"I like this one." Cordy said as she looked around the suite.
"Are you sure? Because if you're not we can go look at the suites again for the fourth time." Angel said smiling.
She punched him playfully in the shoulder. "Very funny. Yes this is the one that I want. Can we get one of the single beds from another room into Catherine's room?' They had been looking at rooms all morning and Cordy had been unable to make a decision until now.
"Cor, do you think that she is ready for a regular size bed?"
"She sleeps in my bed by herself with no problem. That was one of the reasons that I want to get a bigger place because she needs her own space, her own bed. Trust me she is a wild woman in her sleep. You have no idea what is like to sleep with kicking and hitting all night long."
"Believe me, I know." Angel said with a wink.
"Come, on I was not that bad."
"Shall I count how many times that I was elbowed by you?"
"Ok, new subject."
"I'll have Gunn and Connor move a bed into the room."
"I feel really bad leaving Phantom Dennis again. He always scares new people out of the apartment."
"I know a couple that is thinking about getting their own place. They are newly married but they are living with family."
"Ciara and Connor?"
"How did you guess?"
"You have no friends other than those of us that work in this hotel."
"That hurts."
"Truth does. So they want to move out?' Angel nodded. "Can't really blame them. It might be hard to be spontaneous when you live with a bunch of other people. I know that they have their own suite but hell, they are newlyweds and we all know what newlyweds like to do."
"Cordelia, please that's my son you're talking about." He looked paler then normal.
"Oh suck it up daddy, He is a grown man who does have sex." She loved the effect that this conversation was having on Angel.
"Anyways, they have been looking but everything nice is so expensive and they don't want to get over their heads financially."
"Well I think that I can help them. I can afford the rent, especially since I'm moving back here so I will just keep paying the rent and they can move in"
"Nope. No way." Angel said.
"WHAT? Why wouldn't you want to help your son and daughter in-law?" She was pissed of at him.
"Cordy, relax. I do want to help them but I can't let you pay the rent by yourself. I want to help because as you mentioned, we are family."
"Well you should have said that dumbass. Now I got all pissed off for no reason"
"There is only one problem with this idea."
"And what would that be genius?"
"There is no way in hell that they will allow us to pay their rent. They will both see it as charity."
"I'll lie to them and tell them that I have paid the rent for a year in advance."
"You are brilliant."
"Yes I know, now let's go get my shit back here." She said grinning.
--
"Cordy, the dishes in the kitchen, are they going?" Angel yelled to Cordy who was in her room packing.
"No they stay." She yelled back. "God Dammit Dennis. Stop unpacking my stuff."
"Is he giving you grief?" Angel said grinning as he walked into her bedroom.
"Yes, I have packed this suitcase three times already."
"Dennis, we explained this to you already. My son and his wife will move in here. You will still see Cordy and Catherine." The suitcase was quickly repacked. "Good. Holler if he gives you anymore trouble."
Angel walked back into the living room and came face to face with Drew.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He growled
"The door was open." Drew answered nervously
"What are you doing here?" Angel repeated
"I need to talk to Cordelia about last night. I think that she may have misunderstood my intentions." Angel walked over and stood right in front of him, their noses inches apart.
"Misunderstood? You ripped her shirt off and put your hands where they didn't belong. If I hadn't trained her to defend herself you would have raped her."
"Rape. Are you kidding me? You should have seen what she was wearing. She wanted a piece of me and she just chickened out at the last minute." Drew said smugly.
"You sorry son of a bitch." Angel couldn't help himself and Drew was quickly introduced to the vampire side of Angel who threw him across the room.
"Oh shit, you're a …" He never got to finish his sentence because Angel began punching him.
Cordy heard the commotion from her room and rushed in and saw Angel pummeling Drew. She ran over and tried to pull him off of Drew.
"Angel." She screamed. "Stop it." She was trying her best to break this up. When the screaming failed she grabbed a lamp and hit him over the head with it.
"Dammit Cordy." He said as he grabbed the back of his head checking for blood.
"Are you insane? You could have killed him. He is human Angel, granted a sorry excuse, but human nonetheless and you don't kill humans." She yelled at him
"He said that you wanted it." Cordy whirled around and looked at Drew.
"You have a lot to learn asshole. You are the most arrogant man that I have ever met. I didn't want you then or ever. Now, I suggest that get the hell out of my apartment and life before I let my friend here kill you."
"He's a …"
"Vampire yes, so you can imagine how he will kill you if either of us ever see you again." Drew ran out of the apartment with a wet spot on his pants Cordy happily noted
"What the fuck were you thinking Angel? You could have killed him." She shouted at him.
"He disrespected you." He said simply. He wasn't sorry for what he did.
"What am I going to do with you?" She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thanks for defending my honor."
"Always."
--
"Ok Catherine, tell daddy goodnight."
"Night daddy." Catherine whispered
"Night chipmunk. Sleep tight." Angel said as Cordy carried her daughter up to her new room. They had decided that even though they were now living together in the hotel, they would continue the arrangement of Catherine spending every other night with each parent. They wouldn't be putting her bed together.
"Ok baby, sleep good and mama will see you in the morning."
"Mommy, sleep you." Catherine said as she climbed out of her new bed.
"No baby, you get to sleep here in your new big girl bed."
"No sleep you." Cordy was afraid that this would happen. Catherine had been sleeping with Cordy since they had moved out because she only had one room with only enough room for one bed. Now she was so used to sleeping with her mother that she didn't want to sleep without her.
"Catherine, you are a big girl and you need to sleep in your big girl bed." Cordy kissed her daughter and closed the bedroom door. Seconds later she heard Catherine crying.
"Mommy." She cried. "MOMMY." She screamed. Cordy opened the door silently picked her up and placed her back in bed,
"Catherine, you will be ok. No go to sleep."
"No mommy no." Catherine hit her mother.
"Catherine Suzanne Angel, you don't hit."
"NO." She screamed and hit her again.
"CATHERINE, that was bad. Now tell mommy that you're sorry."
"Sorry." She mumbled through her tears. Cordy placed her back in bed and the screaming started again as soon she shut the door and thus the battle between mother and daughter began.
The battle was still going on thirty minutes later when Angel came into the room because he heard the screaming. Cordy was sitting on the bed with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I don't know what to do. Does she do this with you?" She asked softly when Angel walked into her room.
"No but maybe because she hasn't sleep with me in my bed."
"Great, I haven't been her mother for two years and I've already screwed her up."
"Cor, I'm sure that this normal for her age."
"She won't stop crying. I keep putting her back in bed but she keeps getting out and screaming. I'm ready just to put her back in bed with me."
"Don't do that. The book says that if you keep picking her up and showing her attention she will keep throwing the fit. Just let her cry her self into exhaustion and she will fall asleep and once she does that, you can put her into bed."
"Book?"
"I'm reading a parenting book." Angel said proudly
"I hate hearing her like this."
"It will be ok." A few minutes later the crying had subsided. It was still present but not nearly as loud.
"I think it's working." She said through closed eyes. She was lying on her bed.
"You doubted me?" Angel asked her in mock shock.
"Of course not."
Twenty minutes later Angel came back in to check on his girls. He found Cordy sound asleep in the exact position that he left her in. He quietly went to check on Catherine who was lying on the floor holding her favorite bear. He gently picked her up and put her in bed. He then grabbed a quilt and covered Cordy up and kissed her forehead.
"I love you." He whispered.
--
The lobby was filled with balloons, streamers, and presents. Today was Catherine's second birthday and Cordy had spent weeks planning her party.
"No. Mine." Catherine yelled. Cordy sighed and headed into the lobby. She has been hearing those words coming out of her daughter's mouth a lot lately. This time Fred was arranging the gifts on the table because they kept falling over and Catherine was yelling at her.
"Catherine. Stop that right now. Auntie Fred is just helping," Catherine sulked away from the table. "Sorry about my rude daughter Fred." Cordy apologized
"Oh please, she is two years old. This is just preparing me for my little one." Fred said smiling as she patted her tiny bump.
"Come on baby, let's go find Daddy." Cordy reached out and took her hand.
"No." Catherine yelled and she hit her mother.
"Catherine. You do not hit." Cordy scolded. She reached out her hand and her stubborn daughter hit her again. "That's it young lady. Time out."
"No." Catherine yelled and attempted to run from her mother but Cordy was too quick. She picked her up and marched her over to her time out spot. According to the book that Angel was reading it suggested that she have one particularly spot that her time outs would occur on and over the past few weeks, Catherine had been spending a lot of time there. The book also suggested that she sits in time out for as many minutes as per her age and she never realized how long two minutes could be.
"MOMMY." Catherine wailed as she was plopped into her time out.
"Someone being bad again." Angel asked
"Hitting." Cordy said as Catherine continued to scream and cry. "She is going to hate me."
"No she won't."
"Promise?" She asked him with tears in her eyes.
"Yeah I promise." He said as he hugged her encouragingly.
--
Three hours later, the pizza had been eaten, the presents had been opened, the song has been sung, and cake and ice cream had been eaten with no problems from the birthday girl. She was the perfect angel, sweet and polite thanking everyone for her gifts acting nothing like the little hellion that was present just a few short hours ago.
Angel had been assigned the task of picking up all of his daughter's new toys and clothes that had ended up all over the lobby.
"Catherine, come on and help daddy." Angel called as he walked around the lobby. 'Where are you sweetie?" He had just come from the kitchen and she wasn't there and she couldn't be hiding because he would have heard her by now because she doesn't know how to be quiet. He looked around the lobby and saw something that made him want to vomit. "Oh shit."
The door to the lobby was cracked open just enough that his two year old daughter to sneak through. He was at the door in two agonizingly longs seconds later and looked outside and saw her standing on the sidewalk walking towards the street,
"Cordelia." He screamed as he stepped outside. The sun was setting so thankfully he had some shade to work with. He hoped that Cordy got out here fast. "Catherine. Stop right there." He said sternly. She stopped and looked at him.
"Daddy, lookee cars." She said and then started back to the street. He knew that Cordy wouldn't make it out here on time. He knew that he had to step out into the sun and save his daughter's life. He quickly shrugged out of his jacket and positioned so he could scoop her up and avoid any of the flames coming into contact with her. As soon as he stepped out into the sun he felt his flesh began to burn and the stench filled his nostrils. From a distance, he heard Cordy screaming his and Catherine's name.