Chapter 26

Wesley nearly lost his breakfast all over the foyer. Making the move to turn around, he was caught by Fred and pivoted back to the living room. Connor was sitting not twenty feet away from where Wesley and his family were standing.

Looking at the man who was once an infant stolen into a hell dimension, Wesley searched for signs of hatred or torment in the eyes now locked on his. All he could see was curiosity, perhaps a bit of unhappiness. This was not the teenager who tried to kill his father, this was a young man looking for answers, Wesley thought. His nerves lessened just a bit.

Fred had to get a hold of herself quickly. Grasping Allie to her chest protectively, she moved towards Buffy. Fred wanted to hug Connor, but the newness of the memories and the pain stayed her hand. She didn't know who this man was in front of her. He had a kind look to his features; she didn't feel threatened by him.

Not letting her guard down entirely, Fred sat next to Buffy. Allie was content to lie in her mom's lap, and didn't seem to have any need to make any fuss. Buffy stroked her cheek and cooed to her a little and the infant started to doze.

Moving slowly into the room, Wesley took a seat in the second overstuffed chair, which was closer to Angel than he would have liked. Not sure of the former vampire's reaction, Wesley had planned to try and keep his distance.

No one spoke as Gunn and Will came in. Gunn looked shocked, but it wasn't long before he composed himself and come into the living room. He positioned himself on the arm of the couch, his arm resting behind Buffy.

Gunn wasn't sure what to say to this young man. Was there an appropriate way to greet someone a person hadn't known existed, Gunn asked himself. He chose to stay silent, he couldn't think of anything intelligent to say. Glancing around the room, he realized that no one was particularly interesting in speaking. Most people had their lips closed tightly.

Will didn't want to sit. He was tired, and Dawn was right behind him, having decided it was not a good idea for them to drive in together. He partially regretted spending a good portion of his night having sex instead of sleeping. He felt as if he could sleep for a week and it wouldn't be enough. Knowing he would be at the office until late into night trying to catch up on the work he had neglected the past week, he hoped this family meeting wouldn't take all day. He didn't need to be at the office any later than he already knew he would be.

Xander and Dawn sat away from the main group, at the bar stools along the kitchen breakfast bar. Dawn knew she wouldn't say much, she was basically only there to support everyone else. She and Xander had little to do with this situation, she thought.

Once everyone was seated, Angel didn't know how to go about starting a conversation. He needn't have worried; Connor took over for him quickly.

"So, it's a reunion this morning? I would have worn a better shirt if I had known that." The amusement in Connor's eyes and voice made everyone else in the room feel a little less awkward.

Fred almost smiled at him, "You remembered too? Well…what are we going to do now?"

Connor paused to think about that. He wasn't sure if he wanted a relationship with his father. He had a family, parents and siblings, a good job, a good college degree, and a girlfriend. There was no reason to give any of that up, he could fight the good fight and have a life, he thought. Sure, he said to himself, Angel seems like a nice guy, and these guys seem alright, but they aren't my family.

Before Connor wanted to talk about himself, he wanted to know about Fred and why he remembered her as a blue being a few years ago. Curious about what they had been through in the past years and sure they would want to know about him, he reconsidered the attitude he had expressed to Angel in the coffee shop before the final battle.

At that time, he had told Angel that he was grateful for everything Angel had done, but didn't want anything further from the vampire. Now, Angel wasn't a vampire and Connor's attitude had changed. He thought he had matured, entered a time in his life when he could be a part of his biological parents' life in a good way.

Remembering the last thing Angel had said to him made his heat ache a little. Angel had told Connor that as long as his son was alive and well, no one could destroy him. That had meant a lot to Connor, and he now knew that Angel meant those words with all his heart. There was nothing Connor could do to convince himself that Angel didn't love him.

He wanted to apologize for all the horrible things he had done, but he knew Angel wouldn't hear it. Angel didn't hold him responsible for any of the sins he had committed after returning from Quor'Toth. Angel loved his son enough to overlook all the pain Connor had put him through. Connor understood that now, he thought. He understood that he had been confused, that Angel had made mistakes but had loved him throughout all of it.

Knowing he could never again walk away from his father, he started to talk. He spoke about school, and his girlfriend and his family. He kept the synopsis of his life short, but wanted to let everyone know that he wanted them to be included in his life. Stopping to ask questions, Fred briefly explained the 'blue phase' and Angel tried to explain the prophecy that had turned him and Will into hybrids.

He was introduced to Will, Dawn and Xander, and he liked them all immediately. The people in front of him were not the same people that he had known years ago. These people were older in years and in understanding. They had gone through hardships he could not imagine, and hearing the stories they told him, he wondered if he would ever know the full extent of their adventures.

His life had been boring in comparison. After having his memories erased for the second time, he had lived fairly normally. He hadn't been hit by any trucks, and his parents soon gave up in their quest of trying to figure out whether or not their son was different. Denial was a powerful thing, he thought.

It wasn't until Allie started crying that the party broke up. The baby was hungry, as were most others in the room. Angel only realized the resemblance to the twilight zone when he, Will and Dawn were halfway through making brunch. Stopping in the middle of cutting the banana in front of him, he cocked his head slightly.

This was ridiculous, Angel thought. He was going to have a family brunch with the people he pushed away the son he hadn't seen in four years. And his pregnant girlfriend, who was carrying a child that had healed her from a serious stab wound in less than an hour.

His life had always been strange, he realized that, but this was taking a turn down a path he had never envisioned. Most of them had to go to work, but he imagined Connor had known that he wouldn't make it to the museum that Monday. Angel, though, knew that he had to run his company, as did his friends.

Taking a deep breath, he went back to slicing bananas for the pancakes. Dawn was already finished with the batter. Looking over at the man who was once a vampire, Angel tried to remember the events leading up to this day. His best friend had been his arch nemesis, and before that had been his pupil. The little girl in his kitchen, who Angel knew was now a woman, was sleeping with his best friend. Buffy's kid sister and his best friend were having sex, he realized with dismay. This was not going to turn out well, he thought.

Dawn's smell was all over Will, and vice versa. Even if Angel hadn't been able to smell their relationship, the sidelong glances Dawn was giving Will, and Will's utter neglect of those glances, would have been a tip off. Angel knew Will always confronted issues head on, sometimes without as much planning or forethought as Angel thought was necessary. The fact that Will was completely ignoring Dawn's rather scandalous gaze told Angel more than the pheromones did.

Will was going to fall in love. He only ignored women he found dangerous, and the only women Will thought were dangerous were the ones who could steal his heart. He had been terrified of Dru until she had turned him, and even then he had been under her thumb for years. Harmony was aberration, Angel thought. He almost winced when he thought of how many times Will had tried to kill Buffy just to prove to himself that he didn't love her. Hoping Will would not reach that level of destructive tendencies, he wondered how long it would take for his friend to realize how in love he was.

Shifting his thoughts, he looked towards the living room, where Xander and Connor were exchanging battle stories. Wesley had followed Gunn onto the patio after Fred and Buffy had gone to the nursery to take care of Allie. Angel knew that Fred was not going to let Allie out of her sight for a long time. They would all need closure concerning the hell god that the baby's blood was supposed to raise. Willow had promised to look into the powers that Allie could poses, but she seemed to think Allie was similar to Dawn in terms of powers.

He busied himself with setting the table and wondered at the relationship that could develop between Buffy and Connor. Would his soul mate and his son get along, he wondered. It was going to be difficult, he knew, trying to have anything resembling a normal relationship with Connor. The young man didn't have any reason to trust his biological father, and Angel knew that. He also knew that Buffy would be suspicious of Connor, but sympathetic at the same time.

When brunch was served and Fred and Buffy returned from the nursery with only a baby monitor but no baby, the conversation became louder than it had been in the living room. War stories were exchanged, and the serious tone of the conversation quickly turned to something resembling cheerfulness.

Connor was making a real effort to put aside his negative opinions of the lot of them and make an attempt at civility, Angel thought. He really has grown up, the proud father realized. It was a realization that made him smile. His family was continually growing, and for a man that had professed to be a loner, he was surrounded by many people who loved him and whom he loved in return.