Disclaimer: All characters and things 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 30
Cordelia sighed, taking in the shape of the lobby. Dead demon's guts and vampire dust was everywhere. They had been cleaning for two weeks, and still not everything was gone. She shifted Connor in her arms as the rest of the group entered behind her. They had gone out to dinner considering no one could stand being around the mess anymore.
"Damn, this place is still a mess. I thought it would look better if we had a few drinks in us." Gunn said
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAM!" Jessica giggled in Angel's arms as she gave her impression of Gunn.
Cordelia shot Gunn an angry look. "Well, it's a mess alright. How about you say that Jess? Mmmmesss. Can you say that?"
Jessica just gave Cordelia a blank stare, before turning her attention to a piece of Angel's hair that had fallen from its usually straight position. She grabbed at it and gave it a good pull, causing Angel to screw up his face. Jessica then turned her attention to Connor who was smiling slightly at Jessica's stunt.
Angel's face relaxed as he watched his children share a connection. A bond. Brother and sister. Blood.
"Looks like they are ganging up on Daddy together already." Cordelia smiled up at Angel.
"And it looks like someone is still gonna have to clean this place up." Gunn said. "Personally, I vote not me."
"I second that vote." Lorne said, making his way over to the couch. "I could go for a sea breeze. Anyone else?"
"Well, I can clean up." Fred offered. "I don't mind. We are almost done anyway."
"Fred, we don't expect you to do it alone." Wesley said, shooting a look at Cordelia.
"Don't look at me." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I've got babies now. Mother of two over here. I'm not cleaning."
"Oh of coarse not, Cordy. That would be silly. I can manage." Fred said.
"I'll help." Gunn suddenly changed his mind.
"Me too…" Wesley cleared his throat.
Both Gunn and Wesley stood, giving each other chilling glances.
"Well great." Cordelia said. "I'll just get these two up in their rooms…"
"Yeah. I'll help" Angel said, following Cordelia up the stairs.
"Well, they aren't coming back for awhile." Lorne said, nodding his head in the direction Cordelia and Angel had gone off into. "Is anything more beautiful?"
"Then what?" Gunn asked.
"Love. Those two." Lorne again pointed to the stairs Cordelia and Angel and just walked up. "Friendship, betrayal, pain, children, and yet they are still completely in love with each other. That is not something you see everyday."
Wesley nodded in agreement, starring at the direction his two friends had taken off in and remembering his first impressions of them back in Sunnydale. The slick, mysterious, ex-killer, and the beautiful, vain, ex-cheerleader. Who would have thought they were prefect for each other.
Holtz was able to move is arm again. He was happy about that. He sighed, flexing his arm as he walked around Lilah's office. The lawyer and Sahjhan were due back any minute. He sat down in the chair across from Lilah's desk when suddenly the doorknob began to turn and Lilah and Sahjhan entered.
"How are you feeling, Holtz?" Lilah asked.
"Better." Holtz told her. "I am ready to go back after Angelus."
"Good." Sahjhan told him. "Because we just set out plan into motion."
"Yeah. We already paid Dr. Everets a little visit." Lilah told him.
"The demon doctor?" Holtz asked.
Lilah nodded. "The now dead demon doctor."
"But you obtained the blood, did you not?" Holtz asked
"We did." Lilah told him.
"Good." Holtz nodded.
"You do understand how this plan is going to work, right?" Lilah asked.
Holtz nodded. "I do. And I can't think of a better one, to be honest with you, Miss Morgan."
Lilah gave the demon and vampire hunter a huge grin. "It was my honor to work with both of you. I hope you continue your relationship with Wolfram and Hart."
Angel entered Jessica's room to find Cordelia over her daughter's crib, leaning against it. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and causing her to jump.
"Angel! God!" She held her chest. "Didn't we talk about this? Stop sneaking up on people. It's not social."
"I don't want to be social." Angel planted a kiss on Cordelia's neck. "I just want to be with you."
Cordelia smiled slightly, closing her eyes and leaning back into Angel. "How about tonight?"
"It is tonight." Angel said seductively.
"But Jess isn't asleep yet…" Cordelia told him.
"So? Is she ever?" Angel winked at his daughter and watched her let out a sigh and then flop onto her side, clearly not ready for bed, but not going to fight it either. "She looks tired now."
Cordelia opened her eyes to see her daughter lying down. She then looked at the watch on her wrist. "Connor isn't due for a bottle in two hours."
Angel scooped Cordelia up into his arms. "Then I suggest we spend some time together." He grinned at her and then carried her into their bedroom.
Connor's cries woke Cordelia from her sleep. She glanced over at the clock, realizing she had missed Connor's bottle. She fumbled out of bed searching for her clothes that Angel had helped her discard all over their room earlier that night. She found a pair of her sweats and a white tank top and was down the hall within seconds.
She scooped Connor up from his crib, trying to sooth her son. "Sh…Connor…shh." She grabbed his bottle. "I've got you baby…" She cooed at the child.
Connor's cries must have woken up Jessica though, because once Connor had almost calmed down a disheveled Angel entered with an even more distraught Jessica in his arms. "Is Connor okay?"
"He was hungry." Cordelia told him. "Why is Jess up?"
Jessica squirmed. She was not a sleeper by any means, but when she did fall asleep she was not the type of person to wake up willingly.
"He woke her, I guess." Angel said, shifting Jessica in his arms.
"Well, let's bring them down to our room before they wake anyone else up." Cordelia said making her way back down the hallway.
Angel entered their bedroom right behind Cordelia and took a seat next to her on the bed. She had Connor sucking greedily at his bottle and Jessica was now wide-awake, trying to squirm away from Angel to get a better look at her little brother.
Angel smiled as he watched his daughter gently grasp at Connor's hand. "That's your little brother." Angel told her. "Say hi to Connor."
Jessica waved to the two-week old baby in her mother's arms. Suddenly a bit of jealously seemed to enter her body and she grasped at Cordelia, wanting her mother to hold her.
Cordelia smiled. "Take him, Angel." Cordelia motioned to Connor.
"He cries…" Angel's eye widened. "He will cry. He cries every time I go near him. He is scared of me."
"Angel, he's your son. He's not scared."
Jessica grasped for Cordelia again and Angel had no choice but to take Connor. He slowly picked up his son, closing his eyes, and waiting for the baby to cry. Surprisingly, Angel did not hear a sound. He opened his eyes to see Jessica relaxing in her mother's arms and Connor grasping at the bottle in Angel's hands, but not at all tensing up at being around his father. He had finally broken the ice. Father and son were getting along.
Cordelia rested her head on Angel's shoulder. "I wish I could freeze this."
"What?" Angel asked.
"This. Us. Our family." Cordelia smiled down at her children. "I love them so much."
Angel nodded in agreement. "Me too."
Jessica patted Connor's foot gently, causing the baby boy to kick slightly and giggle.
Fred entered the Hyperion Hotel with a package, and a plastic bag in her hands. Gunn and Lorne both looked up from their card game when the young woman entered.
"What you got there, Fred?" Gunn asked.
"Angel's blood supply." She held up the plastic bag. "And a package. It's for Wes."
"Oh…" Gunn's gaze fell to the floor.
"He's in his office, cupcake." Lorne told her.
"Thanks." Fred smiled, setting the blood in the refrigerator and making her way into the office where she found Wesley at his desk, busy with some paperwork. She cleared her throat to let her presence be known.
"Fred." Wesley looked up, surprised, but with a wide smile across his face. "Can I help you?"
"Just wanted to drop this off for you." Fred said, tossing the package casually onto his desk. "It was outside."
"Well, thanks." Wesley smiled again. "Uh, Fred?"
"Yeah?" She asked.
"I was wondering…if well…if you would want to…I mean…I'd love to take you to dinner sometime soon."
Fred gave a half smile and a nod. "That'd be nice, Wes."
"Great." Wesley smiled, but it faded quickly as Gunn entered.
"Fred, I'm going for some tacos. Wanna come?" Gunn asked.
Fred's face light up. "Sure." She giggled and grabbed the arm Gunn had stretched out for her.
Wesley sighed, fumbling to open the package Fred had given him. He was always to slow on the draw. She would probably have a wonderful time out with Gunn and forget all about the dinner he had just asked her out on. He opened the package and watched as an old scroll fell out onto his desk. He studied it hard. He had never seen the language on it before. He quickly went through his books, knowing it would take awhile to decipher the text.
Cordelia came down the stairs with Connor, followed by Angel who had Jessica. Both children were rather dressed up, and Cordelia seemed to be in a good mood. Lorne, who was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, picked up on the good vibes immediately.
"What's going on, princess? You seem chipper today." Lorne smiled up at the young, beautiful seer; the seer whose appearance would not change until Angel reached his Shanshu.
"Me, Connor, and Jess are going out for the day." Cordelia smiled as she watched Angel set Jessica down on the floor and then proceed to pull the double stroller out of the closet.
"Where are you going?" Lorne asked.
"Just out. These kids need some time in the sun." Cordelia told him, placing Connor in his spot in the stroller.
"And I need some quiet around here." Angel smiled, following Cordelia's lead and placing Jessica down in her spot in the stroller. "I can't get my job done if these two are giggling and crying all the time." He tickled Jessica who swatted him away, a look of satisfaction on her face when he quickly retracted his hand. Jessica was strong.
"Right." Cordelia gave Angel a big kiss and waved good-bye to Lorne. "We'll be back later."
"Have fun." Lorne waved back as he watched Cordelia exit the hotel. "She is one special girl."
"Tell me about it." Angel smiled to himself. "Where's Wesley? I want to try and get some work done today."
"His office." Lorne told him. "He's been in there all morning. A package was dropped off for him earlier."
"Okay." Angel said, making his way into the office.
"Oh, and your blood supply was dropped off too." Lorne told him.
"Mine?" Angel turned to face the demon.
"Yeah. Who else drinks blood around here?"
"It never gets dropped off. I always have to pick it up."
Lorne shrugged. "Maybe the butcher felt the need to be nice today."
Angel nodded. "Maybe." He then made his way over to the refrigerator and took a pint of blood out before making his way into Wesley's office.
Fred and Gunn sat over a small table at a Mexican restaurant, both stuffing their faces with tacos.
Fred looked up and wiped her face, noticing that Gunn was starring at her. "Sorry." She mumbled with a mouth full of food. "I just love tacos. I must look a mess."
Gunn laughed. "Nah. You look great, plus I like a girl who can eat."
Fred smiled back at him, looking down at his plate that was empty. "Looks like you didn't do so bad yourself."
Gunn followed her gaze down to his plate. "Nah, I didn't." He then leaned across the table slowly. "But you beat me."
Fred leaned in closer to him. "I did."
Before either one knew what was going on, their lips met, and, for a brief moment, both Fred and Gunn felt like nothing could ever go wrong again.
Cordelia pushed the stroller that Jessica and Connor were in around the park. It was a beautiful day out and she was glad to be in the sun for a change. She pushed the stroller over to a bench and sat down, turning the stroller so Connor and Jessica could face her.
"Da." Jessica waved at Cordelia with a grin on her face, but the grin slowly faded as Jessica began to look around. "Da?" Jessica sat up, clearly looking for Angel. "Da?" The child seemed to almost be panicking.
"Daddy's at home, sweetie." Cordelia told her daughter.
Immediately a frown fell on Jessica's face; she understood every word Cordelia said, and she was not happy about it.
Cordelia looked at a sleeping Connor, and then smiled to her daughter. "Fine, you win, baby girl. We'll go home and see daddy."
Jessica smiled at Cordelia, and, for the first time, said the word Cordelia had been longing to hear. "Ma."
Cordelia sat there for a moment, in shock of what she had just heard. It seemed Jessica had grown impatient of her mother's mouth hanging open. "Ma. Da." Jessica said, looking around again.
Cordelia snapped out of her trance, and stood. "That's right, Mommy is going to take you home to see Daddy."
Angel entered Wesley's office to find the ex-watcher over a stake of books and a scroll. He seemed to be engrossed in them.
"Wes?" Angel interrupted.
Wesley's eyes shot up. Clearly the vampire had startled him. "Oh, Angel, it's you."
Angel nodded. "What are you up to?"
Wesley sighed, leaning back into his chair. "These scrolls were sent to me. Some sort of prophecy I believe. I can't decipher them though." He lied.
"You'll get it done."
"I hope so." Wesley sat up again, nervously. "Do you need anything?"
Angel nodded. "Actually, I was wondering if there is any work to catch up on around here. I know with Darla and Connor and all things must have fallen behind."
Wesley shook his head, looking down at the words in front of him. On the paper he had so far deciphered 'The Father Will…' He couldn't get the rest. He looked back up at Angel. "Everything's running smoothly. You have enough to worry about right now anyway."
"Are you sure?" Angel asked, taking a swig of his blood and then making a face. "Damn, what is in this stuff?" He looked at the pint in his hand. "Doesn't taste like pigs blood."
Wesley shrugged. "I wouldn't know."
Angel nodded. "True."
"Angel?" Cordelia's voice came from the lobby. "We're home!"
Angel looked back at Wesley. "You're sure there is nothing to do around here?"
Wesley nodded, wanting to get back to his scrolls. "I'm sure. Go help Cordy."
Angel nodded, exiting the office.
Wesley's eyes fell back done on the scrolls in front of him and he suddenly felt as though he was unable to breath. Words had slowly formed on the paper he had been writing on. He read the words three or four times, rubbing his eyes, and cleaning his glasses to make sure what he was seeing was really there, unfortunately it was.
Wesley read the words on the paper out loud to himself. "THE FATHER WILL KILL THE CHILDREN."
Wesley looked up to see Angel helping Cordelia take Jessica and Connor out of the stroller. He looked back down at the paper to still see the words written on it.
Angel smiled, picking Jessica up. "How was the day out?"
Cordelia nodded, holding Connor. "Good. Jess learned a new word today."
Angel smiled at his daughter. "You did, baby? What is it?"
Cordelia looked hopefully at Jessica. "Who am I, Jess?"
Jessica slapped Angel's chest with a grin. "Da."
Angel laughed. "That's me."
Cordelia was hurt. She tried again. "Jess, who am I?"
Again Jessica slapped Angel's chest. "Da."
Angel saw the hurt on Cordelia's face. "Jess, who is that?" He pointed to Cordelia.
Jessica sighed. "Ma."
Cordelia grinned widely, kissing Jessica on the forehead. "That's right."
"Good girl, Jess." Angel said, taking another sip of his blood. He then looked down at his son and daughter and suddenly staggered backwards at the feeling he was getting.
"Angel?" Cordelia asked, concerned, as she shifted Connor in her arms. "Are you okay?"
Angel nodded, placing Jessica on the floor. "Yeah, I just need…" He looked around. "Just need to…uh…do some work." He blew past Cordelia and was up the stairs before she could blink.
Cordelia looked down at Connor and then Jessica. "You two better get used to him. He's one crazy man, your Daddy."
Once Angel locked the door behind him and made sure Cordelia was not following him, he made his way over to the bed he shared with Cordelia and collapsed into it. He ran his hand over his face, trying to erase the feeling he was experiencing, but he couldn't.
He didn't understand it. He hadn't craved human blood like this in years, now he saw lunch in his children's eyes. He was going to be sick. He quickly made his way into the bathroom and threw cold water onto his face. He had lost it, he decided. He was craving his own children's blood.