The black convertible sped along the road – the moon high in the sky shimmering on the shiny metal. The cries from the vampire echoed through the night. Yet the car failed to slow, it continued to speed relentlessly towards its destination. Angel’s eyes were fixed on the road; he paid no attention to Darla, or the increasingly panicky Cordelia.

 

Events had unravelled so quickly, he’d lost control of the situation. One minute they’d been trying to find out what, exactly, Darla was carrying – later finding out their unborn child was a boy, a normal, human boy – the next, they’d been overset by bad guys. The concept of being a father was more than enough for Angel to have to deal with, but now?  Their enemies were increasing by the minute, only to find Holtz had returned from the past.

 

It had had taken Angel quite by surprise – the idea of a son, and enemies cropping up left, right, and centre. But as he and the others arrived back to the hotel to discover Holtz’s presence, Angel knew it was time to run. Wesley, Gunn, and Fred ran in the opposite direction, while Cordelia, Angel, and Darla raced back to the car. Piling the vampiress into the back seat, Cordelia and Angel locked eyes in distress but for a second, when it happened – the thing that had been threatening to unfold for weeks now – they kissed.

 

As Holtz flung the hotel gates open and ran out toward them, there was no time to dwell on the event. They’d backed out of the drive and pulled away before the demon hunter had time to aim his crossbow.

 

Cordelia was freaking out next to him, and Darla had resumed talking to herself. The drive was fraught with tension – but thankfully, Angel knew it couldn’t last much longer.

 

“Where the hell are you taking us?” Cordelia finally snapped as she looked over at him. She wasn’t really annoyed with him, but the further away they got from Los Angeles, the more she began to worry about the others, worry about how the two of them were going to handle Darla, and worry about finally being left alone with Angel –  and their need to talk about that kiss.

 

“Holtz is in town, we can’t stay there.  Wesley and Gunn are human.  They can handle him.”

 

Angel was glad Cordelia had dodged the topic of ‘the kiss’ he was even more reluctant to get into that conversation than Cordelia was. Instead he focussed on her question. His plan was to drive as far away as possible, stay away long enough to figure things through, before he has to face his enemies – Holtz, the insane vampires, not to mention the dreaded Wolfram and Hart, whom was no doubt not far behind.

 

“And us?”

 

“I don’t know, Cordy.”

 

The silence, briefly broken, now returned – enveloping them, even Darla had fallen silent. Darla was too busy clutching her stomach, wondering why the pain had suddenly stopped. She didn’t care that neither Angel nor Cordelia had figured out something was wrong – she guessed they had their own issues to deal with, and this was hers, something she was going to have to face up to.

 

He knew where he was going. He didn’t know why he was going there, or what he had hoped to achieve by running off to Sunnydale. But he knew that all the help and resources he would need lay there. Giles could read up on information, Buffy was strong, and Willow was powerful; they all had their own special attributes he could use in this crisis.

 

He pulled up outside The Bronze hoping to find someone there. He didn’t want to drop by Buffy’s home – as he felt that seeing her, and saying ‘Hey, by the way, how about putting up me, my kind-of girlfriend, and the woman who is having my baby?’ wouldn’t go over very well. Angel looked at the club, memories of the past rushing back to him; he just hoped that this was still the favoured hangout of the gang so that he might run into either Willow or Xander – figuring that breaking the news to Buffy’s friends first, might help.

 

“So?”

 

“We go in, find Willow or someone – explain. Giles and the others can help, but we can’t be in LA right now. You know this,” Angel replied.

 

“What about – us? What do we tell them?”

 

“Cordelia, I love you, but I’m not here to deal with that. I’m about to have a son and about a hundred people want me, and him, dead.”

 

“Love? You – you love me?”

 

Angel paused and looked deep into her eyes, sighing as he realised that it had never actually been said. He felt it, cared for her so deeply. And ever since Fred had first slipped the notion into his brain, nothing he could do could shake it. “I do.”

 

“I feel the same,” she whispered. He cupped her cheek gently in his hand and tilted her head toward his own, pressing his lips softly to hers.

 

It was true she felt the same. They had been through a lot together, and Cordelia had been so hurt and jealous when she heard of his connection to Darla. It tore at her heart seeing the proof of his lie. “You told me you never slept with her.”

 

“Cordy, can we not do this right now?”

 

“You’re right, we need help.” Cordelia said, hardening herself once more. “What about her?”

 

Angel cast a glance back at Darla wondering what she’d do if they left her alone for a few seconds. “Stay with her.”

 

The Bronze was busy, as usual; Angel stalked along the upper level of the club until something caught his attention – bleached-blonde hair, long leather coat; it was Spike. But what was even more confusing what that he and Buffy were kissing, pressed up against the stairs. He wracked his brain for an explanation to what he was witnessing, then decided against it. The song finished and so did the kiss. Buffy and Spike parted and she just looked at him before disappearing into the crowd. Angel moved quickly, hoping to get to Spike before she reappeared.

 

“Buffy?” Spike growled through the crowd, realising he had lost her once again. Then as a couple of people moved aside, he was left standing face-to-face with Angel. Spike stood still and eyed the vampire up and down for a moment. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

 

“It’s a long story. You got a place here we can head to?”

 

“Uh, Angel, sorry to disappoint, but I’m not really into you – so why don’t you run along now?”

 

“Spike, I need your help.”

 

“Me?” Angel’s reappearance wasn’t something he was particularly comfortable with, and he seemed to be in trouble - getting involved wasn’t high on Spike’s to-do list.

 

“Well, I was hoping to find Willow, but you’ll have to do.”

 

“Thanks.” His dry, sarcastic tone came with a snarl.

 

“We don’t have time for this. Come on.” Angel grabbed Spike’s wrist and dragged him out of the club, and Spike couldn’t help but turn and skim the crowd with his eyes for his love. He wanted desperately for the Slayer to just give in once and for all, but it was becoming clearer that it wasn’t going to be that easy.

 

As they walked out of the club, Spike yanked his arm free and asked, “So what gives? Why the sodding hell did you come back here anyway?”

 

“Holtz ran us out of LA.”

 

“Holtz! Holtz – you mean the guy that hounded you and Darla in and out of every country in Europe?” Spike stopped and stood still. “I thought he was in the bleeding ground about a hundred years back. What the hell happened?”

 

“He came back. And before you ask, I don’t know how.  Just that it’s him.” Angel watched as Darla ran towards them, panting. “Darla? I thought you were in the car?”

 

“It’s stopped.”

 

“What’s stopped? Where the hell is Cordelia?”

 

“Wait a minute – what the hell is she doing here – I thought she was dead?” Spike demanded.

 

“I was. I’m back.”

 

“And what’s with the bump?”

 

“We’re having a baby.” Angel told the confused vampire.

 

“Sorry, daddy, but baby isn’t moving. Baby is dying.”

 

“No, he’s not. He can’t be.”

 

“Okay – now hang on a minute. You mean to say Darla is back from the dead, you two are back together, you’re popping out a kid, and Holtz is back from the dead and resuming his hunt of the two of you that he started a couple of hundred years back?”

 

“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Angel replied.

 

“Are you evil again? Because I really can’t keep up with you.”

 

“No, I’m not evil.”

 

Cordelia hurried over, her cheek overly bright.  She threw a punch, catching Darla hard across the face and sending her flying. Staring at the fallen vampiress, she growled, “I told her to stay in the car.”

 

Angel rolled his eyes and looked at Cordelia, then bent down to help Darla to her feet. “Cordy, can we save the girl fights until later?”

 

“What the hell is Spike doing here?” she demanded, not bothering to answer Angel.

 

“I live here. I’m still waiting to find out what the hell you lot are doing here.”

 

“Okay, Spike, the baby is part of a prophecy. Some vampire cult is hunting us for the baby. Holtz is hunting us for revenge. Wolfram and Hart wants to take Darla and our son for experimentation, and most likely death.”

 

“Not to mention the scourge of demons who want the kid dead.” Cordelia added as an afterthought.

 

“We had to get out of LA,” Angel told the blonde.

 

Spike nodded. “Okay, look. I got a crypt you guys can hole up in, but it ain’t much. How long do you have?”

 

“It’s getting worse.” Darla whimpered before she started unnecessarily panting. “The contractions have stopped. Do something!” She howled.

 

“We need to find someone who can help us… and now. This is my son, Spike.”

 

Spike sighed, trying to decide who to ask. He didn’t feel like running to Willow, in case it got back to Buffy that Angel was in town.  The next best witch came to mind. “Tara, Willow’s girlfriend. She’s a witch, can help with the magic. Might even be able to get Anya to let us into the magic shop to figure out what’s what.”

 

Angel looked at Spike and then back at Darla and Cordelia “Fine. We go to the store, break in, you take me to get Anya and Tara – and we’ll try and get this sorted soon.”

 

************************

 

Xander had dropped Giles off at the airport and was on his way back – he couldn’t figure out why Anya didn’t want to go along with him, but figured she was probably just happy to be left with the store again. He was driving back near to his place when he stopped at a red light, looking around while he waited for it to change, when he saw something that shook him to the very core: Angel and Spike swaggering through town, side–by-side.

 

It had been years since the two were last seen together, and everyone had thankfully gotten over the events – Giles being tortured, Buffy heartbroken. Xander had wound up with a broken arm, and Willow began her foray into magic. Seeing them together again was frightful – Xander had no idea why they were together but knew it couldn’t be a good sign.

 

Instead of heading home, he turned his car around now, and tried to find Willow. It wasn’t long before Xander came to a screeching halt outside Buffy’s home and raced up the stairs and let himself in. He found Willow lying on the floor in her room in tears. “Will, we have a serious problem.” He couldn’t think of what else to say – the comfort and support that he would normally give was lost somewhere under the layers of paranoia and fear.

 

“Xander, what are you…”

 

“Angel and Spike are on the prowl together in town. I didn’t want to tell Buffy, she’s going through too much just now too. I thought it would be best to get you to come and check things out with me first.”

 

“Angel? But, he should be in LA…” Willow’s tears dried up and she put aside her broken heart long enough to call everyone in LA. And every phone call ended the same way: unending rings. Cordelia, Wesley, the hotel – there was no answer at any of her contacts. She was beginning to seriously worry about the rest of the gang in LA, wondering what had gone down – and more specifically, why Angel was in Sunnydale, and with Spike.

 

The two ran off in such a hurry, neither had any idea that Dawn had been lurking about, listening to bits and pieces of their conversation. She wanted desperately to say something, or to interfere, but finally went back to her bedroom and left them to it.

 

Willow and Xander decided to head into town and see if they could get a track on where the two had gone. When they arrived at The Bronze, the car was the first thing that Willow spotted; she had seen it only a couple of months before when she drove to LA to tell Angel of Buffy’s death. But panic didn’t set in until they peered into the backseats and noticed the blood stains and liquid. “It’s blood.” Xander looked grim as he turned to face Willow.

 

“This isn’t happening! Not now! I mean, we should be making Buffy feel better about – you know – and instead she’s only going to feel worse when she finds out those two are back on the other side.”

 

“I don’t get this – I mean Spike loves Buffy, why...” Xander stopped mid sentence. “Did I just say that? I mean did the words ‘Spike loves Buffy’ really just come out of my mouth?”

 

“No, I mean yes, but no. Uh, you’re right! I mean we saw what happened when she died, he wouldn’t exactly want her dead, right? He does love her.”

 

“But then again, he’s also evil, and would probably take any chance he can get. So when Mr. Evil himself shows up, no way in hell would Spike turn that down, not even for Buffy.”

 

“Maybe Angel isn’t evil. Maybe it’s just coincidence that no one in LA is answering. I mean, maybe it was an Angel look-a-like you saw, right?”

 

“Will, it was Angel, and maybe he wasn’t evil, But why the hell would he be hanging round Spike if he wasn’t? Especially since Spike has the jones for his ex.”

 

“Well – well maybe…”

 

“Come on, Will. We both know, no matter what, Angel’s presence in Sunnydale isn’t good.”

 

“You’re right.” She took a lengthy breath as she considered their options now. “Maybe we should check out his crypt? See if there’s uh – I don’t know, something suspicious?”

 

Xander nodded, he wasn’t about to go home and give up his search – especially if there was a chance Angelus was back in town.

 

*****************************

 

Darla was sitting down at one of the tables, panting and moaning as the contractions were in full swing once more. Cordelia was sitting beside her, reading through a book, while on the phone with Wesley. Anya was standing by the cash register with her arms folded, a scowl on her face. “I should be charging you rent for staying here you know – and for phone calls. I have a store to run!”

 

“Anya, shut up.” Cordelia dismissed the woman and looked back at the book. “Did you get that, Wes?” She let out a sigh before rereading the passage one more time.

 

“And is it in the scroll too?” Wesley was on the other end of the phone reading through his notes on the prophecies and what was to come. He didn’t have a lot of information to work with, and with him hiding out in a motel outside LA, he didn’t have access to much either.

 

“It says there will be no birth.” Cordelia couldn’t work out the cryptic factors of these prophecies and wondered how she had been volunteered with helping Wesley to decipher the texts. “It seems to say that there will be death. That the baby will die. Is that why she’s been bleeding?”

 

“I think so.” Wesley wasn’t there and couldn’t help very much – their separation was more than just a simple hindrance to the regular running of things. “Darla is a vampire, and because of that, her body cannot be expected to give life to another creature, she is, in point of fact, dead, and hasn’t the necessary human traits to bring this baby into the world. I believe her body is instead slowly killing it.”

 

“That’s not going to make Angel very happy. Let’s just hope he and Spike return quickly with that witch.”

 

“Yes, I know. Spike fighting on the side of good, now that is an unusual turn of events. I must say, I never saw it coming. And Angel and he seem to be getting along?”

 

“Like a house on fire. Well, so far anyway – not much been said between the two to be honest, but Angel seems to think that Buffy trusts him, and that’s all that matters.”

 

“At least you have the opportunity now to keep Darla and the baby from harm’s way – from outside forces, I mean. There is no way we could have remained in Los Angeles without casualties or worse.”

 

“Let’s just hope Angel knows what he’s doing here though.”

 

“You’ll be fine. I had better go, Fred and I are going to continue to look into the prophecies and Gunn is going to return to LA and visit Lorne – they hope to find out what’s going on and shall report back later.”

 

“Thanks, Wesley, talk to you later.  Bye.” Cordelia hung up and looked at Darla, who was glaring at her. “You heard didn’t you?”

 

“I’m a vampire, what do you think?”

 

“We’ll figure this out. Tara will hopefully be able to do the magic to save him.”

 

“I can’t have a child, I wasn’t supposed to, no wonder I’m killing him.” Tears began to roll down the vampiress’ face.

 

“It’s not your fault.”

 

“He’s my son, I – I don’t even know what that means, but I already know I love him more than anything in this world I ever cared for; and I can’t even give him life! How pathetic is that? What kind of mother am I?”

 

“Darla, we’ll fix this.”

 

The bell rang as the doors opened, and Angel and Spike hurry inside, Tara being dragged between them. Tara looked around her and noticed Anya standing by the cash register, and two other females she didn’t recognize sitting by the table. Darla lifted her head to watch Angel approach, and the streams of water streaking her pale face were illuminated by the lights. Angel rushed over to her, kneeling by her side and grasping her hand tight in his. “Darla? What’s wrong, are you okay?”

 

“Ask your girlfriend.”

 

“Girlfriend – now hold on a minute, I thought you two were…” Spike looked at Angel, getting even more confused as the night wore on.

 

“Cordelia and I are… somewhat… together.”

 

“Somewhat together – and just what the hell does that mean?”

 

“Hey! I didn’t ask you why you and Buffy were kissing in The Bronze, so you want to back off my love life?”

 

“So you did catch the show?”

 

“Yeah, I saw the whole beautiful scene – and guess what, Spike, I moved on. I just don’t know what the hell Buffy sees in you.”

 

“The slayer?” Cordelia asked. “He’s dating the slayer now? What is it with you boys and that girl?”

 

“B-Buffy and you kissed?” Tara asked, a little shocked; she guessed this wasn’t supposed to come out – and not like this anyway.

 

“Yeah, seeing as you folks brought her back against her will, she’s been spending more time with her dear old mate Spike – liking the bad boy for a change.”

 

“Wait ‘til I tell Xander…” Anya began, before being quickly interrupted.

 

“You tell Xander, and I’ll get one of these two to rip your throat out. I might not be able to hurt you, but I’ve got Angelus and Darla here now.”

 

“You’re right!” Cordelia screamed. “That’s right, we have got Angel and Darla here, now can we please try and save their baby before it’s too late?”

 

“I’ll see what I can do.” Tara answered meekly, unsure of how she could help. Within seconds, Cordelia had Wesley on the phone again, and he ran through the whole story with Tara – explaining the prophecy and all the details they knew to date. Tara figured she could try and use a spell to give the child an un-natural birth. Wesley wondered if it would work since, technically, there would be no birth; and Darla was already dead.

 

The items were gathered and Darla lay across the table. Angel was twitching from side-to–side, and Cordelia held his hand tightly in hers. Anya, meanwhile, was creating an invoice for Angel while she mentally counted up what had been used in the course of the evening. Spike decided to head back to his crypt to see if he could salvage a bottle of Jack and a pack of cigarettes before he went back to see how the spell was doing.

 

It wasn’t until he got there that he found Willow and Xander snooping around the place, and with a slight grunt and growl, he glared at them.

 

“Spike? You’re here?”

 

“I live here remember?”

 

“Well, yeah, but uh – we just thought that we’d come and visit,” Willow lied.

 

“The day Harris comes to visit me is the day hell freezes over.  So give over and tell me what the hell you both want.”

 

“Angel.” Xander walked toward Spike, his stride purposeful.

 

Xander hadn’t been home when they’d called Anya, but Spike wondered if the boy had seen her go with them to the magic shop; he didn’t know how to answer.

 

“Angel?” Spike asked, feigning ignorance.

 

“Yeah - you’re old buddy.”

 

Spike sputtered and laughed out loud at Xander’s reference of Angel being his ‘buddy’. “Look mate, Angel and I might have history but we weren’t the best of chums – so whatever it is you wanna know about him – I suggest you call his mates in LA.”

 

“Funny how you should say that. You see we called them and no one’s home. Angel’s missing and was last seen with you.”

 

“Me? You really think I’d be hanging around with that ponce? Please! Last time he was around, he broke Dru and me up. And bein’ as the slayer has a soft spot for him, there’s no way in hell I’d let him within forty miles of her. Do you really think I’m that bleeding daft?” It was a pile of lies, but Spike was attempting to cover as best he can.

 

“Where have you been then?” Xander demanded.

 

“Poker night with the boys. Well, they’re demons. Left to come back here and grab a bottle and some cigs.”

 

“Oh.” Xander dropped his eyes to floor and could feel Willow glaring at him. It mustn’t have been Angel that he’d seen– realising it must have been one of the demons Spike played poker with after all.

 

The two timid and somewhat embarrassed friends left Spike’s crypt, and the vampire let out a sigh of relief, praying his lies would get them off his back long enough for Angel and Darla. Spike took a mental note to get Cordelia to call from her mobile later to make sure Willow and Xander wouldn’t be back for a follow-up story.

 

When he arrived back at the magic box the spell was finished; Darla was left incapacitated and Cordelia was force feeding her some pig’s blood. Angel was fussing over the baby in his arms all swaddled up in blankets. Tara was packing things away while Anya made sure everyone knew the cost of the evening.

 

Spike told Cordelia about what had transpired at his crypt and warned them that they’d need to lay low for awhile. After taking care of a phone-call to ease the paranoia in Sunnydale, Cordelia figured it was best to get rid of Angel’s car. With Spike following her, she abandoned it in the desert.

 

On the car ride back to his crypt, the two were quiet – Cordelia had never expected to be in the position to make nice with Spike and wasn’t equipped with the skills to interact with him. But since she was going to be staying with him until things started to blow over, and he had helped them out so far without passing judgement on them or their situation too much – she figured it was time to open the gates.

 

“So you’re dating Buffy?”

 

“I wish. She picks me up and puts me down as she feels like it.”

 

“Well, Angel slept with Darla, think how I feel.”

 

Spike looked at Cordelia then, realising that unlike the rest of the Scoobies, she was far more accepting of vampires. She had a fresh bite on her neck too, and he wondered if she had allowed Angel to drink from her, something very personal for vampires. “That Angel’s work you’re sporting on your neck?”

 

“Darla. I was looking after her and she got hungry.”

 

“And you didn’t kill her?”

 

“Right! Great idea. Kill the mother of Angel’s son. I don’t see that happening. Besides, the second we get back to LA, I’m sure Holtz will do it for me.”

 

“Why’d you leave Sunnydale?”

 

“Ugh. So I could be a movie star. Yes, it’s cliché, I know, but for a while there, it was my dream.”

 

“Not anymore?”

 

“I get visions, from the Powers That Be – see things before they happen; attacks, people in danger.  But I feel it. I feel their pain and suffering, the fear, their deaths, everything they go through I go through it too. It’s pretty tough to ignore them, so demon hunting has become pretty much a full time job.”

 

“Can you get rid of them?”

 

“I don’t know. I guess once you got something in your head, you get used to it – holds you to a life you’re not even sure you want. But I guess I’ll never know what a normal life would be like for me anyway.”

 

“I think I get what you mean. I got a chip in my head – can’t hurt anyone. Not humans anyway. It hurts me, sends pain through my whole body - it gives me pounding headaches. Can’t even hold a gun toward someone without it hurtin’ like hell. That’s what ties me to the Slayer and her gang, the reason I fight with them now. Guess I’d probably be dust by now if I didn’t have it.”

 

“Wow. Guess we’re both stuck.”

 

“Looks like.” There was silence then, but in that brief moment they got one another; their lives made sense somehow to one another, and in an instant, the past killing by one and the bitchiness of another could all be pushed aside, because they knew what it was like to fall into a life they hadn’t planned, and fallen for those they shouldn’t have.

 

Spike was now dealing with a trio of runaways and the newborn baby, he still didn’t know if he was up to the challenge – but this is how the pieces in their lives fell together, now they just need to go on living.