Angel stared at her in horror. "Twelve years?" he finally managed to say. Buffy nodded, reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"I didn't know why you never came," she said softly. "Now…now I know. Oh, God. One day." She rubbed her face wearily and looked up. "Doyle. Oz. It's good to see you both. The others, they're all okay?"
"Everyone's fine," Angel assured her.
"How—how did you get here?"
"Willow was able to open a portal with Dawn's help," Doyle explained. Buffy frowned.
"Dawnie?" Buffy asked, and then held up a hand. "It doesn't matter. What matters is getting back out of here. Come on, the fortress isn't far away."
"Excuse me, fortress?" Oz asked.
Buffy nodded. "It's where the others live. There aren't many inhabitable places in Revona." She turned and started walking. The three men hurried to catch up.
"Twelve years," Angel said again. "That means Caddie—"
"Is almost thirteen," Buffy confirmed. Angel squeezed his eyes shut.
"What happened?" he asked. "Who took Caddie? How did you end up like this? You—you're body, it's in Sunnydale. You're in the hospital."
"I am?" Buffy asked, her face showing confusion. Then she shook her head. "We can figure it out later. Remember that law firm in LA? Wolfram & Hart? Well, they found the prophecy about Caddie and decided to get their hands on her. It isn't the first time they've kidnapped children with power like this, either."
"What are the defenses?" Oz asked. "How hard is it going to be to get Caddie back?"
"I don't think they noticed the portal opening," Buffy told them. "The only reason I did was because I can sense energy in this form. I don't know why. But I don't think they'll expect an attack." She scrambled over an outcropping and pointed. "There."
Angel stood beside her and she leaned toward him. He reminded himself it had been twelve years for her. Twelve years alone in a hostile dimension, unable to do anything but watch as strangers raised their daughter. He shuddered. It must have been hell.
It really did look like a fortress. A big, gray, forbidding structure that sat by itself on a plain of smooth, volcanic rock. "There's a service entrance on the side. We found it a few years ago," Buffy said. "I don't have to worry about doors or anything, but I seriously doubt you can walk through walls."
"You can?" Oz asked, looking impressed. "Sweet."
Buffy flashed him a smile. "It comes in handy." When they reached the outer wall, she showed them the door and then walked straight through the wall. She was waiting for them on the other side. "We need to be quiet," she said softly. "The servants use these hallways."
"Are these servants…human?" Doyle asked. Buffy shook her head.
"The only humans here are Caddie and me."
"Lovely," Angel muttered.
She led them to an old-fashioned sitting room. "Caddie's in one of her 'tutoring' sessions right now," she explained. "It'll be an hour or so. We should be safe here."
"How have you managed to stay hidden for twelve years?" Angel asked.
Buffy shrugged. "I'm basically a ghost. I can even disappear if I have to. It kind of itches, though, so I stay visible as much as possible."
"Oh." Angel paced back and forth. He had come expecting to fight his way through to wherever his daughter was being kept. Waiting in a well-decorated living room wasn't what he had in mind. "What's she like?" he asked suddenly.
Buffy smiled sadly. "She's beautiful. And smart. Like, Willow kind of smart."
"Is it bad here?" Doyle asked.
"Bad?" Buffy seemed to consider the question. "This place is run by an evil law firm that raises children to do their dirty work. Yeah, it's bad. But not cruel."
The door opened suddenly and everyone shot to their feet. A girl stood in the doorway, fourteen or fifteen years old. She was slim and dressed completely in black. Her skin was pale and translucent. Her black hair was cut in short, uneven layers to her chin and her large eyes were luminescent blue.
Without warning, she snatched a knife out of nowhere and lunged toward Doyle.
"Micah, no!" Buffy yelled. The girl whirled away from Doyle at the last moment, her knife grazing the half-demon's arm.
"Dammit!" Doyle shouted, pressing his hand to the wound. "What the hell?"
"Who are they, Mother?" the girl demanded. "What are they doing here?"
"Mother?" Angel echoed. "Why is she calling you that?"
"Everybody shut up!" Buffy said sharply. When all eyes were on her, she looked over at the girl. "This is Micah. She's a Fey. Wolfram & Hart kidnapped her around the same time they took Caddie. Micah, this is Angel, Doyle and Oz. I told you about them, remember?"
Micah fixed her pale, strange eyes on Angel. "You are the father?" she asked curiously.
"Um…" Angel looked to Buffy for help.
"Yes, he's the father," Buffy told Micah. The girl slid the knife back into her belt and turned to Doyle.
"I apologize for harming you. I mistook you for an enemy."
"Understandable," Doyle grunted. His demon physiology had already stopped the bleeding, but the cut still stung like hell.
"Mother had hoped you would come sooner," Micah told Angel rather bluntly. "Why didn't you?"
The simple question pierced Angel's heart like a sword. "We came as soon as we could," he said tightly. "Only a day passed in our dimension." He turned to Buffy. "Why is she calling you 'Mother'?" he asked quietly.
Buffy only stared at him. "Because I practically raised her," she replied. "Micah, is Caddie nearly done?"
"I saw Parhon go into his study, so she must be on her way here," the Fey replied.
"Mother?" a timid voice asked from the doorway. Again, everyone swiveled around to stare. She was absolutely tiny, though not in the malnourished way. Her hair and eyes were matching shades of dark chocolate, but her features were pure reflections of Buffy. Angel stood rooted to the spot, unable to think or speak. Buffy smiled and held out her hands toward the girl.
"It's all right, Caddie," she told the girl. "They're friends. They've come to take us home."