Disclaimer: Angel the Series and the characters in this story don't belong to me. They're the creation and rightful property of Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, Mutant Enemy and the WB. No infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.

Spoliers: Mentions of events in seasons 2, 3 and 4, particularly the episodes "Epiphany" (s2ep16) and "Offspring" (s3ep7).

Author's Note: This chapter's a wee bit exposition-heavy, but the next chapter will have a nice chewy Angel Cordy centre, I promise. As ever, reviews make me giddy, so please let me know what you think.

Chapter Seven

Kathy took a deep breath and began. "My coming here. It… changed things."

They were all sitting in the lobby of the hotel, Wesley and Gunn having just returned from Caritas with a possible address for the gypsies they were looking for.

"Well yeah ," Cordelia said. "You stopped Angel going evil and killing us all."

Kathy shook her head. "If I hadn't come here, that wouldn't have happened anyway. Angel would have gotten darker, it's true. He would have gone after Darla, Drusilla and Wolfram and Hart a few more times. Then he would have had an… epiphany."

Cordelia snorted. "An epiphany?"

"Yeah. You reacted in a similar way when he told you about it."

Now it was Angel's turn to interrupt. "When I told her about it? Kathy, it never happened."

"But it did – uh, I mean it did in an alternative time line. One when I didn't show up, these things were destined to happen."

"Alternate time lines?" Gunn said. "This is already making the kind of sense that don't."

Wesley, however, took the information in his stride. "There is a reasonable amount of writing on the subject," he said. "It stands to reason, really. If every choice we make sends our lives in one direction, an alternative decision would have an alternate effect. Causality."

"Okay, so what else was going to happen in this alternate time line?" Angel asked.

"A lot," Kathy said. "Some of which , to be honest, I'd really rather not tell you. I don't know how it would help. It certainly won't achieve anything."

"Cordys's been having these visions and dreams for a reason, Kathy," Angel said. "Anything you know that might explain all this is important."

"The visions are… well, there a new improved way to make you suffer, Angel," she said. "They're attacking you through Cordelia."

"Who?"

"I'm fairly sure that it's the Kalderash," she said. "In changing things, I may have inadvertently pissed them off. By making your life a little less painful and by bringing you closer to your destiny. Those aren't things they'd exactly thank me for."

The witch turned to Cordelia. "The visions and dreams you've been having. The things you've seen yourself and Angel do? You don't have to worry about them happening now. They were all part of that alternate time line that's now been prevented."

"That doesn't answer my question, Kathy," Angel said. "Lindsey said something about you changing my destiny. What did he mean? What would have happened?"

Kathy said nothing, avoiding her brother's eyes, trying to think of something she could tell them that would satisfy them without causing too much drama. Cordelia was having none of it. She leaned forward and grabbed the witch's hand.

"There's only one thing that I want to know. That I have to know. Kathy, who was the baby? In my visions, he keeps appearing again and again. I know I have a connection to him. I can feel it. You have to tell me – who is he?"

Kathy lowered her head further, unable to meet the Seer's eyes. This was the one thing she hoped never to have to explain.

"Kathy?" Cordelia's voice was pleading, something rarely heard. "Was he mine?"

When it came, Kathy's answer was barely above a whisper. "No."

"Who's then?"

Finally, Kathy raised her gaze and met her brother's eyes. It took a moment for her meaning to hit him.

"Mine?" he asked. "That's impossible."

"We live in a world of vampires, demons and witches. Trust me, more impossible things than this have happened."

"Vampires can't have children."

Now that she had begun, Kathy knew she'd have to continue with the truth until it was all know. There was no point stopping now. "Born out of darkness to bring darkness. He was the real reason the Senior Partners brought Darla back."

"Darla?" Cordelia asked. "What does she…" The penny dropped and she glared at Angel, fury and betrayal colouring her face. "You slept with her!"

"No! I didn't!"

"Not in this reality," Kathy explained. "But in the other time line, you would have. In a perfect moment of despair. She would have returned nine months later, pregnant with your child. In the end, she staked herself so that he might be born."

The group was stunned into silence. The implications were huge. Eventually, all eyes landed on Angel, waiting to see how he would react.

For his part, Angel simply stood up and left the room.

Kathy closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold glass of the window, thankful for a few minutes of peace and solitude. The truth was exhausting, none more so than when it was unwillingly told. She didn't know where they would go from here and she was terrified that Angel would never be able to forgive her for what she had done.

"It will be worth it, in the end," she said, repeating the words softly like a mantra. It had to be worth it.

"How could you not tell him sooner?"

Kathy sighed. Of course, Cordelia would follow her – how could she have thought otherwise?

"Cordy –"

"No! He should have had a choice!"

Kathy turned to face the irate Seer. "How could I have given him a choice, when the very act of me showing up and offering him a choice would have changed the time line anyway, making the choice invalid."

Cordelia glared. "Do you even understand what you just said?"

"Not really. This is all really complicated. I'm still trying to get everything straight in my head, and the Powers still haven't told me everything. But what I do know is that the second the Powers told me to approach Angel, everything changed. I couldn't help that."

"You don't even sound like you're sorry."

Kathy hesitated, weighing her feelings carefully. "I'm not. I'm sorry that Angel found out. I'm sorry that it's causing you all pain right now. But I can't be sorry for what happened. It's life, you know? Our lives change in big and small ways every day, depending on the choices we make. It's nothing new."

"Difference being, he didn't make the choice. You did."

"No, the Powers did. They tried to steer him back on course before, but nothing worked. The child was never meant to be born. He was part of the Senior Partner's plan, not the Powers'. So they sent me in to fix things. God, Cordy. It sounds like you wish he'd slept with Darla!"

"Of course not! But…" Cordelia's voice started to crack, her true emotions peeking out from behind her anger. "He would have had a son, Kathy. Angel… he'll never get the chance to have that – a family of his own. That was his one… now it's gone."

"He's a vampire, Cordelia. They aren't supposed to have children – and for good reason. This child, had he been born, would have ruined everything. He would have caused more pain, more destruction than you can possibly imagine. You have no idea what you all would have lost had he existed. One day, Angel will thank me."

"Oh you think so?" Cordelia said. "Because looking at you right now? I see someone who's terrified that she's lost her brother for good because of this. I see someone who isn't sure what she's done is the right thing, who's questioning everything the Powers have told her."

Kathy hated how perceptive Cordelia could be. "We have to question everything. It's what separates us from the black hats. But I also have to believe that this was for the best. I have to trust that it will be worth it."

Cordelia shook her head sadly and walked towards the door. "I hope you're right."