Daycare Center

Angelus pulled the Jeep up in the long line to the drop-off center. He looked at Liam in the rearview car mirror and frowned in disgust as the toddler sucked on his fingers.

"Stop here." Katie said, from the backseat beside Liam. "This is daycare. It's where little kids go when their parents are at work."

"Got it." Angelus put the Jeep in brake and got out of the car.

He opened the back door and stared down at the contraption Katie had helped him secure Liam in. Angelus tugged on the straps, uncertain how to free the boy.

"Red button." Katie said, raising a brow at Angelus.

Angelus frowned, pushing the red button. "I knew that." He took Liam out of the carseat.

Angelus carried him to the line of teachers smiling and greeting the young children as they passed, entering the pre-school.

"Oh, hello." A middle aged teacher said, startled to find Angelus standing in front of her holding the toddler out and away from him.

"Do I get a receipt or something?" He asked, placing the boy in the teachers arms.

The teacher stared at Angelus strangely. "Just pick him up at three-thirty."

"Three-thirty got it." He said, rushing back to the Jeep.

Sunnydale Elementary School

Pulling up to the drop-off point at the suburban Southern Californian school, Katie opened the back passenger side door.

She hopped out of the Jeep and adjusted the oversized backpack on her shoulders. "I have drawing club until four and then I have to be at the rink at four-thirty."

Angelus nodded his head. "Four-thirty. Okay."

"My stuff's in the trunk." She exhaled a heavy sigh, eyeing her alien father. "Try not to be late."

"Got it." He smirked.

"Bye." Katie closed the door and started walking up to the front entrance.

"Oh, Katie?" Angelus rolled down the window calling out to the girl.

Katie turned back to the Jeep and walked a bit closer.

"Where's my law office?" Angelus asked.

"Maple Court." Katie answered, then turned away and walked up the path to the entrance with a string of other children. "The O'Connor and Wyndam-Pryce LLP."

"The O'Connor and Wyndam-Pryce LLP. Good Lord, that's a mouthful." Angelus mumbled under his breath.

Maple Court: The O'Connor and Wyndam-Pryce LLP

Driving down the Main Street, Angelus noticed a small law office nestled between two shops, Book Stew! and April Fool. The law office outer appearance was lackluster at best. The name of the practice in red letters with a purple background above the door and two large windows.

He remembered this store front, in college it was a magic shop, but, now, it was a law office owned by him and Wesley.

"My God…" Angelus parked along the curb outside the law office.

Entering inside, Angelus wanted to vomit. Everything about this place screamed 'dated'. Carpet on the floors, yellow-ish painted walls, imitation leather chairs, and unstylish wooden furnishings.

Angelus rubbed a hand over his face, wishing for the umpteenth time this was all some very strange and vivid nightmare.

An attractive blonde hair woman that appeared to be in her early to mid-twenties grinned wildly at Angelus as he entered the law office. She stood from behind her desk, Angelus presumed she was the secretary.

"Hi, Boss!" She happily greeted Angelus.

Her perkiness immediately sent a shrill chill down Angelus' spine. He was not in the mood for a high-spirited former cheerleader.

"Willy Guerra, the owner of Willy's Bar called for you." She read off of a notepad in her hand. "He wants to know a good time to meet with you. Apparently he's in a bind again. You know what they say about snitches."

Angelus blankly stared at the woman.

The smile on the woman's face slowly began to fall. "Doesn't matter…"

Angelus gleaned down on the nameplate on the secretary's desk. "Harmony."

Harmony lifted her chin, still smiling.

"Do I have a private office somewhere in the building?"

Eyeing Angelus strangely, Harmony nodded her head. "Um, yeah, Boss. It's right back there."

"Thank you." Angelus followed her pointing finger and quickly disappeared towards the back and into the office.

Angelus' Office

Angelus closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. He closed his eyes, regaining some semblance of composure. His heart raced in his chest, he was positive his blood pressure must be astronomically high.

He opened his eyes and slammed the back of his head against the door.

The office was comically cramped, files were stacked against a wood panel wall, the bookshelves looked in utter disarray, and the furnishings were like the rest of the law office, dated.

There were no high ceilings, balcony, leather couch, ancient weaponry he decided to collect, or scenic L.A. view.

Aggravated, Angelus kicked a stack of files across the small office and stepped around the desk, sitting down.

He buried his face in his hands and pulled at his spiky dark hair.

Rubbing his face, Angelus looked at the framed photographs on the desk. Never in his entire career at the Wolfram & Hart did he ever have anything personal out in the open for people to see. It was rare that anyone knew anything about him, always keeping his life private and close to the chest.

Angelus picked up the first photograph of himself and Buffy. They appeared happy and content, lovingly embracing another.

"What are you grinning about?" Angelus set the photograph down. "Pathetic."

The second photograph was of Katie and Liam. Liam was a newborn in the photograph and he laid swaddled in a blanket, sleeping soundly with a little beanie on his head in Katie's arms. Katie grinned at the camera.

Angelus turned his attention to the bookshelf directly behind him. Placed between California law books was a hockey trophy and an award.

Raking the award down, Angelus read the comical saying on the plaque. "'Being a lawyer saved me from becoming a pornstar'. Classy." He grumbled, putting the award back.

Opening the drawers of the desk, Angelus searched for more evidence of his life. He opened the large bottom drawer and found a bottle of Macallan Sherry Oak 18-Years-Old.

"At least you have decent taste." He picked up the bottle and searched on top of the desk for a cup.

He picked up a novelty mug and checked it was clean before pouring a drink into the mug.

Swallowing the oaky spiced liquor, Angelus sat back in the chair. He exhaled a heavy breath when he noticed a plaque on the wall.

Standing from the chair, he stepped over to the award which read: 'Angelus O'Connor—Lawyer of the Year, 2003'.

"Two-thousand and three?" Angelus took another sip of the drink. "I was in L.A. in two-thousand and three." Slowly, Angelus pieced together his life and where he had made different decisions that brought him here. "I came back. I left Wolfram & Hart, came back to Sunnydale, and married Buffy." Angelus rubbed his chin and swallowed the rest of the drink in hand.

Late Afternoon

Sunnydale Ice Rink

Inside the large cold ice rink, Angelus sat on the stands beside Liam eating popcorn. They watched Katie's ice hockey practice. Staring down at the ice between his fingers, Angelus still couldn't believe the day he had. He hated everything about this life. It was so... dull.

The grind of the skates on the ice aggravated the pounding in Angelus' head.

Skating down the ice dressed as the Michelin Man, Katie lagged behind the other players.

"I still can't believe you convinced me to let her play. This sport terrifies me." The sound of Buffy's voice startled him, not having noticed her arrival.

Angelus removed his hands from his face and looked at her. If there was stress to her day, it didn't show as she looked just as beautiful as in the morning. "She seems to like it." He turned his gaze back to the ice, watching awkwardly dangle the puck.

"She begged and begged to play. You love the sport so I think she loves it because of you." Buffy leaned in close to him as she spoke. Angelus felt his entire body burst into a familiar tingling feeling.

"Me?" He asked, surprise evident in his voice. "No. No. I would never like ice hockey. It's a sport of toothless neanderthals."

Buffy sighed with relief. "Oh, so you'll stop dragging me to Kings games?"

Chuckling, Angelus couldn't believe the sort of man's-man he seemed to be in this strange world. "I do that a lot?"

"As many games as you can." She paused, rubbing her hands together. "For the last few years, it's become something that you and Katie do together. You'd take her into the city, treat her like a princess, hop her up on sugar and hotdogs. It's something of a tradition at this point."

A small smile tugged at Angelus' mouth. He was glad he seemed to have a good relationship with his daughter and that he was not the sort of hard-ass and often neglectful father he had grown up with.

He turned his gaze back down to the ice to see Katie dribbling the puck up the ice. She seemed confident and self-assured as she stick-handled the puck.

"How was work today?" Buffy asked.

Not at all in the mood to talk about his surreal day, Angelus promptly changes the subject. "Doesn't matter. I want to know about your day."

"Ugh," she huffed, "don't even get me started. A lot of kids and their 'trivial' problems."

"You're a teacher?"

Eyeing him with a bit of confusion, Buffy answered, "Guidance Counselor."

"Fitting." Angelus smiled in agreement with her career. He had always remembered her as a woman who liked control. Oftentimes, she could be short-tempered and it didn't take much to irritate her but her intelligence, her judgement, morals made her a candidate choice as a guidance counselor.

As he turned his head back to the ice, he saw a young boy wearing a mesh orange penny over his practice jersey violently check Katie with his shoulder, crushing her against the boards, disrupting her breakaway.

"Whoa." Angelus frowned at the check. "What's up with that kid? Aren't they a little young to be hitting like that?" He asked Buffy, waiting for the coach to step in and discipline the boy.

"Nice hit, Steven!" Angelus' eyes turned to a large man clapping his hands named Holtz. He stood behind the glass as he watched the practice unfold.

"Huh?" Buffy frowned, not having seen the hard check into Katie as she tended to Liam, wiping his face from the popcorn. "Oh, yeah, I hate the hitting but that's why they make them wear all those pads—"

"The coach didn't say anything." Angelus heard nothing and shot up from his seat. "Hey, Coach!" He shouted, getting the coach's attention from the ice. "You gonna say something or are you just gonna stand there and condone this barbarity?"

The coach exhaled a heavy sigh. "It was a clean hit, O'Connor. Kate's fine."

"I'm fine, Dad." Katie waved her gloved hand, showing her father that she was perfectly fine.

"Bullshit." Angelus cursed, the parents sitting around them gasped. Paying no attention to them or Buffy trying to calm him down, Angelus started down the bleachers, heading towards the glass to talk to the coach. "Put that kid in the ice box—or whatever the hell you call it!"

"Angel," Buffy stood from the bleacher holding Liam on her hip. "Calm down. It's okay."

"It's not okay." He growled at her. "That kid slammed into our daughter. He should apologise."

Holtz eyed Angelus up and down with disdain. "Why don't you listen to your wife and calm down, O'Connor. My son made a clean check."

"They're six!" Angered, Angelus faced Holtz, his fists tight at his sides. "You should teach your son some manners and not hit little girls."

Chuckling, Holtz challenged Angelus by taking a step closer. "Then you shouldn't let your daughter play a man's sport."

Nose to nose with Holtz, Angelus wanted nothing more than to tear off that smirk from Holtz' face. "My daughter can play whatever sport she wants."

Sensing the fight between the two men with high testosterone poisoning, Buffy walked down the bleachers, still holding Liam and stepped between the men. "Guys. Knock it off."

"I'm backing off." Holtz said, taking a step back. "Your girl should watch her six, O'Connor." He turned away, leaving the confrontation.

Scoffing, Angelus detested that man and wondered if the Angelus that was really supposed to be here also felt the same towards Holtz. "Can you believe that asshole?" He asked, looking at Buffy and was met with her piercing eyes that glared into him. "What?"

"What's with you?" Buffy asked, shaking her head and walked back up the stands to finish watching the remainder of the practice.

Angelus exhaled a heavy breath and looked at the ice to see Katie, wearing a look of disappointment. She lowered her head, still feeling embarrassed by Angelus' outburst and skated back to the bench.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath.

Next Morning

1630 Revello Drive: Master Bedroom

Beep! Beep! Beep!

In the early hours of the next morning, Angelus slept on his stomach. Without waking up fully, he reached out his hand and slapped the buttons, turning off the irritating sound of the new hellish day that awaited him.

Rolling onto his back, Angelus silently prayed that he was back in Los Angeles, in his fabulous penthouse, and a supermodel in his bed.

Finally finding the will to open his eyes, Angelus felt that knot in his chest tightened. He was still in the cramped bedroom of this subpar, suburban house.

Shit.

Not at all ready to once again face this strange reality, Angelus turned on his side and buried his face into the pillow, blocking the sun from slipping through the cracks of the curtain.

Only a minute passed when the silence was filled with the wailing cries of a child.

Angelus' eyes snapped open. He turned back onto his back and waited for a few moments, hoping that the cries would seize, but they did not.

Sitting up in the bed, Angelus kicked off the sheets, angered that he was still here and not his actual life.

Getting out of the bed, Angelus heard the shower running behind the partially closed bathroom door.

He stood outside the door, debating whether to just barge in or politely knock.

Bathroom

Gently, Angelus knocked on the bathroom door as he slowly opened it. The bathroom was fogged and muggy from the heated steam of the shower.

"Hello?" He hesitantly asked.

Behind the shower curtain, Angelus swallowed, biting back his desire at the sight of Buffy's silhouette. He followed the curves of her slender body, amazed that she was able to keep her perfect figure since having two children.

"Buffy?"

Buffy pulled the shower curtain, poking out her head to see Angelus standing awkwardly in the doorway. "What's up?"

"Liam… uh, he's crying."

Staring at him blankly, Buffy waited for the punchline. "And? Angel, can you take care of it? It's the least that you can do after yesterday's vanishing act."

"Are you sure that I can—" Buffy cut him off by closing the shower curtain and resuming her shower.

Angelus frowned, rubbing a hand over his face.

Liam's Bedroom

Opening the toddler's bedroom door, Liam's cries instantly stopped and a smile crossed his little face when his eyes fell on Angelus.

Unamused, Angelus held his arms across his chest. "We meet again." He stepped into the bedroom and lifted Liam from behind the crib. "We gotta get you bathroom trained. ASAP."

Angelus fixed the buttons of Liam's collared shirt. He stood up tall and inspected his work, finding a pair of khaki pants and a button-up shirt in the disorganised drawers.

"You're not as turned out as I'd like, but, it'll do."

"He's gonna get that dirty."

Angelus glanced over his shoulder to Katie standing in the bedroom doorway, also dressed for school in a colourful striped sweater, jeans, and a pair black and white canvas sneakers.

"Little kids always get dirty." She said.

"Oh, like you don't get dirty?" Holding his hands on hips, Angelus faced the six-year-old. "I saw you eat spaghetti last night, it wasn't pretty."

Ignoring her father's very true statement, Katie continued, "Mom isn't gonna like that he's wearing that."

"Time for school." Angelus picked Liam up from the floor.

Katie began to pout which instantly struck Angelus. As her eyes grew big and her pouting mouth deepened, she looked exactly like Buffy. The puppy dog face made the corners of Angelus' mouth tug upwards.

"Well, you're not spending the day with me, so you're going." Angelus said, headed towards the door.

Displeased, Katie frowned at her father, holding her arms across her chest. "For not being my dad, you sure sound like him." She stomped out of the bedroom and straight past Buffy heading down the stairs.

Buffy paused at the girl's expression and looked at Angelus for answers. Angelus shrugged and carried Liam out of the bedroom.

Afternoon

Maple Court: The O'Connor and Wyndam-Pryce LLP: Angelus' Office

The hours passed by very slowly, Angelus sat behind his tiny desk with his feet propped on the table top. He crumpled paper into balls and threw them across the room into the wastebasket.

For the thirty crumpled paper balls, Angelus threw only ten that actually made it into the wastebasket.

He held the phone to his ear with his shoulder, continuing to toss paper balls into the wastebasket. Rolling his eyes, Angelus grew frustrated with this client. "Perhaps, Mr Hamilton, you should… I dunno, stop breaking the law." He held the phone in hand after hearing a click. "Mr Hamilton? Mr Hamilton? Marcus? Shit."

Throwing another paper back at the wastebasket, the door opened and nailed Wesley, his partner at the firm in the face.

"Good to see that you're being productive, Angelus." The Englishmen sarcastically said, closing the door behind him.

Angelus sat forward in the chair, removing his feet from the desk and looked up at Wesley. He remembered Wesley Wyndam-Pryce well from college. They were in many law classes together and were close friends up until Angelus' first year at Wolfram & Hart. After that first year, Angelus cut all ties with his 'old life' and sold his soul to the fame and fortune of a high-powered attorney.

Wesley looked very much the same, except there must not be a dress code enforced at this firm because he looked rather homely wearing an olive green shirt tucked into a pair of dark brown slacks. He hadn't shaved either, sporting a perpetual five o'clock shadow.

"Tell me why I'm wasting my time with this pointless and underpaid job?" Desperate for a bit more clarity of how on earth he'd leave a job at Wolfram & Hart and start up his own nonprofit practice.

Wesley removed his hands from his trouser pockets as he stepped around to sit down in the chair in front of Angelus' desk. He explained, "After graduation, you went to Wolfram & Hart and you thought it was soulless work. They blindly took money. All morals went straight out the window. We started this law firm, because we didn't want to be like those firms. We may not make the figures Wolfram & Hart does but that was never our goal. We wanted to give back to the community."

Angelus suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he crumpled another ball and tossed it into the wastebasket, loathing every decision his alternate-self since two-thousand and three.

Night

1630 Revello Drive: Master Bedroom

After an over extraneous day in a world Angelus wanted no part in, he was more than happy that Buffy took over the evening duties of the children; help with homework, bath time, and finally bedtime.

Relaxing in the bedroom, shutting himself out from the going screeches of the children having fun in the bath, Angelus watched a bit of TV. He turned on one of the national news stations and listened for a few minutes before moving on.

"The suburban burglar sued the homeowner for ten million. The Los Angeles Superior Court granted the large sum. Now many are asking, is this justice?" The news anchor asked.

"I would've gotten him twenty." Angelus muttered then turned off the television with a sigh of boredom.

The door of the master bedroom door opened, drawing Angelus' attention to Buffy entering the room and closing the door behind her.

His gaze drifted over her in a lazy fashion. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, she wore a UC Sunnydale t-shirt that swallowed her petite and slender figure, and a pair of form-fitting yoga pants. Despite her very casual and unfashionable attire, she was still strikingly beautiful.

Her eyes landed on him and a mischievous smile crossed her face. "The kids are asleep." She said, pulling down the yoga pants.

Angelus shifted on the bed, adjusting himself as he watched her oversized t-shirt rise up her golden thighs as she pulled the hair tie holding up her hair.

"Angel," Buffy said his name with a perplexing firmness. "The kids are asleep." She repeated.

"Yeah, and?" Angelus raised a brow.

The playful smile on Buffy's face widened as she bit her bottom lip. Wordlessly, she crawled up the foot of the bed and in-between his legs before straddling his lap.

Never one to deny a beautiful woman, Angelus' fingers wrapped around the backs of her thighs. In an instant, his entire body burst into flames. It had been a very long time since he felt such a way for any woman—not since… Buffy.

Unbuttoning the front of his shirt, Buffy placed strategic open-mouthed kisses over his muscular chest. Her lips wrapped around his nipple. She swirled her tongue around the nipple until Angelus exhaled a groan.

Closing his eyes, he basked in the feel of her hot mouth touching his skin.

Her lips travelled up his chest and to his neck, kissing and sucking on his throat.

Angelus' body came to life with each passing second, soon he felt an unsatisfied ache in his pajama pants that was desperate for release.

Smiling, Buffy enjoyed the sounds of his moans and his breath catching in his throat.

"Whoa, wait a minute." He said, the voice in the back of his head demanded what in the hell he was doing.

Buffy pulled back her head, wearing a quizzical and slightly miffed expression for the interruption.

"You want me, don't you?" Angelus began to smile.

Buffy resumed kissing his neck and moaned a soft hum, "Mmm, always."

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, as if he was taking advantage of her with his deceit. To her they have been happily married for nearly nine years, but this alternate reality was so far from the actual truth.

"Are you sure you wanna just… dive into it? Don't you want a little foreplay first?"

Lifting her head once more, Buffy looked at him. "Honey, it's nine. By nine-thirty you're snoring. No time to waste. We need to do this now." She covered his mouth in a fervent kiss.

The kiss deepened, Angelus had almost forgotten how good her kisses felt. They were so warm and sent a cool shiver straight down his spine. Their tongues playfully duelled for dominance.

Perhaps it was sleep deprivation, or maybe stress, or he was just too tired of trying to figure out how he ended up here, Angelus didn't know, nor did he really care. He was no longer able to come up with any more excuses to prolong their love-making, Angelus muted any doubts still lingering in his mind. His arms wrapped around Buffy and rolled her onto her back.

Her legs wrapped around him, keeping him close. She exhaled a moan, feeling the tip of his erection poke into her underwear clad crotch.

Buffy's hands held the back of his head and she began to run her fingers through his short hair. Angelus tenderly stroked her thigh and then slipped his hand up her t-shirt and palmed her right breast, causing Buffy to loudly moan. He smiled into their kiss remembering how unabashedly loud she was in the throes of passion. He always loved that.

Her hands pushed open his shirt wider, assisting him out of it. Her fingers lightly scratched his back.

Pulling back his head to catch his breath, Angelus looked at her laying underneath him, her golden hair haloed around her head, giving her an angelic appearance. Angelus exhaled a soft breath. "My God, you're beautiful." He said with a sincerity that made Buffy shift uncomfortably. "Were you always this beautiful?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

In an effort to mask her embarrassment and the blush beginning to heat her cheeks, Buffy playfully nudged his shoulder. "You're an ass, you know that?"

Angelus chuckled and kissed her mouth. "I mean it. Back in college, you were very pretty. Big smile and bright green eyes. Always turning heads but now…" he slid a finger down the column of her throat, "you've grown into a gorgeous woman, Buffy."

Staring at him quizzically, Buffy was struck by his earnestness. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Angelus placed a kiss over her heart-shaped lips.

"You look at me as if you hadn't seen me every day for the last eight and a half years..."

A slow smile tugged at Angelus' mouth. He lowered his head and tenderly kissed her. Falling back into the habit and the feeling of comfort as he kissed her felt nice and easy.

He loved kissing her. Her tongue slipped between his lips, exploring every crevice of his mouth. Her fingers entangled in his hair tightened as she pulled him even closer as their kiss intensified.

Suddenly the bedroom door burst open.

Angelus and Buffy reluctantly break their kiss, turning their heads to find Katie standing inside the room. She rubbed her eye with a tiny fist and under her arm she held a plush pig; Angelus recognised it as Buffy's stuffed animal named Mr Gordo.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Buffy asked, looking at her daughter from her compromising position.

Annoyed, Angelus moved off of Buffy and stood from the bed in search of a t-shirt. It also allowed himself a moment to will his erection away.

"I had a bad dream." Katie whined, climbing onto the bed and curled into Buffy's arms.

Buffy pushed back the girl's dark hair and kissed her forehead, whispering words of love to her.

"Can I sleep with you?" Katie asked, tilting her head back to look at Buffy wearing a wounded expression.

Angelus whirled around ready to dismiss the question. "I don't think—"

"—Of course, you can." She shot Angelus a side-eyed glare that immediately put him in defeat.

"Yeah. C'mon in." He sighed, climbing into the bed.

Katie smiled and moved to lay in-between her parents. She cuddled Mr Gordo tightly in her arms and closed her eyes.

Buffy laid on her side facing Katie. She lovingly combed her fingers through Katie's long dark hair and leaned forward, placing a tender kiss on the girl's cheek.

Angelus turned onto his side, still feeling uncomfortable around the six-year-old. He watched her eyes slowly close and breathe shallow breaths, falling deeper into a slumber.

It still astounded him how much she looked like Buffy. The beautiful little girl was certainly going to give his alternate-self a hell of a time protecting her from the teenage boys.

Exhaling a breath, Angelus lifted his eyes to Buffy's face. Their eyes locked in a slow blinking gaze.

Angelus felt his heart pounding inside of his chest. He reached out a hand, tucking a piece of her long hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered, touching her cheek. Unaware of when or how it was evening happening, but Angelus was falling in love with her all over again, and he didn't want it to stop.