Disclaimer: All characters from ANGEL and BUFFY 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 16

Angel jolted up in bed, taking heavy, unneeded breaths. The air wasn't the problem; it never had been for a dead man. He looked next to him in his bed. There lay his problem. Darla.

He staggered out of bed gripping his chest tightly. He couldn't believe he had allowed this to happen. How stupid could he possibly be? He fell to the floor, leaning against the wall for support.

All of the commotion Angel had caused had woken up Darla and she was now standing over him with an evil smirk. "Don't fight it. It will all be over soon. You'll be mine again."

Angel gasped for the unneeded air again before collapsing completely to the floor.

"Angelus?" Darla called out.

Slowly Angel picked himself off the ground.

Darla smiled. "I've missed you, lover." She went to pull him into her grasp when he suddenly whipped around, grabbing her by the throat and holding her against the wall.

"Get out." He said coldly.

"Want to play rough, do we Angelus?" Darla hissed beneath his grasp.

He locked eyes with her. "Get your crap together and get the hell out. Don't even think about coming back here."

"Angelus?" Darla pleaded as the smile ran away from her face and the realization hit her. "Angel...but how?"

Angel shrugged. "Perfect happiness is a funny thing."

"Oh no!" Darla removed his hand from her neck. "Trust me, that was damn good! I used to do that for a living, if you forgot and that was better then good! That was great!"

"Get out, Darla." Angel said, turning his back to her. "I'm letting you go this time, so go, because the next time I see you..." He turned back to her. "Well, I'll just have to kill you."

Cordelia paced the apartment as Gunn, Wesley, and Jessica watched her quietly from the couch. Gunn was holding Jessica and could feel the baby getting bored of watching her mother. Cordelia hadn't had a vision in two days and she was on edge about it.

"Maybe it's just a slow day?" Wesley broke the silence.

"What?" Cordelia hadn't even realized they had been watching her. "Oh, yeah. Maybe?"

"Take a break then." Gunn stood and handed Jessica back to Cordelia. "Go out today. You deserve it."

Cordelia sighed. "I don't know..."

"Well, if you ain't going out then we are." Gunn told her.

"Why don't we all go out?" Wesley suggested.

Cordelia nodded. "I guess that could be fun. We all do kind of need a break."

"Great." Wesley smiled. "Out to lunch we go."

Angel sat at the desk that had once belonged to Cordelia. He had never really looked at it the past few weeks, being as wrapped up in Darla as he was, but now he had a moment. The top of the desk was bare. The only mark that Cordelia had ever sat there was a small 'C.C.' carved into the desk. He remembered watching Cordelia do it with a small dagger one afternoon while Jessica had been asleep.

He sighed and opened the drawers. They were all empty except the bottom one. To his surprise he found a wedding dress magazine stuffed in it. He closed his eyes and tried to envision Cordelia in one of the white gowns, walking down the aisle toward him. Of course, he was in a black tux, and of course it was a night wedding, seeing as though Angel would be unable to have a daylight one. No one would want the groom to burst into flames.

Angel's eyes suddenly flew open, as the realization that what he had been imagining could never possibly happen. He sighed and placed the magazine back in the drawer.

Cordelia was sitting at the table in the pizzeria with Jessica close to her chest when the vision hit. Gunn and Wesley immediately looked at her from their positions across the table.

"What is it?" Wesley asked.

"A demon..." Cordelia started. "But he's the one that needs protecting...two men. Wolfram and Hart uniforms...I can't tell why they are going after him. They want something...We have to hurry."

Gunn nodded. "Let me grab the check and we'll roll." He stood and went to the counter.

"Cordelia?" Wesley asked. "Are you sure you're okay to come on this?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Wesley pointed down to Cordelia's arms where Jessica was trying to grab her mother's watch.

Cordelia looked down at her daughter and smiled. "We'll be fine."

Lilah Morgan paced around her office. It had been a few weeks since Lindsey had suddenly disappeared and since then very little had been heard about Angel. More importantly, very little had been heard about Angel's child. Then she found Stewart.

Stewart was a low-lying demon, who was harmless to people. He lived a few blocks away from the apartment that had been reported to have Cordelia Chase residing in. Stewart was the perfect inside man for the job. He could threaten Cordelia enough that she would give up the baby. Hell, Stew was big enough that if she wouldn't give up the brat he could put her through a wall, but there was a problem. It seemed Stewart wanted nothing to do with harming Angel's child or Wolfram and Hart at the matter. Since Stewart wasn't going to help them Lilah decided she was going to have to kill him.

Gunn and Wesley rounded the corner Cordelia had described with great speed. Both men could run fast if they felt like it. Cordelia wasn't doing bad either, only a few steps behind them and still managing to have a firm grip on Jessica.

The scene was exactly as Cordelia had described it. Two Wolfram and Hart man had a helpless demon cornered against a building. They held guns to his face and kept asking him the same question.

"Are you sure you won't help? It doesn't have to be like this." The men told the demon.

But the demon said nothing. He stood there, ready to take the blow.

"Stop!" Cordelia shouted from behind Gunn and Wesley.

The men from Wolfram and Hart turned to her, guns pointing directly at her and Jessica. They smiled.

"Miss. Chase..." One said to her.

"Stay away from her!" The demon said, knocking the one down. The other raised his gun and shot at the demon.

"Well, we didn't need Stew after all, Jack." The one who had shot said as he helped the other one, Jack, up. Both men turned their attention to Cordelia and Jessica again.

"We were actually looking for you Miss. Chase..." Jack told her as he made his way closer, his gun still pointed at her. "You know why right?"

"Jess..." Cordelia stood nervously.

Jack nodded. "So why don't you make it easy and just give her up?"

Cordelia stood her ground. She was scared, but no one was going to hurt her daughter. "Drop dead." She said smoothly.

"After you." The other man, beside Jack said. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

There was no time to react. Cordelia couldn't have moved it she wanted to, except for the fact that she did move. Wesley had jumped right in front of her knocking her and Jessica out of the way of the bullet. He had taken it right in the gut for her.

"Damn..." Jack looked in amazement. "We weren't supposed to shoot him..."

The two gunshots must have gathered some attention because a crowd began to form behind Cordelia, Jessica, Wesley, and Gunn. The two men from Wolfram and Hart panicked and took off.

Cordelia threw herself to the ground next to Wesley. She had Jessica in one of her shaking hands and the other one slowly moved Wesley's fist away from his wound. She saw the mess the bullet had made of him and felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't move. She was in shock.

Gunn placed a hand on her shoulder and took control of the situation moving Cordelia to the side as a woman from the crowd helped her stand. Gunn knelt by Wesley. "He needs a doctor!"

"On it." One man from the crowd said as he dialed 9-1-1 on his cell phone.

"You're gonna be okay, man." Gunn said trying to calm Wesley. "Everything's gonna be alright."

"Is Cordy..." Wesley said weakly.

"I'm fine, Wes..." Cordelia managed to get out. "Jess too..."

Wesley nodded and closed his eyes.

Angel was sitting in his office when he heard the announcement over the radio. "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce was shot in the stomach today in the downtown shopping district. He was moved directly to the hospital where is he listed in fair condition."

Angel perked up at the news. Wesley had been shot. Was Cordelia with him? Were she and Jessica okay? He had to know. Even if she hated him and never wanted to see him again he had to make sure she was okay. He quickly grabbed his jacket and made his way out the door.

Cordelia sat in the waiting room of the hospital with Jessica held tightly to her chest and Gunn sitting across from her playing with a ball from his pocket. It had been a long five hours, but the doctors had assured both Cordelia and Gunn that Wesley as going to make a full recovery.

Cordelia sighed and caught Gunn's attention.

"What is it?" Gunn asked.

"I can't believe what he did. He saved my life..." Cordelia looked down at Jessica as a tear slide from her eye. "He saved both of us..."

Gunn nodded. "He did what he had to, and he'll be fine. Don't beat yourself up over it, Cordy. It isn't your fault."

"Yes it is..." Cordelia cried softly. "I shouldn't have gotten you guys involved in my mess of a life with the visions and now Jess and-"

"Hey." Gunn leaned over and placed a hand on Cordelia's trembling knee. "It's not your fault, okay?"

Cordelia nodded and Gunn leaned back as the doctor walked into the room.

"Mr. Gunn, Miss Chase." The Doctor said as both Cordelia and Gunn looked up. "Wesley is awake now. If you would like to see him-"

Gunn stood. "I would."

The doctor nodded and led Gunn out of the waiting room. Cordelia sat in silence for a moment before she looked down at her daughter.

"Your Uncle is a good man, do you know that?" Cordelia asked Jessica who just sat still, watching her mother intensely. "He saved our lives. Don't ever forget that. Don't let me ever forget that..."

"I'm sorry." The voice came from behind Cordelia and she thought she felt her heart leap out of her chest. She turned to see him.

"What do you want?" She asked him coldly, the Ice Queen was about to make her first debut in years.

"I heard it on the radio." Angel said as he shoved his hands into his pocket. "I...I wanted to make sure everyone was alright."

Cordelia nodded but did not look at him; instead her eyes fell to her daughters. Either way she felt she was starring at Angel. Jessica had the same big dark eyes, and the same glare, the one the announced she were holding the weight of the world. She even brooded like Angel once and a while, and for three and a half month old to brood took a lot.

"Is Wesley okay?" Angel broke Cordelia's concentration and without realizing it, she looked up at him. He looked a mess; his hair was barely even gelled.

"The doctors said he will be alright." She told him coldly.

Angel nodded. "And you?"

Cordelia stood, gripping Jessica tightly. "I'll manage. I have been, not like you care. But I got news for you, Angel. Jess, and me we don't need you. I don't need you."

Cordelia's words cut Angel like a knife. He knew he had hurt her but more than anything he wanted to tell her he was sorry. He just couldn't get the words out.

"And another thing-" She continued but was cut off as her head jolted back for a moment.

"Cordelia?" Angel asked.

She focused back on him. "I'm fine."

"You had a vision."

"I'm fine."

"Someone needs to answer it." Angel told her.

"I agree." Cordelia said as she picked up Jessica's diaper bag.

"Well, it's not going to be you." Angel said as he grabbed her shoulders to hold her in place. "You're not in any condition to go out there, especially not with Jess."

"What do you care?" Cordelia snapped at him. "You didn't care about us before! You left me alone to raise your baby!"

"I've made mistakes Cordelia, and I want the chance to explain why I did what I did."

"Well, keep dreaming." Cordelia said as she tried to make her way around Angel but he held her in place.

"Cordy, right now this isn't about us. This is about your vision. Let me help you." Angel pleaded. "I'm begging you."

Cordelia sighed and looked back down at Jessica. "Two vampires, trying to set up shop in the old food store."

Angel nodded and helped Cordelia sit down. "I'll be back."

Once Angel had left Cordelia felt the hot tears rise in her eyes. What was going on? Why was Angel suddenly back to himself again? She didn't have time to formulate answers to these questions because the doctor had walked in and informed her that Wesley was asking to see her.

"How are you doing?" Cordelia asked softly as she entered Wesley's room with Jessica in her arms. Gunn stood from his seat next to Wesley's bed to allow Cordelia to sit down.

"I'm alright." Wesley said as he watched Cordelia take her seat. He ran his fingers through Jessica's curly, dark locks. "How are you?"

"Well, Jess and me both owe you a big thank you." Cordelia smiled at Wesley. "You saved our lives."

Wesley chuckled to himself. "All in a days work."

"More like two days." Gunn joked from the corner.

Wesley nodded. "As long as we are all safe, that's all that matters."

"Wesley...I'm sorry-" Cordelia started as tears formed.

"No need to be, Cordelia." Wesley smiled at her weakly. "I'd have done it all again if given the chance. We are family, we don't have to apologize for things we can't control."

"What if we could control them?" Angel asked as he entered.

Immediately Gunn stood between Angel and his family. "No one invited you in here."

"It's alright, Gunn." Wesley said. He could see something was different about Angel now then from when he had last seen him. The vampire had no more rage in his eyes, no more anger in his voice. He actually seemed like a lost little boy. "Come in, Angel."

Angel nodded and walked in, standing behind Cordelia's chair. She did not acknowledge his presence, however.

"I heard what happened." Angel said. "It was on the news."

"Didn't know you watched TV." Wesley joked, trying to make Angel feel as comfortable as possible.

"Radio." Angel smiled at his former friend.

Wesley chuckled to himself. "I should have known."

"Anyway, I wanted to thank you." Angel told him. "For watching over my family while I was too selfish to do it myself." He placed his hand on Cordelia's shoulder and to his surprise she didn't jerk away, instead she placed her hand over his and held it there.

Wesley nodded. "Not a problem."

"I'm also sorry, for everything." Angel looked to Gunn and Cordelia as well as Wesley when he spoke. "And I want to come back to it. I want things to go back to how they were."

"We aren't ready to come work for you." Gunn told him.

"Didn't ask." Angel said and then turned to Wesley. "I want to work for you."

"Me?" Wesley asked clearly in shock.

Angel nodded.

Wesley looked to Gunn and Cordelia who had slight grins on their faces. "We welcome you back." Wesley told him.

Cordelia stood to face Angel. "Come with me for a second." She grabbed him by the hand and led him outside into the hall.

"What?" He asked.

"I don't know what went on. There is a lot of things we need to sort out." She told him as she looked down at Jessica. "You don't understand how much you hurt me."

"And I'm sorry..." Angel said quickly grabbing Cordelia's hand.

"Sometimes sorry just doesn't cut it." She pulled away from Angel. "You and I are going to have to work on things. Maybe we can get whatever it was we had back."

Angel nodded. "I want to try."

"So do I." Cordelia told him. "But right now I just don't know. What I do know is I don't ever want Jess to have to grow up without a father in her life, so if you ever think about leaving her again-"

"I won't." Angel smiled at their daughter. "I never will." He looked back at Cordelia. "Can I hold her? I missed her."

Cordelia smiled. "She missed you." She then handed Jessica to Angel and felt her heart break as she watched him interact with their daughter. She had missed seeing this. She had missed him, and now she just told him she didn't know if they could ever be together again. What was she thinking?