Little Sister

Summary: Angel had a little sister when he was human. As he discovers on the streets of Los Angeles one night, she's still alive. But she's not a vampire.

Author's Note: This story is set sometimes during season 3, but before Connor's birth and Darla's return.

Chapter One: Familiar Faces

It was a cold night, and Angel was out patrolling while the others were back at the hotel. He was scaling the rooftops, on the prowl looking for demons who were looking for something else.

Down in an alley Angel saw a young girl cornered by three vamps. Being the hero, Angel immediately jumped down to rescue her. A fight broke out, and Angel soon found himself surrounded by the three vampires.

'You might wanna leave, if you know what's good for ya,' one of them said to Angel.

'Actually, I think I'd rather stay.' Angel replied. He swung his fist and knocked one of the vamps down, and soon had the other two directing blows at him. He managed to block them all until the third got back up and regained his stability.

A vampire grabbed Angel's left arm and another grabbed his right, while the third stood in front of him. They brought him up against a wall and began beating him up.

'Ugh! Ugh!' Angel grunted with every blow. 'You. Might. Want. To. Run. Now.' Angel said between punches to his stomach. He wriggled free within moments of his last word and quickly the fight overturned and Angel was in power. Although he was bleeding slightly, his ribs were aching and he was feeling rather tired after a long night, Angel managed to stake one of the vampire before snapping another's neck. The third knew what was good for him and took off before Angel could go after him.

He bent over, resting his hands on his knees for support and began breathing heavily. He clutched his ribs and coughed twice. He heard footsteps behind him and spun around slowly to find a young girl standing in the alley.

'Liam?' The young girl whispered. She ran up to him and threw her arms around him. 'It's me Liam, your sister. Don't you remember me?'

Angel stared in shock at the young girl standing before him. She did look familiar to him, but there was no possible way she could be his sister. She could be no older than about 12, and Angel clearly remembered Angelus killing her just after he was turned.

'You can't be here.' Angel murmured. 'You… I killed you.'

'But Liam, it's me. It's your Kathy.' She smiled warmly at him. 'I've missed you so.' Angel was mesmerized by her simple, stunning smile and innocent brown eyes. He suddenly recognised her; it was indeed his sister.

'Kathy.' He whispered. 'But how?' Her smile faded.

'Liam, I've been around for a long time.'

'But I killed you Kathy, God I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?'

'Yes Liam, but even after you killed me I still lived. Something brought me back and I've been living since that day. Liam, it's been so hard adjusting to the new worlds. I've had to live in so many different places with so many different people; father would have hated me to live this way. Can you help me?' She pleaded.

'Of course. Uh, why don't you come back to the hotel with me.' Angel held out his hand, and Kathy took hold of it. She smiled up at him, and Angel looked down on her as the sweet, innocent young girl she was.

He led her out of the alley and back to the hotel. As they walked through the night, Angel asked her about her life.

'You look pretty up-to-date with society, where have you been getting clothes, food and money from?'

'A shelter a few streets away from here.' Kathy replied. 'It's a nice place, friendly people.' Angel smiled. At least she was being taken care of.

'So, how's life been?'

'I won't say pleasant because then I'd be lying, and father wouldn't like that.' Kathy replied. 'I've been miserable, longing for somebody to talk to who I knew. I've wanted to be normal, but I haven't been able to keep up with the times as they've been constantly changing.' Angel led her down the street and around the corner. They approached the hotel and Angel asked one final question before they went inside.

'It's alright now.' He told her. 'Kathy, I'm going to introduce you to my friends. 'Please, don't be frightened, they won't hurt you.'

'I'm not afraid.' She said. 'I'd love to meet your friends. Dad always used to say that the friends you had were drunks and layabouts, like you. But I never thought that.'

Angel painfully thought back to the days when he was still alive and when his father only ever thought of him as a drinking, whoring scoundrel who would never amount to anything. Angelus showed him, and Angel shuddered at the thought.

'Thanks Kathy. Come on inside.' Angel opened the door and ushered her in, closing the door behind them. Wesley, Cordelia, Fred, Gunn and Connor all moved into the lobby when they heard the door.

'Angel.' Cordelia spoke first. 'Who's?' She stopped before she could finish her question.

'Uh, guys, this is Kathy.'

'Hello Kathy.' Cordelia approached and Kathy stepped behind Angel and held onto his waist.

'Kathy, you said you we're afraid of them. They won't hurt you, I promise.' Angel tried to coax her.

'There are so many people.' Kathy whispered.

'No, just a few.'

'Kathy, why don't you come down here?' Cordelia offered to the unknown young girl. She cautiously stepped out from behind Angel and he brought her down the stairs. Cordelia stepped back to allow her and Angel space, and he brought her over to the counter. He lifted her up and sat her on the bench so she was at the same height as everyone else.

'Angel, where did you find this young girl?' Wesley asked quietly, stepping up beside Angel.

'Three vamps had her cornered in an alley.' Angel replied sheepishly. 'She said something to me… unexpected.' He added.

'What do you mean?' Wesley asked.

'Liam.' Kathy said, turning to Angel. 'Do you have a bathroom?'

'Liam?' Wesley repeated. 'Angel, what is going on?'

'Kathy, just give me a second, okay?' Angel answered her, ignoring Wesley for a minute. Kathy nodded. Angel returned his attention to Wesley.

'Angel?' He asked again for an answer.

'Wes, meet my sister, Kathy.' He put his hand on her shoulder. Everyone gaped in shock.

'Excuse me?' Cordelia spoke after the moments of silence. 'Did you say, sister?'

'Yes, Cordelia. She's my sister.'

'But she's barely 12 years-old Angel.' Wesley said.

'It's hard to explain. Can you give me a minute?' Angel picked his sister up and put her down on the floor before leading her down a small hallway underneath the stairs to the bathroom. Wesley, Cordelia, Fred, Gunn and Connor stood in the lobby, with a thousand thoughts running through their mind.

How could this young girl be Angel's sister? Angel killed his sister when he first became a vampire, so how can she be alive over 200 years later? Where has she been all this time? What has she been doing?

They had to sit down and have a talk with Angel. He was the only one with answers.

Author's Note: This is just a weird idea that came to me while I was writing another fic. I just thought it would be interesting to see Angel's sister come back into the picture and have Angel have to deal with family issues. There'll be more eof that next chapter.