Snapshot 2: Beginning of a Sick Day

Cough. Cough.

Xander knocked lightly on little Daniel Harris' bedroom door. "Ready to get up for school, little man?"

Cough. Cough.

Daniel's voice had a tiny scratch to it. Xander could hear the pleading in his voice but getting older meant it was harder for him to discern whether his little man was faking it or not. Kind of like a superpower, Xander mused to himself.

Daniel broke into Xander's thoughts. "I don't feel very well, zaddy."

Xander furrowed his brow as he entered his little man's room. Stepping over a stuffed blue rhino that was scattered on the floor, Xander placed the back of his hand on Daniel's forehead. "Hmm..."

"What is it?"

Xander moved his hand off of his son's forehead, Daniel's eyes following the hand. "Well, its not hot enough to fry an egg off of, yet."

Cough. Giggle. Cough.

"Awww...."

Xander nodded his head slowly. "Daddy will be home soon. We'll see what he has to say, alright?" As if on cue, the front door opened and closed quickly. Xander looked back at Daniel as he turned to walk from the room. "We'll get some oatmeal started for you, little man."

Daniel's voice chirped out as Xander headed for the stairs. "Don't forget the raisins, Zaddy, please?"

"Okay, little man," Xander called out as he reached the bottom of the stairs and headed for the kitchen.

Angel was already cleaning his work thermos out in the sink, red water finally turning clear in the heat of the running faucet. Placing the silver thermos in the dish rack, he turned to face Xander, not even bothering to conceal the half-yawn in his face. "Is Danny up and getting his teeth brushed?"

Xander took a step forward, resisting the urge to fix the crooked part of Angel's tie. "Little man's not feeling too well. I'm gonna start the oatmeal for him anyways and we'll wait for your expert opinion."

"Aye?" Angel crooked an eyebrow. "You think I'm going to be unbiased?"

Xander rolled his eyes as he opened the pantry door to grab the instant oatmeal box and a small box of raisins for stirring in. "As if. But the only unbiased person would probably be Giles. And, knowing him, he would most likely just use a phrase like...i don't know...idle hands are the devil's joy?"

Angel chuckled. "He was a young man once too."

Xander opened a door and rooted around for a measuring cup. "Not to him hear tell it. He never saw his parents, just the elders on the Council. And that so does not count. Personally, I wouldn't begrudge little man a day or two off."

"You think he could stand it?"

Xander worked on programming the microwave, watching the light buzz on as the bowl started to turn. "You've been working a lot. He asked about you yesterday when I picked him up from school. Maybe he just needs some dad time."

Angel cast his eyes down, trying to hide the blush. "Nonsense. He likes you more."

Xander didn't bother to respond, just thrusting the slightly steaming oatmeal into Angel's hand, along with a hot pad. Fixing the raisins and a glass of water on a tv tray from the island cabinet, Xander took the oatmeal from Angel and put it on the tray. They were still for a moment, Xander doing his best to resist the urge to reach up and peck Angel's cheek while Angel resisted the urge to grab Xander around the waist.

Xander finally reacted to a tiny cough from upstairs. "I've gotta get to work. You get to be the bad guy this time." Turning with a final tone of irony, Xander walked down the hallway and into the office to figure out which tie he wanted to wear. He hated the ties, but the foreman salary was more than enough.

Xander is right, of course, Angel thought as he picked up the tray and headed up to Daniel's room. Angel had been pulling extra duty at the new Watchers Library as its head of security. His clearance allowed him limited access to the cameras and, if necessary, to pertinent documents that Giles requested. Knowing that Giles and Faith were watching him vigilantly actually hurt less than he thought it would. Having Daniel and Xander in his life made it worth that and even more frightening for him. Angel made a mental note to crush up an energy caplet into his evening blood so that he could stay up with Daniel.

"Hey kiddo, how we feeling?"

Daniel sat up as Angel entered the room and his face lit up. "You remembered the raisins. Is Zaddy leaving for work? Am I staying home with you?"

Angel crooked his brow. "Lets see what your forehead says."

Daniel broke out into a grin as he watched Angel's palm go across his furrowed brow. "Your hand isn't cold. Must've been warm last night."

"You're a little warm yourself, little man. Here...we'll let Zaddy get to work and then I'll help you color in your dinosaur book, okay?"

Daniel nodded as he scooted over so Angel could sit on the small bed and he could burrow into him while eating the maple brown sugar oatmeal with raisins mixed in. Daniel wiggled his toes as he ate, looking up at a slightly weary Angel every few seconds.

Xander's head popped into the room. His tie and jacket were already on. "How we doin' in here, guys?"

Angel spoke in soft tones. "We're gonna spend some time coloring."

Xander nodded and broke into a half-smile. "Okay. You keep Daddy out of trouble, alright Danny boy?"

Daniel nodded as he took another bite of oatmeal. "Kay, Zaddy. Have a good day!"

Xander opened his mouth to say that he loved them but then decided against it. He merely exclaimed as he walked out of sight, "Feel better, little man. I'll come home with some soup tonight."