Angel, Buffy, and their baby daughter enjoy a beautiful sunrise in Rome. This is the 8th story in my "When in Rome" series. Can be read as a standalone too. Enjoy!

xoxo

When Angel was a vampire, his favorite time of day was sunset, for obvious reasons. He would spend the whole day cooped up inside somewhere, but as soon as the sun would go down, he would be free.

Now that Angel was human, his favorite time of day was sunrise. He loved the feeling of its warmth on his face, knowing that he would not burn this time. Well, except for the time he had forgotten sunscreen. Buffy had warned him, and he had been red and in pain for several days after.

Every day the sun would rise, and it would be the start of a brand new day. Another day to be alive. Another day with Buffy. And now, another day with his daughter.

His daughter. Sometimes Angel couldn't believe it. For the second time in his life, he was a father.

Liliana reminded him a lot of Connor when he had been a baby. She looked mostly like her mother, but that smile was all him. And Connor. And when she cried, she even sounded a bit like Connor had.

It made Angel sad again for the time he lost with his son, but he couldn't change anything about that. All he could do was move forward, and he vowed to do everything in his power to protect Liliana. No one was taking his daughter away from him and Buffy.

xoxo

The baby had finally started sleeping through the night until teething began. It was like a cruel joke. He and Buffy were finally getting a decent amount of shut-eye, and then it was back to getting up several times during the night. But he and Buffy had a system now. It had only taken them six months, but they were getting the hang of this parenting thing.

Buffy would take the first shift, which was usually the one or two am feeding. If she was too tired, she'd bring the baby back to bed with them. Many a morning, Angel had woken to see the baby nursing all by herself, Buffy fast asleep.

Angel would take the second shift. He was usually up at dawn anyway, which Buffy appreciated. She liked to sleep in. Then Angel would tend to the baby and make breakfast.

On this particular morning, Liliana was especially cranky.

"Don't you want this?" Angel offered the cold teething ring from the refrigerator. "It'll help you." But Liliana refused it.

He tried pacing with her. He tried giving her a bottle. He tried shaking a rattle to distract her. He tried her pacifier.

Nothing was working. She couldn't be consoled.

Buffy, he knew, was exhausted. She'd come in late last night. The girls needed her assistance with a pack of vampires near the ruins of the Roman Forum. And hearing the baby crying like this was sure to wake her up.

Angel looked at his watch and smiled. "Perfect timing. Come on, piccolina mia. Let's go to the roof."

xoxo

It wasn't the baby crying that woke up Buffy, but rather, the quiet.

Under normal circumstances, the baby could merely whimper and Buffy would be alert. However, if she knew Angel was with her, she could relax and go back to sleep.

But now it was quiet, and that was odd.

When Buffy made her way to the living room, with her fuzzy robe wrapped tightly around her to ward off the morning chill, Angel and Liliana weren't there.

In the kitchen, the only thing on the counter was a teething ring. No signs of breakfast yet.

Buffy peeked into the baby's room, wondering if they were in there. Sometimes in the morning, she'd find Angel fast asleep in the rocking chair with Liliana asleep on his chest. But no, they weren't there either.

Then Buffy smiled. She knew exactly where they were. Where Angel would often go in the morning.

xoxo

She found them on the roof and watched them for a few moments unnoticed. He was wearing his light blue robe over his flannel pajama pants, which made Buffy smile. He still wore a lot of black, but she liked him in this look too. He looked like, well, a dad.

Liliana was in his arms and wrapped up in a pink crocheted blanket. It had been a gift from her friend Carmen, the mother of one of the slayers. Carmen had made the blanket herself.

The sound of the roof door closing made Angel turn his head. When he saw her, he smiled.

"Thought I'd find you up here," Buffy said.

"She was crying. I didn't want you to wake up."

Buffy sidled up next to them, and Angel put his other arm around her. "I woke up anyway. The apartment was so quiet. I had to know what was going on."

Angel looked down at the baby in his other arm. "I thought I'd take Liliana to the roof to see her first sunrise. And look at that. She's calm now."

Liliana suckled on her pacifier as she took in the sights. Buffy reached out and touched her cheek. She wondered what was going through her little baby mind.

"How much longer?" Buffy asked.

"Just another minute or so. You came just in time."

Buffy looked down at all the rooftops below them. Many of the buildings looked old, and several of them had dome-shaped roofs. She loved living here. Rome was so beautiful.

"There is it," Angel said, and Buffy followed Angel's gaze as the sun began its ascent over the horizon. She then looked at the baby, who appeared mesmerized by the sight too.

"She likes this," Buffy said.

"It's something different to see."

Buffy rested her head on Angel's shoulder. "Or maybe like her daddy, she likes watching the sunrise too."

"She was born at sunrise," Angel said. "Maybe it's her favorite time of day too."

They stayed like that for a few minutes, both quiet and looking out at the horizon. The sun made the clouds in the sky a beautiful shade of pink.

Angel turned and kissed Buffy on the side of her head. "Good morning by the way."

"Good morning."

"Are you hungry? I could make us breakfast."

"In a minute," she said. "It's such a beautiful sight."

Angel looked at Buffy, then at Liliana. "Yes, it's a beautiful sight."