"Well, it smells good. I like coffee with cream and three sugars so that would be glykys, right?" Buffy looked to Thalia who was trying to sit comfortably at the table.
"You're learning. Greek coffee is usually served with ouzo. I can't have either thanks to..." Thalia patted her belly. "And Connor skips the ouzo but you can have some."
"I skip it because if I breathe out those fumes near a fire and there'll be spontaneous combustion of my head," Connor said. "It's very strong licorice liquor, Buffy."
"Pass, but thanks." Buffy spooned in a mouthful of the trahana, her lips pulling into a grin. "Oh, this is good."
"Glad you like it," Thalia said. "We're big on yogurts for breakfast but it's too ugly grey out there for cold breakfast."
"Agreed." Connor sat down. "I just wish you'd let me do some of the cooking. You should rest more."
"You fret too much. I can cook just fine. Buffy and I can go shopping without it being too stressful, and if something happens, you'll be the third to know," Thalia said, giving him a look.
"No offense, but I'm kinda hoping the little guy doesn't put in an appearance while we're out shopping," Buffy said, a wary glance reserved for Thalia's belly and the way the baby was making her shirt jiggle side to side.
"Oh, given his parentage, I'm sure he'll pick the most inconvenient time he can," Thalia replied.
"Listen to your mother picking on you, son," Connor wagged his head. "Don't worry, it'll be us two together. We can probably take one girl...maybe."
"Big maybe, buddy." Thalia grinned wickedly at him.
Buffy just laughed, somehow feeling light when she hadn't even known she had been too heavy of spirit for her own good.
X X X
Buffy and Thalia sat in the himal chuli, their purchases at their feet as they waited for their Nepalese food.
"I didn't peg you with being this experimental, Buffy," Thalia said, drinking a mango lassi, a yogurt drink.
Buffy broke off a piece of roti, wheat bread with yogurt in the mix. "Willow spent quite a bit of time in Nepal and she got me hooked on Nepalese food. You feeling okay?"
"I needed this break," Thalia admitted ruefully. "But my credit card didn't."
"But you got some of the cutest clothes for the baby," Buffy said, popping in a piece of the bread.
"And that dress for me that was way too much money. God, I'm so looking forward to fitting back into something like that." Thalia sighed.
"Connor will love it." Buffy made a face. "Well, as much as any man, who'll never guess so much that the dress is new and you bought it for him."
"Thinking of that hot little number you bought with Angel in mind." Thalia grinned.
Buffy blushed, her eyes scanning the tiny restaurant so she wouldn't have to look at Thalia. "That obvious, huh?"
"Afraid so. Any reason why you aren't with him?" Thalia shrugged, tossing her long hair back. "I mean, I know the whole drama but that's several years in the past. Just looking at your face when you were trying on that dress, I don't think your feelings have changed much."
Buffy sighed as the waitress set a bowl of dal in front of her. The pea-green soup was rich with beans and onions. "It's just...I don't know what it is any more, Thalia. I know we can be together now. He's not going to lose his soul so long as he's not perfectly happy."
"No chance of that so long as my husband is such a stubborn dickhead," Thalia replied, poking a spoon at the tarkara the waitress set before her. The scents of ginger, garlic, cumin, and coriander wafted off the vegetable stew.
Buffy nearly choked on her dal. "Poor Connor. I know he's not a bad man, Thalia but sometimes he can be such a ..."
"Stubborn dickhead," Thalia repeated, her dark eyes slotting. "Trust me, I married him. I know his faults."
Buffy nodded. "He certainly would help keep Angel's soul in place. I don't know why I haven't come back to Angel. I know I still love him but there just seems to be too much past or not enough or something."
"Does it matter in the long run? Life's short. I don't need to tell you that. Maybe you're looking for perfection and it's not going to come across your path. Men are flawed creatures. So are women but not nearly as much as men." Thalia smirked.
Buffy stared at the dal , her appetite waning. "Maybe you're right. He's always wanted me to have someone normal. I've always wanted something more exotic. Then I look at you, and think 'that's what Angel wants.' You're exactly what he wanted for Connor, a normal woman. He wants it for me, too; a house, three kids and two cars." Buffy sighed. "Sometimes I want that, too, but I'd get bored fast. Not that I'm saying you're boring," she added quickly.
"I know what you meant." Thalia spooned in some tarkara. "How does Angel imagine normal happens for someone like you?"
Buffy shrugged. "I'm not sure, and he's always wanted it for me before there were other Slayers. I mean, now I could retire, settle down...go to the sperm bank and have him that kid. He's always wanted that for me. Him and his normal life...it drove me nuts."
Thalia pursed her lips, tapping her spoon against them. "Curious, I wonder if that explains..."
Buffy looked up, her curiosity peaked. This might be what Angel hoped she could uncover for him. "What?"
Thalia shook her head. "Nothing. Well, everything."
"You mean about him and Connor," Buffy said softly, realizing Angel may have once again caused his own doom.
Thalia trailed her spoon through her stew. "I figured that's half the reason you wanted to spend the day with a crazed, hormonal, ready to blow, pregnant woman was to talk about our men folk."
Buffy tensed slightly. She could sense Thalia's unease with the topic. "I think if you know something, Thalia, it would help in the long run if you just told Angel."
Thalia shook her head, her walnut curls bouncing into her eyes. "Once I told Angel something about Connor, and my husband was furious. I honestly thought Connor might leave me over that, Buffy, and it wasn't as major as this. He trusts me to keep his secrets."
"I don't think Connor would be going anywhere," Buffy said then added, seeing Thalia's hard look, "But you know him best. I know you're in a difficult place. I can tell you like Angel."
"I really do, and I know he loves Connor," Thalia said, her eyes glistening. "And I know my husband loves him back even if he won't admit it."
"He does hide it well," Buffy said wryly, before she could stop herself, realizing how rude that sounded.
"You can't be this angry at someone, Buffy, without huge depth of feeling." Thalia sighed as the waitress returned with their lunches. Both ladies had ordered the momochas . Thalia viciously stabbed one of the vegetable and chickpea-filled dumplings slitting it in two. She dabbed it around in its sauce then took a bite. "I just wish Connor would trust me with things. He likes to shield me when he can."
Buffy snorted, thinking of all the times Angel had done that to her. "Sounds familiar. From what I can tell, Connor's a lot like Angel."
"God, yes, they're two peas in a pod, and I think that's half the problem. But I don't know how to get him to change...in so much as people can change." Thalia dropped her gaze to the pitted table top. "I know they don't really change much but I just wish he'd understand he can tell me things, even if he thinks they're hard. Like the baby's name thing."
Buffy cocked her head to the side. "What thing?"
"I want to name the baby Stephen, after my grandfather, and I know Connor doesn't like it but he won't tell me why. He just goes all quiet." Thalia sighed, frustration radiating from her.
Buffy smiled softly. "I can help you there. Steven was the name Holtz gave Connor after he kidnaped him. For the first eighteen years of his life, Connor's name was Steven."
Thalia slapped her fork down. "Now why couldn't he just tell me that? I know all about him being in Quor-Toth...well, everything except his name, obviously. Why does he keep something like that from me?"
"Maybe he thinks you're in love with the name already and he doesn't want to disappoint you," Buffy suggested.
"And when Angel hears the name and freaks, that would be better?" Thalia wagged her head. "Fine, we'll just find another name or we can talk it over. Maybe Angel won't mind if Connor doesn't. Names aren't everything. I mean, it was a little bumpy there in the beginning when Connor learned I ran Angel's Catering. I swear he thought Angel sent me to find him and seduce him."
"How did you come up with the name of Angel catering?"
"My maiden name is Angelopoulos." Thalia smiled. "It was just a coincidence. Angelopoulos is a mouthful but Angel is cute. At least junior here won't have to struggle with his spelling in pre-school. Reilly's pretty simple."
Buffy grinned. "True. Angelopoulos would take a lot to learn when you're in pre-school."
"Could be worse. My sister, Larissa's married name is Panayiotopoulous."
"I'm so sorry." Buffy smothered a laugh.
"I know." Thalia sobered. "I just want my son to come into a family full of love. I don't want him seeing his dad and granddad like they were last night."
"Then you might have to risk telling us why you think Connor's so angry." Buffy plunged her roti into the sauce of the momochas. "Tell me. Maybe I can help and Connor won't need to know about it."
Thalia pushed her dumplings around then set her fork back down. "Damn it, okay. You knew about the name thing. Obviously Angel tells you more than Connor tells me. When you said that stuff about Angel wanting the people in his life have normal things, I started thinking maybe that's why he did what he did to Connor."
"You mean the spell?" Buffy's face paled a bit. "Thalia, do you know about what Connor did? The reason Angel had that spell cast?"
"Go nuts in a mall? Yes, I know about it. Connor didn't want to tell me but I do know about his past, all the ugly stuff." Thalia sighed. "I know why Angel took away Connor's memories. He wanted Connor to be happy and hey, not insane. Connor was grateful for that."
"I know. Angel told me. That's what hurts him so much, Thalia." Buffy paused, feeling Angel's pain. "One day Connor's telling him how he doesn't want to make a thing of it and how he was grateful, and soon after, he started getting angry again, resentful until it was worse than before. He barely speaks to Angel now. You know that better than me. Angel doesn't know what he did wrong and it really hurts."
"It's the normal thing...maybe. Connor doesn't understand why Angel went through all the effort of giving him this new life where he could be happy and then gave him to complete and total strangers," Thalia said, her own pain evident in her voice. "He feels unwanted, Buffy. He doesn't understand why Angel wouldn't have done the spell and kept him, made Connor happy to be his son, not the son of some stranger who got selected at random. He feels like Angel didn't want him, that he couldn't be bothered with him so he pawned Connor off so he'd never have to deal with him."
Buffy's lips formed an 'O' with the hiss of 'oh.' "Thalia, that's not true. Angel nearly died inside giving Connor up."
"That's when I started thinking earlier, about if Angel wanted normal for you, as silly as that is, then maybe that's what he tried with Connor. It wasn't that he didn't want his son. It's that he wanted his son to have a nice, normal, happy life, away from all the death and killing."
Buffy bobbed her head. "I don't even have to ask Angel to know that's exactly it, Thalia. That's Angel to a core. He does have a bad habit of deciding what's best for you, and he tries to give it to you, without asking or even thinking about what you really want. You need to get Connor to talk to Angel about this. If they would just stop being stubborn and talk about things, all of this could have been over years ago."
"I don't know that Connor will do it," Thalia lamented, tears standing in her eyes.
"For you, I'm betting he will. If he won't then...well, we can find a way of telling Angel," Buffy mused. "I could have figured out from our talk that Connor feels rejected or something that Connor might buy into."
Thalia sighed. "Let me work on him. He wants to know what he can do to make things easier for me and the baby. I'll see if I can get him to talk. I'll try tonight after we're done talking shop, such as it is. Connor knows you and Giles aren't really here for the Bray Road Beast but he hasn't twigged on to the fact you might actually be here to see the baby when he comes."
"I can't believe he's this thick." Buffy poked at her lunch. "It'll get better, Thalia."
The pregnant woman managed a smile. "I pray you're right."
X X X
She walked down the corridors of the Dawl Irrifletta's laboratory. The building was spacious, not too far from the Oscar Meyer plant, which accounted for some of the smell that seemed to permeate the place. Her subject was just on the other side of the door. The place had been reconstructed to look like an everyday home, if the unopenable bullet-proof Lucite windows were discounted. A living room, kitchen, two bed rooms and one and half baths with launderette, it was the kind of apartment most people would love to rent, bright and airy, not at all looking like the prison that it was.
She pursed her lips, not seeing her charge anywhere around. The place was deathly quiet, no tv, no radio, no signs of life even thought she knew there was no escaping this place. The one thing the occupant didn't have was much in the way of weapons. No knives, no forks, a soft mushy diet for her, and no decorative bits heavy or sharp enough to be used as a weapon. Not that her charge seemed inclined to attack her. Mostly she just hid, at first confused and afraid at being back in this world, and now, just afraid of what was going to be asked of her.
She searched the bathroom and bedroom for her charge but had no luck. Finally, she went into the second bedroom. It was bright with stars and moons wall paper and a crib with stars and baby Snoopy on the bedding. The celestial theme continued with the curtains behind which dark blue mini-blinds could darken the room to simulate night any time of day for baby. The mobile over the crib were more stars and moons, which were less disturbing to her than to have Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh dangling over a baby like they'd been hung. An activity brain booster was strapped to one side of the crib. Everything was ready except her charge who was huddled in the corner besides the enormous stuff Snoopy. She went over to her, looking down at her. "You really need to get used to the idea. You're back. You're going to help us and after a while I'm sure you're going to love this."
The woman tilted up her wet face, tears still trickling from her eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"
She squatted down. "Because, Darla, you never got to raise your son so I'm going to give you your grandson. You'll love raising him." Eve just smiled, envisioning the agony this would put Angel in, only fitting given all he took from her.