Disclaimer: All characters from ANGEL belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. If they aren't on the show they belong to me.

Summary: A different turn of events after Season 1 Episode 12 "Expecting". A/C pairing.

CHAPTER 9

Angel entered Cordelia's room to find her putting Jessica down in her crib.

"Cordy..." He called out.

Cordelia spun around, trying to hide her tear-stained face with a big fake smile. "I was just putting her down." Her voice dropped into a whisper and she scrunched up her nose. "It's been a long day."

Angel nodded and sat down on Cordelia's bed. "I'm sorry." He said simply.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Cordelia asked.

"Everything."

This one word had done it to Cordelia. Angel could see it in her eyes. Everything...it was too much.

Cordelia's tone changed almost immediately. "Everything, meaning...oh I don't know...how about, leaving your daughter here to die? Or going after Faith when I told you not to? Or the love of your life walking in to save the day? Does that cover everything for you?" She spat.

"Buffy was not the love..." Angel's voice trailed off.

"Exactly." Cordelia snorted.

"Cordy, I'm sorry Faith came after you like that." Angel said standing and walking over to Cordelia. "I should have never left you here alone, but I'm not sorry Buffy came. She captured Faith, which was good, and I also got to show her Jess. I used to love Buffy, she will always be in my heart, but you are my heart, Cordelia." He wrapped his arms around Cordelia's waste and rested his head on her shoulder. "You and Jessica are my world."

Cordelia turned and kissed Angel, when they broke apart she gave him a loving smile. "At least we are all safe, right?"

Angel grinned and kissed her again. "Right."

Lindsey paced his office. Where was Faith? He wondered. It wasn't like her to be late. She should have been able to bag Angel and the kid and be back to Wolfram and Hart in two hours. He looked at the clock. That was six hours ago. Someone entering his office broke his concentration. He turned to see Lilah.

"Big problem." Lilah said shutting the door behind her.

"What?" Lindsey asked.

"Involves Faith, it seems our little slayer didn't get the job done." Lilah told him.

"Angel killed her?"

"No, she almost killed him."

"So what happened then?" Lindsey asked.

"The other slayer, the one from Sunnydale, she ended up crashing Faith's party." Lilah explained.

"Where is Faith now?"

"Oh, the Sunnydale slayer knocked her out and took her down to jail. She's in cell..." Lilah looked at a piece of paper in her hand. "117."

"Great." Lindsey sighed. "So now we've got to go bust her out."

Lilah shook her head. "Seems she doesn't want to be. She felt bad about what she tried to do. Cried on and on about how Angel never had given up on her and she shouldn't have tried to kill him."

"Well, at least we didn't have to pay her." Lindsey said.

"No. But that still leaves us the problem of Angel and the kid now."

"The kid is nothing. Could eventually be something, but right now we don't know anything about it." Lindsey told her.

"But you sent Faith to kill it anyway?" Lilah asked.

"I knew she didn't have it in her. Faith was just a diversion; I knew she couldn't get the job done because of what she is. She's a slayer deep down and regardless of what she thinks or says, she knows what's right from wrong and in her mind killing Angel and, especially his kid, is the wrong thing to do. She would have never laid a finger on him or the kid."

"So why bother then?"

"Keeps Angel on his toes. Now he thinks we are after the kid, and we can carry on with our plan." Lindsey sat down in his chair.

"But aren't we after the child?" Lilah was confused.

"No. Kids just a kid, got nothing to do with anything. Right now we need to focus on the task at hand."

"Right. Bringing back Angel's friend or whatever..." Lilah rolled her eyes.

"The women who turned him into what he is! The one he shared a century of torture with!" Lindsey said, practically jumping over his desk.

"Right...whatever." Lilah rolled her eyes again. "I still think we should go after the child."

"No. This is about Angel, not his kid." Lindsey told her.

"Fine..." Lilah said as she exited Lindsey's office. Once in the hallway she ran into Lee Mercer. "Lee..." She smiled at him.

"Lilah." Lee nodded.

"Listen, I've got a little job for us." Lilah told him.

"Us?" Lee asked. "As in you and me."

"Yeah, big project. If we snag it I can guarantee an in with the senior partners."

Lee smiled. "What's the project?"

"It seems that Angel has a child." Lilah told him.

"Impossible."

"I thought so myself, but this kid is the real deal. I'm sure the senior partners would want to study this child and see how it works."

"What happened with you and Lindsey then?" Lee asked. "I thought you two were working together."

"We are on another project." Lilah told him. "It seems Lindsey's got a soft spot for the kid. So, are you in on this with me or what?"

Lee nodded.

Cordelia entered Wesley's room with Jessica in her arms to find Wesley in bed, bruised and battered, and Gunn in a chair with his c.d. player blasting.

"Hey boys..." Cordelia said as she entered. "Look who came to visit..."

Gunn ripped his headphones off and was at Cordelia's side in a minute. "Hey there Jess, Uncle Gunn hasn't seen you in a few days..."

"That's because Uncle Gunn has been around bloody English men the past few days..." Cordelia said in a baby voice as she looked down at Jessica in her arms.

"I'm not bleeding...anymore." Wesley told them.

"Yeah, ya head just looks like a pumpkin." Gunn told him.

Cordelia walked over to the bed to let Wesley see Jessica. "Come on, baby girl, let's see how the bloody man is doing."

Wesley ran his hands through Jessica's curly hair. "How is she?" He asked Cordelia.

"Fine..." Cordelia smiled. "She's a pretty strong baby..."

"For only being two weeks old, I'd say so." Gunn told them.

Just then Jessica started screaming for no reason.

"Sh...Jess." Cordelia became concerned. "What's wrong, baby?" Cordelia tried for several minutes to calm the baby but it was no use, then Angel entered and as quickly as Jessica had started crying, she stopped.

"Whoa, talk about being a daddy's girl." Gunn told him.

Angel looked a mess, his eyes glancing in all different directions he immediately made his way over to Cordelia and Jessica.

"Angel?" Cordelia looked him over. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't hear it?" Angel asked.

"Hear what?" Gunn asked him back. "Your kid crying? Because we all heard that."

"No..." Angel trailed off as he looked down at Jessica who began crying again. Once the crying started Angel's head began throbbing, he grabbed Wesley's bed for support, and then Jess stopped crying and Angel was better again.

"Ok." Cordelia's eyes grew wide. "What the hell is going on?"

"A...a vision..." Angel stammered. "Jess just had a vision..." Angel looked up with big eyes. "I heard her."

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"In my head. I heard her." Angel told her as he sat down.

"You heard Jessica?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah." Angel said. "She told me. She told me the vision. I know what's going to happen."

"Well..." Gunn said. "I guess this is her way of communicating them until she can talk in full sentences."

Angel nodded slowly and then stood up. "I have to go."

"Go where?" Cordelia grabbed his arm.

"The vision." Angel looked down at the woman he loved and their child in her arms. "I have to go now."

"Angel-" Cordelia started.

Angel shook his head and then kissed Cordelia. "I'll be back." He saw the worried look in Cordelia's eyes. "I'll be fine..."

"Want me to come?" Gunn asked.

"No!" Angel said sharply. "Stay...here. I got to do this on my own."

"You the boss..." Gunn told him.

"Right..." And with that Angel had exited, but Cordelia was by his side in a second.

"You're not going." She told them as they walked down the hallway.

"I have to." Angel said. "This is the Powers sending me on this mission. I have to go."

Cordelia sighed and bounced Jessica a little in her arms. "When?"

"When? What do you mean?"

"When is the vision for?"

Angel shrugged. "I don't know." Jessica screamed. Angel winced and then Jessica stopped. "Uh...two days...I think." Jessica wailed again. "Yeah two days..." Angel said running his hand over his ear.

"Good." Cordelia told him.

"Why?"

"Because, that gives us some family time. We haven't had that...oh...ever. Not just me, you and Jess. Sure there's been a lot of me and Jess but-" Cordelia was cut off by Angel's lips.

When they broke apart he smiled down at her. "I'd love some family time..."

Cordelia smiled and kissed Angel again and then Jessica starting to wiggle around. "She's hungry." Cordelia told him.

Angel nodded. "Well, you go feed her and I'll go pick you up some dinner. How does that sound?"

"Great!" She kissed Angel again. "You're the best boyfriend ever!" She told him as she went into her room.

Angel smiled at her last words and then, once Cordelia had gone into her room, he looked up at the ceiling. "Did you hear that, Doyle? I'm the best boyfriend ever. Damn, am I glad you made me keep her around here. I owe you." Angel smiled wider as he talked to his friend who he knew was watching over him and his new family. Then he made his way out of the hotel and down to Cordelia's favorite deli.

Lilah entered Lindsey's office in a bad mood. She found Lindsey at his desk throwing a ball in the air. When he saw her he caught the ball and put it in a drawer, then smiled up at her.

"You rang?" She said sarcastically.

"Yeah. An hour ago." Lindsey told her. "What took you so long?"

"Had some things to go over. Now, what is it you wanted?"

"The ritual, are you ready for it?"

"Yes..." Lilah rolled her eyes. "I got everything we needed for it."

Lindsey nodded. "Good...then we meet in the crypt tonight."

"If you say so. This just better work." Lilah told him.

"It will." Lindsey smiled up at her.

Angel entered Cordelia's room to find her sitting on the bed feeding Jessica. It was beautiful, he thought to himself. Cordelia was beautiful, and as he watched her feed his daughter he almost lost himself in the moment. When she saw him standing there she quickly covered up her breast.

"Angel!" Cordelia smiled.

He could tell she was embarrassed. "I...sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"No. You didn't." Cordelia said as she fixed her shirt. "So, what's in the bag?"

"Subs..." Angel told her, holding up a shopping bag. "Got them from the deli down the street."

Cordelia smiled and handed Jessica to Angel. "Burp her while I eat." Then she grabbed the bag of food from his hand.

"Sure..." Angel said as he set his daughter on his shoulder.

"So..." Cordelia said with a mouthful. "What was the vision about anyway?"

"Huh?" Angel hadn't heard her, he was to busy listening to the beat of his daughter's heart.

"The vision..."

"Oh, right." Angel thought for a moment of what to tell Cordelia. He couldn't tell her the truth, he knew that much. "Uh...nothing important."

"I doubt that..."

Angel shook his head. "It really wasn't." He set Jessica down in her crib and took a seat next to Cordelia.

"If you say so..." Cordelia smiled at him.

"Did I ever tell you how thankful I am?" Angel asked her suddenly.

"For..." Cordelia seemed confused.

"You."

"Me?" Cordelia laughed. "If anything I should be thanking you. All I've done for you so far is turn your life into a three-ring circus."

"Yeah." Angel leaned in closer to her. "And I'm starting to become a big fan of the circus."

Cordelia smiled and leaned in and kissed him. Angel grabbed her and pulled her closer to him, and the two fell back onto the bed kissing passionately. The only reason they finally pulled apart was Jessica's screaming.

"Vision!" Angel said shooting up. Jessica stopped and Angel took an unneeded breath, and then stood up.

"What happened?" Cordelia asked as her voice filled with worry.

Angel shook his head. "Same vision, except now it's happening tonight." He kissed Cordelia and put on his leather coat. "I've got to go."

"Be careful." Cordelia told him as she made her way over to pick up a shaken-up Jessica.

Angel nodded and exited and Cordelia looked down at her daughter. "Sh..." She bounced Jessica up and down and spoke in a soothing voice. "Everything's ok now baby...shh. Mommy's got you..."

Angel climbed down into the crypt, sword in hand, but it was too late. Her scent filled the air around him. He knew she was there even before she stepped out of the shadows. "Darla..." He said as he felt her behind him.

"Angelus..." Darla chocked. Her voice horse.

Angel turned and had Darla held high in the air by her neck before she could even blink. "You're supposed to be dead...well really dead. Not the undead. You're just supposed to be dead, so..." Angel pulled out a stake, and was about to finish Darla off when he smelt the fear pouring out of her, then he felt a cross burning his back.

"I'd put her down." Lindsey said from behind Angel.

Angel did as he was told and twirled around to be face to face with Lindsey, with a cross held high, and Lilah. "How'd I know you two were behind all of this?"

"Wild guess?" Lilah raised her eyebrows.

"You set Faith up too?" Angel asked.

"Right again." Lilah told him.

Angel stepped into her face. "I'll kill you if something comes after my family again, and I'll kill her," Angel pointed to Darla. "Because that's what she deserves."

"A little late to save the day this time, don't you think?" Lindsey said.

Angel lunged at Lindsey who held out his cross between them.

"Come on now. Don't be silly, you think you can really hurt me?" Lindsey mocked.

Angel smiled slyly. "I can..." Then Angel raised his sword high and took one swipe to Lindsey's hand that was holding the cross. Angel watched the hand fall to the ground, no longer attached to the body it belonged to. "I cant guarantee the next time my family is attacked all you'll be missing is a hand."

"Don't..." Darla muttered.

Angel spun around to his old flame. "Excuse me?"

But Darla said nothing. She looked down at the floor and then slide past Angel, outside the crypt.

For some reason Angel didn't have it in him to follow her and kill her right there. Something was holding him back. Something wouldn't let him hurt Darla. He just didn't know what. Finally, he took a look back to Lindsey who was hovered in the corner and Lilah who was standing over him. He smiled at them both. "Have a nice day." And then Angel made his way out of the crypt.

"He's dead." Lindsey told Lilah. "I swear it, I'll kill him one day for this..."

Angel entered Cordelia's room to find her sitting up in bed reading a book. Jess was sound asleep in her crib, and Angel tried to shut the door quietly behind him, so he did not wake his daughter.

"Angel, you're back." Cordelia whispered as she put her book down. "How'd it go?"

Angel nodded and sat down on the bed. "It went."

"Did you stop the whatever the vision was about?"

Angel shrugged. "Doesn't matter…"

"Angel…" Cordelia placed a hand on his back and watched as he winced in pain and jumped up. "What happened?" She asked, concerned.

"Nothing…" Angel tried to shrug it off.

Cordelia got up and placed her hand on Angel's back again and he jumped in pain. "Really?" She lifted his shirt to see the burn of the cross on his back. "Want to try again?"

Angel knew he couldn't tell her what had really happened. "Ok, so some guy stuck a cross to me while I was doing my job." Angel lied. "Not a big deal."

"Let me clean it up then." Cordelia offered.

"No." Angel told her. "I'm just kind of tired. Long night. I think I just want to go to sleep." He kissed Cordelia on the head and made his way out of the room.

Angel sighed as he leaned back into his pillow. He knew he had hurt Cordelia by not spending the night in her room, like he had the past few weeks, but he had to be alone. He had to think. He wondered why he hadn't just killed Darla. He thought harder. Something was different about the Darla he saw tonight and the Darla he had known for over a century. But what was it?

It hit Angel like a ton of bricks two hours later. He had been sleeping and the sudden memory-jog had jolted him from his sleep. He sat up, taking an unneeded breath, and realized what had happened earlier that night. Yes, Wolfram and Hart had brought Darla back, but it wasn't his Darla. It wasn't the Darla that Angelus had lived-or rather died- for. This Darla was different, this Darla was scared, this Darla took in air, this Darla was alive.