It was kind of ridiculous how perfect her life felt.

She had a normal job, and though she still slayed, it was on her own time, and didn't overshadow everything in her life.

She had friends, both old and new, and even if some of them lived far away, she still called them a lot.

She had Angel, and she had him in a way that wasn't temporary, because he was human now and the more time they spent together, the more positive she was that they still fit together perfectly.

But most importantly, she had a kid, one she adored and who called her mom and who she was in the process of adopting.

So she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

†

Daniel Holtz was not impressed when he woke up in the future and found out that not only did Angelus have a soul, Darla was nowhere to be found.

Sahjhan kept talking, making excuses, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Even if he couldn't kill Darla, he could still kill Angelus.

†

After she slayed the vampire cult, it took a surprisingly long time for Connor's weirdness to come back. So long in fact, that she had practically forgotten it.

But one night, she was trying to finish reading her book for the book club meeting the next day when Angel sat down next to her after putting Connor to bed.

She looked up and saw confusion on his face.

"What is it?"

He frowned slightly, gathering his words before he spoke. "Connor broke his bookshelf."

She frowned, and put down her book. "He… broke his bookshelf."

Angel nodded. "He was grabbing a book and he just kind of…" He made a motion. "Ripped off a shelf without even trying."

Buffy blinked. "I forgot about that."

"Forgot about what?"

She gave a small smile at the irony. "The reason I got Connor in the first place. There's something… supernaturally about him."

Angel frowned. "Like what? Is he okay?"

Buffy nodded. "I don't know what it is." She tilted her head to the side. "Though there was this vampire cult that wanted him."

"Huh. Weird."

And life continued.

†

When she had heard Drusilla was in town, Buffy knew she would have to take care of her sooner rather than later.

She called Angel to babysit Connor for the night, and let him fuss like a mother hen as the two of them tried to keep most of their nerves from Connor.

"You'll be fine."

"Are you going to be fine?" she asked him.

He looked like he wanted to give a vague 'of course', or something similar, but by now he knew that she would just keep pushing. "I just have to think of it as a choice between you and her. Then it's easy."

It was easy. Surprisingly easy to stake her, because the moment she came into view, Drusilla began crying.

"They all choose you!"

It was strange to stake her, someone who had been on the peripherals of her life for almost a decade, but it was her duty. And almost a relief to get rid of someone who reminded her of the worst parts of Angel's life.

†

Wesley stared at the prophecy on his desk for a full minute without blinking.

Finally, he slowly got up and went out of the office, where the gang was sitting and hanging around.

"Wesley?" Cordelia asked. "What is it?"

"...None of us secretly has a kid, do we?"

They were all silent for a moment, before Gunn burst out laughing.

Wesley offered a smile as well.

No use to dwell on something so ridiculous.

†

First grade had a family tree project.

(Buffy remembered doing something similar herself as a kid. Elementary school loved family trees.)

Buffy remembered it from one of her earlier foster kids, though she hoped it would be easier with Connor.

"Who do you want on it?"

"You," he said immediately, and her heart melted.

"Do you want to add your other mom?"

He frowned, and thought about it for a minute. "I don't know anything about her."

Buffy nodded. "That's okay."

She got permission for his teacher for him to only do one side–

(She thought she saw Connor glance over at Angel when talking about the dad side, but she wasn't going to get her hopes up)

–And she managed to get together some photos of her parents, and one of Dawn.

Buffy helped with the dates, and Angel helped with any art issues, and they finished his little family tree.

"Done."

"We're done?"

Connor nodded, and Buffy smiled back.

"How about some ice cream?"

†

"Do you want more kids?" Angel asked one night as they watched a movie, Connor asleep against her side.

"I think so," she said. "What about you?"

He smiled. "I do."

"Maybe two more," she continued. "So that if they're tired of one sibling, they can play with the other."

Angel nodded, smiling. "I'd be happy."

She smiled back. "Me too."

†

The being that would have – should have – been known as Jasmine was annoyed. All that planning, down the drain. She wasn't even sure where she had gone wrong.

But Connor was still a baby, and he wasn't anywhere near Angel, and Cordelia was being harder to manipulate than she expected.

She'd have to improvise.

†

"I don't think I've ever been properly introduced to your boyfriend," Kit said.

Buffy frowned. "Huh. That's weird."

"I think Connor likes him, though."

Buffy nodded. "I think so, too. I know Angel loves him."

Kit hesitated for a moment. "This is a bit invasive…"

"You're a social worker," Buffy joked. "Isn't that you're job?"

Kit smiled, before continuing "Yes. But I was wondering how serious you too are? I don't want Connor to get too attached if he's not staying."

"Did you know I dated him back in high school?"

Kit's eyes widened. "You were high school sweethearts?"

"Well, I was in high school," she said. "But even then, I was convinced he was it for me."

"But you broke up," Kit reminded her.

"And we broke up due to outside circumstances," she told her. "If we could have made it work, we would have."

"And this hasn't changed since high school?" she asked dubiously.

"I got really lucky with him," Buffy said. "The moment those circumstances changed, he called me."

Kit frowned. "Wait, how long did those circumstances last?"

Buffy just laughed. "Far too long."

†

"What was your dad like?"

Buffy frowned, sitting next to Connor. "What brought this on?"

He shrugged. "I don't know my dad at all. So I wondered about yours."

"Well," Buffy started. "My biological dad isn't the best. But I found another dad."

"Another dad?"

"His name's Giles."

"The guy you call, that you keep saying you want me to meet?"

Buffy nodded. "Yep. He's basically my dad."

"So… I could choose another dad too?"

"Always, bud."

(She really hoped she wasn't reading the signs wrong.)

†

"You ended world peace, so now you get the LA branch."

"Why would we ever agree to this?" Cordelia asked incredulously.

Lilah shrugged. "I don't know. I just do what I'm told."

†

"Mom…"

The nervousness in his voice made her immediately sit up.

"What is it, buddy?"

He shifted from foot to foot, and Buffy wished Angel was here. Angel, who could get anyone to talk with just a few words.

"Could– Can I put up my picture of my mom?"

Buffy blinked, having expected something far more dramatic. "Of course," she replied without a thought. "I thought it was already up."

Connor's face shown with relief. "No… I just…"

"You just what?"

He shrugged. "You're my mom. I didn't know if you…"

"Connor."

He looked up.

"She is your mom, and I am your mom. Nothing is going to change either of those things, and I don't want them to."

He gave her a small smile, and offered a hand.

"Do you want to see the picture?"

†

I know her.

It was the first thought Buffy had when she saw the picture of Connor's mom.

"She's pretty," was what she said out loud.

Connor nodded.

Buffy ran her fingers over his mother's face, her eyebrows slightly pinched as she tried to recognize her.

"Mom?"

She turned back to Connor and smiled.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course," she said. "Do you mind if I take a picture of it?"

Connor nodded, slightly confused as Buffy pulled out her cell phone and took a quick picture.

"I think it's about time for you to get ready for bed."

The routine was calm, but Buffy's mind was anything but.

†

Through luck or fate, they had gotten the chance to go after the Senior Partners.

"You don't have to join me if you don't want to," he said as the team gathered weapons.

Cordelia rolled her eyes as she grabbed an axe from Gunn.

"Angel," Fred said, tucking away a knife in her boot. "We're family. Obviously we're not going to leave you to fight by yourself."

Angel didn't know it yet, but luck would be on their side.

†

"I know I know her."

Buffy had called Angel on the home phone as she continued to look at the photo she had taken.

"Recently, or before Connor was born?"

"I…" she paused. "I think before Connor." She groaned. "I don't know, it's just…"

"Do you want me to look? See if I know her?"

Something clicked in the back of her mind.

"If you know her…"

"Buffy?"

The memory hit her like a truck.

"Okay, you definitely need to come over."

†

She shoved the phone at him the moment he walked in the door.

"What is–" His eyes widened. "Oh."

"I thought she was dead."

Angel looked numb as he sat down on the couch.

"She was. Is. Wolfram and Hart…"

Buffy waited for him to continue.

"They brought her back to life during my first year in LA. But after she left, I felt her die again in 2001."

"November of 2001?"

He nodded, and they looked over to the hallway where Connor's room was.

"That explains why she didn't hand him over herself," Buffy murmured.

Silence reigned for a minute.

"Do… Do you know who his dad is?"

He refused to look at her, and her suspicions were confirmed.

She couldn't take it anymore, and burst out laughing.

After a moment, Angel joined in.

"This is ridiculous," she said. "Of all the people…"

"That explains how he's supernatural," Angel pointed out, before he fell silent again, looking towards the hallway. "What… What do I say?"

"Well…" She took a deep breath. "I'm going to call Kit, since you just made the adoption process way more complicated."

Angel snorted.

"And tomorrow… I guess you just tell him."

"Buffy, I missed six years of his life."

"You didn't even know he existed," she told him. "He already loves you; this isn't going to be a problem."

He stayed silent, but nodded.

She got up. "I'm going to go ruin Kit's day."

†

"You're joking," Cordelia said after he woke her up with a phone call.

"Nope."

She sighed. "I'll tell the rest of the gang. You stay and tell your son."

When it comes to AI, what happened besides what's shown, Angel shanshu-ing and Cordelia (and, as shown in the next chapter, Gunn) surviving to the present day is entirely up to you