††††††††††
Cordelia looked up from her paperwork, as the elevator came to a stop and Angel came out with Wesley close behind. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Angel carrying a large box, while Wesley had a stroller
"Uh?" she said
"I got a crib," Angel said proudly, "Easy to set up. Also, got a stroller for the tyke"
"Where is the crib gonna go?" Cordelia asked
"Downstairs, of course. I was gonna build it and show you later, but I wanted to show it to you now"
"You're gonna build a crib? Oh now this should be interesting"
"Don't worry, I'm helping him," Wesley said
"Oh, now it will be interesting"
"I think the boss and I will be fine"
"Boss?"
"Wesley works with us now," Angel replied, "On a flat fee, like yourself. Oh and Wes? No need to kiss my ass about it"
"Oh course, bo- Angel, not a problem," Wesley said, "Shall we set the crib up now?"
"Yes. Let's go"
And as quickly as they had shown up, Angel and Wes got back into the elevator and disappeared downstairs. Cordelia shook her head in amazement and got herself a cup of coffee, her free hand resting on her stomach. Suddenly, she felt a kick in her stomach. A small smile appeared on her face as she felt another kick. Cordelia rushed downstairs, finding Angel and Wesley in the bedroom setting up the crib
"Hey, he's kicking," she cried
Angel promptly dropped everything and rushed to Cordelia's side, his hand on her stomach, as her hand rested upon his. Angel smiled when he felt his son kick and motioned to Wesley, who also felt the child kick
"Wow, this is just…wonderful," Angel said, smiling, "I still can't believe it"
"It is quite amazing," Wesley agreed
"Yeah, Angel, I've been reading some books and I wanna do some pregnancy training," Cordelia said
"Huh?"
"Birth classes. It helps us prepare for the birth of the child. It'll be good for us"
"No harm in trying it out," Wesley suggested
"Come on, Angel, it'll be – argh!"
Cordelia fell backwards in the midst of a vision, but Angel swiftly caught her, lying her down on the couch and staying nearby her until the vision passed
"Yeah, thank you Powers That Be," Cordelia muttered, "I'm pregnant and you send me a fricking vision"
"You okay?" Angel asked, then held up his hands in surrender from Cordelia's glare
"What did you see?" Wesley asked
"Young boy…about nine or ten…walking out in the street at night…he's gonna get hit by a car"
"Alright, Wes and I'll head over later," Angel said, "And in the meantime, you rest, okay. Take it easy"
Angel grabbed his coat and headed towards the sewer entrance
"Where are you going?" Cordelia asked
"Gonna see someone"
††††††††††
"What brings you here?" asked the female Oracle, "And what have you brought us?"
"Abacus from China. 14th century," Angel replied, holding up his gift
"So, why are you here?" asked the male Oracle
"I'm asking you to suspend the visions to Cordelia until after our child is born"
"And let innocent people die?" asked the female Oracle, "Just you and the seer can have some tiny piece of happiness?"
"I just…I just don't want any harm to come to my child when Cordy has a vision," Angel said, "I want them both safe"
"Do not fear. Your child is safe from the visions," said the male Oracle, "Now leave us"
With a wave of his hand, he sent Angel back into the underground room
††††††††††
"How did it go with the Oracles?" Wesley asked later that night, "Any luck?"
"None," Angel replied, "They didn't want to let any innocents die while Cordelia is on holidays from the visions. But they did say he's safe from the visions"
"So, what does that mean about Cordelia?"
"Probably meant the pain she goes through. It doesn't affect the baby"
"Ah, well, that's good then, I suppose. Have you thought of-"
"Shh. There he is," Angel said, before looking over his shoulder, "And here comes the car"
Quick as a flash, Angel was out of the Plymouth, darting across the road and grabbing the boy, diving out of the way of the car as it swerved and drove on. Angel sat up on the gutter, as the boy sat beside him, staring at his shoulder
"Are you gonna cry?" the young boy asked
Angel looked at his torn shoulder and put on a mock thoughtful look
"Hmm, maybe…not sure…don't know…nope, not gonna cry," he said with a smile
"Ryan!" boomed a voice
Both Angel and Ryan turned around to see his parents rushing towards him. Ryan's father swiftly picked him up
"You know not to go wandering around outside," Seth chastised
"Thank you for saving our son," Paige said to Angel, before seeing his shoulder, "You come inside. I'll fix it up for you"
"Paige-" Seth started
"It'll be fine," Angel protested
"No, you come along with us," Paige insisted
Angel gave one look at Wesley, before being taken into the house. Seth took Ryan upstairs, as Paige went through the first-aid kit. Angel looked around the house, noting it was quite normal looking and that the family had only recently moved in, judging from the large cardboard boxes lying around
"So, what's your name?" Seth asked, returning with a lit cigarette
"Angel…Chase"
"What do you do for a living, Mr. Chase?"
"I'm a private investigator," Angel replied, "I was in the neighbourhood, on a case, when I saw young Ryan"
"Angel," Paige whispered, "Like a guardian angel"
She smiled and dug out two angel statues from one of the boxes, showing them to Angel. He smiled at her, as she put them aside and looked at his shoulder, frowning
"This was all torn open just before," she said in disbelief
"Ah, well, there you go," Angel said
"Paige, I think it's time Angel headed home," Seth said
"Okay then. You should come around for dinner tomorrow night," Paige said
"Paige"
"I'd love to," Angel said, "Can I bring something?"
"Sure"
Angel smiled at Paige, before leaving the house and joining Wesley in the car
"I'm not sure about the family," Angel said, "Mother wants to talk. Father doesn't"
"This may be why," Wesley said, holding up a vial of green liquid, "I found it around the house"
"Demon. Someone in that house is possessed," Angel said, "My guess is the father"
††††††††††
Paige opened the front door, smiling when she saw Angel before her
"I brought brownies," Angel said
"Oh thank you, Angel. Come in"
Within a few minutes, everyone had seated at the table and Angel met the couple's youngest child, Stephanie, who liked to draw. They seemed like an ordinary family, but Angel knew better. The father of the household was possessed by an Ethros demon, a powerful and dangerous demon. Wesley had figured it out, as well as finding a small powder that could reveal the Ethros in the person. Cordelia baked them into the brownies and now Angel was just waiting
He ate dinner with them, pretending to be an ordinary person enjoying the meal, despite the fact he couldn't taste any of the food. Once dinner was finished, Paige cleared the table, before bringing out the brownies and handing them around
"No hot chocolate tonight," Seth told his children, "This is your treat tonight"
"But, Dad," Stephanie said
Angel watched Seth closely as he ate the brownies. Within a few seconds, Seth started coughing, but it wasn't the sign of demon possession. It was, however, Ryan who was showing the sign of being possessed, young Stephanie screaming in horror at the look of her brother. Seth and Paige also watched on in horror, as Angel got to his feet
"Your son is possessed by a demon," he said
††††††††††