Part Three

Buffy wasn't usually silent when things were bothering her. At least, not with Angel. Angel remembered more harsh words and heated moments than he did uncomfortable silences. When things went wrong between them, they had a tendency to let their words get carried away with them. They'd fight it out...and occasionally with more than just words.

But this wasn't like any of the situations they'd been in before. This wasn't even anywhere in the vicinity of an old, familiar situation. And there had been years since they last had one of those infamous semi-fights. He wasn't sure that he even knew what Buffy's usual reactions were anymore.

Driving Buffy back to her hotel, Angel tried to judge her mood, glancing at her briefly when he could. Her expression was neutral, though, and she did not meet Angel's gaze. She just stared out the passenger side window, watching the city go by.

"Buffy?"

She looked up, seeming a bit startled. "Hmm?"

Angel hesitated for a moment. "Are you okay?" he prodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she replied lightly, but her tone was a bit distracted and Angel knew there was more to it than she was letting him know.

"Buffy..." he said gently.

She sighed audibly. "I'm not...not okay," she said at last. "It's just...."

"A lot," Angel finished for her.

He could see Buffy nod in his peripheral vision.

"Please, tell me," Angel said when she did not speak again. "The silence is making me nervous."

Buffy smiled slightly at him. "It's just a lot of information to process in one day," she explained.

Angel nodded. "And...?"

"And...I don't know, Angel. It's been a long time. It's not my place anymore to be upset about things that really aren't any of my business anyway."

That didn't help his nervousness. "Are you upset?"

"A little," Buffy replied after a beat. "Mostly that Connor's mother was Darla. That's sort of making me cringe."

Angel had rather expected that. After all, he'd never even told Buffy about Darla's resurrection and turning. She'd taken the whole series of facts far better than she could have. But on Angel's side of things, he couldn't be upset with Darla anymore. Not when she had given him the gift of such a wonderful child, and given up her life for him.

"Oh," he said, just to keep the silence from returning.

"But that's not my business," Buffy continued a bit unhappily. "Especially not now, when it's three years after the fact. And, please don't get me wrong!" she added quickly, her tone lightening. "Connor is a great kid. I'm happy for you. I'm glad that he has you and that you have him."

"But?" Angel asked a bit warily.

"No 'but,'" she said, surprising him. "Back when we were together and still thought it could be a forever sort of thing, do you remember when you told me you couldn't have kids?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I didn't tell you then, but...I felt bad for you. I could tell you regretted that. And I always thought you'd be really cute with children."

"You did?" Angel asked, surprised. She'd already said that she thought he was a good father, but that she'd been thinking about it all those years ago... He'd never really given it that much thought himself until it happened. Of course, that may have had a lot to do with the futility of thinking about it.

"Yeah," Buffy replied, and now Angel could hear the smile in her voice. "Could have been the fact that you *did* show a very fatherly streak with me whenever you worried I wasn't being careful," she teased. Then her humor faded from her voice and only soft joy remained. "You're raising a wonderful son, Angel."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "You caught him on a good day," he retorted. "I'm sure he will make up for it by being a little terror tomorrow."

There was a moment of startled silence in the car. Angel was just about to amend his statement, wondering if he'd said something wrong, when Buffy spoke at last. "Tomorrow?"

Was he just imagining it, or was her voice slightly pleased as she said that word? "Well," Angel tried to explain, "I don't know what your plans are or anything, but since you're in town.... And Connor really liked having you around...."

He must have sounded as nervous as he felt, because Buffy laughed openly. "Relax," she teased. "I have better things to do than be lonely through the holidays like half the world."

"Oh," Angel said, disappointed. "Then you do have plans."

"Definitely," Buffy replied, her voice still lighter than he expected. "I have old times to catch up on. And an adorable toddler to spoil all the way through Christmas if his father will let me."

It took Angel a second to get that she was taking him up on his invitation...and even happily extending it a bit. He laughed lightly. "I think we'd both like that idea," he said. "It would be...nice to have someone other than the two of us around for the holidays."

"So," Buffy said happily. "Tomorrow? When do you want me?"

Angel grinned. "Whenever you want to be there," he said. "You know I don't get around much during the day."

"Well, that's true."

As they spoke, Angel pulled up front of Buffy's hotel. "Buffy?" he said gently as he pulled the car to a stop.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad we ran into each other," he said, smiling at her.

Buffy met his grin without any visible reservations. "So am I," she said. "Until tomorrow, then?"

Angel's smile grew wider, his heart feeling lighter than it had felt in...who knows how long. "I look forward to it."

Buffy did not sleep well or easily that night. Her thoughts were moving far too quickly for her to actually get some rest. The traced over the events of the day, tracing over each word, each thought, each look in minute detail far better suited to serious scholastic study than a chance encounter with an old friend. Her thoughts simply raced all through the evening, keeping her from falling asleep at all. Everything was analyzed from every possible angle. And while by morning she hadn't managed to sort out the rest of the feelings the day had inspired in her, she had managed to reach one conclusion.

She was glad to have run into Angel again. Even with all of the complications that entailed.

So, there was that one certainty. And there was the certainty that once she rose from bed, finally rested, she'd be forgetting about whatever she'd originally planned for the day so that she could see Angel and his son once again. Those original plans seemed so meaningless come morning. Besides, she'd promised Angel she'd come, hadn't she?

'It's just fun,' she thought to herself as she prepared for the day. 'Casual. We both know it can't be anything else. I don't expect it to be, and he wouldn't. Besides, curse?'

Buffy's mind flashed to the relaxed, happy Angel moments she'd managed to witness yesterday. He was so much more...comfortable with himself than she remembered. He actually did see happy, something that she never remembered him really being. How was it that the curse hadn't managed to be an issue long ago? 'I mean, he's pretty much proven it's not just a sex thing.'

Buffy shook her head. She'd promised herself she wasn't going to go there.... "And I'm not," she said aloud. She felt insanely like she was defending herself to someone. 'Besides, Buffy, you're almost twenty-four years old. This is not the age to be getting involved with single fathers.'

"And you're thinking to yourself in the third person," Buffy muttered, pulling out her clothes. "Great, Buffy. Just great."

Yet for all her internal protests about any sort of expectations for the day, she found herself purposefully dressing in clothes she knew Angel would particularly like.

And on her way out of the hotel, she couldn't help but pick up this adorable teddy bear from the gift store in the lobby to give to Connor.

For some reason, Buffy didn't feel at all guilty about either action. And that was something she just wasn't going to worry about.

Part Four

There was definitely something going on, Cordelia was quick to realize, but what exactly it was she hadn't the faintest clue. Except for the obvious, that is.

Angel was humming.

Quite badly off tune, actually, which was very Angel. It was the humming in the first place that was so atypical. And the vampire, who was usually so aware of everything that was going on around him, had yet to even notice Cordelia's entrance. She felt like her eyebrows were about to make their permanent home somewhere up in her hairline.

"Okay," she said quite loudly. "Who are you and what have you done with Angel?"

The look he turned on her was startled and incredibly confused. She could not help but laugh. "I think that's the first time I've ever managed to sneak up on you," she said.

Angel looked like he didn't know whether to smile or not. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "You're...we're...supposed to be taking a break for the week."

"I know," Cordelia replied, still amused by Angel's obvious confusion. "Wesley's in England with his family, Fred's with her family, so no work. I know."

His expression turned worried then. "You didn't have a vision, did you?"

She could have rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't have a vision."

Angel looked instantly relieved all out of proportion to the statement.

Cordelia ignored that for the moment and continued with her explanation. "I just came to drop off some things and I heard you humming."

He looked a bit stricken. "I was humming?"

"Yeah. And quite badly." She grinned at him. "So...are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Going on?" Angel asked, and this time his confusion was obviously false. "Uh, what makes you think something's going on?"

"Oh, please," Cordelia said, and this time she did roll her eyes. "You were humming. And smiling."

"I can't just be in a good mood?" His smile had returned, almost playful.

"Angel," Cordelia said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "This is not you. You don't have 'good moods' that equal humming and smiling. You and good moods tends to equal end of the world scenarios."

Angel's smile slipped slightly.

"I didn't mean it like that," she amended hastily.

If Angel was sensitive about the oblique reference to his curse, he brushed it off easily. "I know you didn't," he agreed.

"But you still haven't answered my question," she said firmly. "I swear, if I didn't know any better I'd think you had an important date."

A slight widening of Angel's eyes was all the response Cordelia needed. She couldn't decide whether to be surprised, dismayed, or pleased. "Angel..." she said, prodding.

"It's not..."

A three-year-old whirlwind came tearing into the office area, laughing happily. Suddenly having an out from Cordelia's questioning, Angel stepped aside to catch the toddler on the run. Connor obviously didn't want to have anything to do with Angel at the moment, and struggled for a second to be let go.

"And where are you going so quickly?" he asked once the boy stopped squirming.

Connor saw Cordelia standing there and smiled. He also, to her surprise, seemed to be a bit disappointed. "Hi, Aunt Cordy," he said from his father's arms.

Cordelia smiled back at him, then shot Angel a mischievous look. If Angel wasn't going to tell her anything, than maybe Connor would. Angel saw her expression and shot her a warning look, but she pointedly ignored it. "Expecting someone else, pip squeak?" she asked, ruffling the boy's dark hair.

He grinned wider in response, then nodded eagerly.

"Are you going to tell me who?" she asked.

"Cordy..." Angel's voice was warning, but both she and Connor ignored it.

"I'm waiting for Buffy," the boy declared.

Cordelia shot Angel a sharp look.

Angel sighed under that gaze and put Connor back down. "Why don't you go wait for Buffy by the door?" he suggested to the small boy.

Grinning from ear to ear, Connor took off at a run once again.

"Angel..." Cordelia said once the toddler was out of earshot. Her voice was obviously dismayed. "Buffy?" she asked. That one word question carried all of her doubts that this could be anything but a bad thing.

"Don't go there," Angel replied gently.

"But..." Cordelia asked, a bit flustered. "This is the same old Buffy we're talking about, right? The one that causes disaster wherever she goes? The one that sent you to Hell? Slay-gal?"

"Yes," Angel replied more than a bit tensely.

"Uh huh. The same Buffy that I do believe you never told about Connor's existence?"

"Yes."

"And she's coming here?"

Angel sighed audibly. "Yes, Cordelia. She's in town and we ran into her yesterday," he explained without being asked.

Cordy shot him a look at his annoyed tone. "Are you going to tell me why this is a good thing or should I be running for the hills now?"

"It's not going to be like that this time," Angel said.

Cordelia couldn't help but wonder just who he was trying to convince. She gave him her best 'reassuring, but I still know better' smile. "I know she meant a lot to you," she said patiently. "But nothing good has ever come of the two of you being together."

Angel's expression went a bit dark, and Cordelia wondered if she'd overstepped herself...but she really didn't care if she had. She held her ground, glaring right back at him.

His expression lightened once again, and he flashed her a brief, sad smile. "Maybe I don't like being alone for the holidays," he said.

"You're not alone!" she protested quickly. "You have me, and you have Connor.... And when did you ever care about Christmas before?"

Angel shot her a look. "Maybe I don't want her to be alone for the holidays, either," he said in a still softer tone of voice.

Cordelia forced herself to take a deep breath before opening her mouth to answer....

"Daddy! Aunt Cordy! Buffy's here!"

Cordelia turned to see Connor leading Buffy through the lobby of the old hotel. A glance at Angel's face showed that all of his attention was on Buffy as well. Seeing both of the men so engrossed with the blond Slayer, Cordelia groaned inwardly. 'Must be something in the genes.'

"Buffy," she said by way of greeting.

The Slayer smiled. The last several years had been good to her, and even Cordelia had to admit she looked good. "Hey, Cordelia," she said a touch hesitantly.

Connor was practically jumping up and down, and still holding on to Buffy's hand. "Aunt Cordy!" he said happily surprised. "You know Buffy."

Cordelia nodded, not looking away from the – in her opinion – unwanted guest. "Yeah, I know her," she said calmly. "Buffy and I went to school together."

"Oh."

The four of them were absolutely silent for a moment. The tension was all those clichés about knives and more.

"So," Angel said abruptly. His voice was too loud and a touch nervous. "I had this idea...."

Both women turned to look at him, waiting patiently for him to continue.

Angel swallowed. "Uh, Cordelia.... You're not doing anything for Christmas Eve, are you?"

Cordelia met his odd expression warily. "Uh, no, just me and 'It's a Wonderful Life,' why?"

Angel did not answer her. "Buffy?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied, a little more certainly than Cordelia had.

He turned to Cordelia once again. "How about Gunn?" he asked.

"Not that I know of, but I'm not the keeper of his schedule," she retorted. "Are you going to say what this is all about?"

"Well, I was thinking. Since we're all in town and all...that maybe we could do dinner together. You know..." He shrugged and looked at them both hopefully.

Buffy met his gaze and grinned. "I'd love to."

Angel was positively beaming.

'Oh, God help me now,' Cordelia thought to herself.

Angel turned that hopeful gaze on Cordelia. There was a pleading expression in his eyes.

"Aren't you a little old to need a chaperone?" Cordelia pointed out.

She was rewarded by a faint blush from Buffy.

"Cordelia..." Angel tried again.

She couldn't help but sigh slightly. "Alright, alright. It's not like I have anything better to do. And I'll pass along the invite to Gunn."

Angel grinned openly.

But not as openly as Connor. "Yay!" the small boy cheered, releasing Buffy's hand to give Cordelia an exuberant hug.

She couldn't help but chuckle. "Then I will see you – both – Christmas Eve." Once Connor released her, she went to leave the hotel. "It was nice seeing you, Buffy," she said, but her facial expression said something completely different.

That said 'If you hurt him, I'll tear you apart myself.'

"Same here," Buffy replied congenially, and her face had an answer of its own. It said she understood.

Cordelia nodded, and reluctantly left the two ex-lovebirds to their own devices.

Go to the Next Part