Spike felt the heat burning his insides and melting his bones before his body turned to ashes.

A bright light enveloped the ashes and transported it out of the pit that used to be Sunnydale.

Spike was still screaming as he returned to his corporeal being. He fell silent as two bluish people came towards him.

"Oh bugger!" He looked at the beings in confusion. "Where am I? Who the bloody hell are you?"

"We're The Powers That Be," the couple answered at the same time. "You have saved this world."

The female walked towards Spike and reached for the necklace around his neck. "Nice necklace."

"Thanks luv," Spike smirked. "So, why am I not in hell?"

"You have earned your forgiveness and will return to earth as a human," the male said.

Silence.

Spike blinked in disbelief, smiled widely. "Well, let's go then!" Spike was already walking towards the door the couple had come through.

"Don't you want to know more?" the female asked, a sly smirk on her face.

Spike looked at them and shrugged. "So tell me."

"You will return to Sunnydale as a 6-month old infant," the male said and flashed Spike back to earth.

"WHAT!?!" Spike called out, but he couldn't stop the flash from bringing him back to Sunnydale.

******Sunnydale*******

Xander stood alone on the edge of the pit that used to be Sunnydale. Buffy and the others had just left in the bus, without looking back. Too many bad memories. But Anya had died. Xander wanted to remember all the things he had shared with her. Even the unusual friendship they had with Spike. The vampire had become their friend when Xander comforted Spike during his nightmares. For Xander that friendship had grown into love.

Xander descended slowly to the bottom of the pit. He kneeled down and cried. He cried for every good and bad memory. During his mourning, he heard a soft cry coming from behind him. Surprised to hear a sign of life in the middle of the rubble, he stood up and searched for the sound. Perched under a large piece of wood was a small baby, softly crying.

He crouched and picked the baby up. The little boy was lying naked on the duster except for a necklace Xander recognized immediately. It was the necklace Buffy had given Spike. Xander knew instantly this baby was Spike. He smiled when he realized Spike had been given a second chance. He wrapped Spike up in the duster and stood up, walking back to the car he had left near the edge of the pit.

"You're going to be fine. I'll take good care of you," Xander told the boy who stared at him with his bright blue eyes, in a soothing voice.

Xander secured the precious bundle in the passenger seat as he sat behind the wheel and drove to the nearest town.

***

Entering Oxnard, Xander drove to the nearest Wal-Mart. He placed baby Spike in the shopping cart, the duster still wrapped around the small body. He went straight to the children's department, where he searched for a salesperson.

"Do you need some help, sir?" one of the salesladies asked politely.

"Yes, I do. We're from Sunnydale and ........" Xander said.

"Oh dear. Sunnydale? You lost everything," the saleswoman said sympathetically, interrupting Xander. "Let's find you some clothes as well as for your son."

Xander didn't correct the woman. He had already thought about keeping Spike as his son and raise him. He wouldn't have any financial problems because he had a small fortune. He was rich enough to get the boy to university. Only Willow and Tara had known of his wealth. He had kept it a secret, because of his parent's greed as well as Anya's.

The woman showed him every piece of clothing available for babies, from socks till hats. Baby Spike grabbed everything the woman showed them and fussed when it was taken from his hands.

"What's your son's name, sir?" she asked.

Xander was about to say Spike, but realized he couldn't let people call him that. He used Spike's human name instead.

"William," he answered.

William looked up at his name and gave Xander a toothless smile. He raised his hands and Xander gave him a bearhug which made William giggle.

****

Xander pushed the three full carts to the check-out and unloaded them in his car. He strapped the rear-facing safety seat in the back of the car. It was busy in the Wal-Mart so Xander wasn't able to dress him there. He placed William on the passenger seat, suddenly sniffing the air.

"William, did you use your duster as a diaper?" Xander asked the babbling boy.

Xander grabbed a diaper, cleaned William and changed him. Dressing William was more difficult because he didn't want to be dressed. He began crying and used his arms and legs to stop Xander's efforts. Xander sighed.

"I'm not letting you sit naked in the car, William," Xander said to the still crying boy.

Finally William was dressed in black jeans and a red shirt. Xander strapped him in the carseat and locked the door with the safety lock. He sat in the driver seat and drove to their next destination - Los Angeles.

****

During the trip, William had fallen asleep when Xander heard a familiar ringing sound.

"Hello?" Xander answered his cellphone.

"Xander? It's Angel. Where is Spike? I can't feel him anymore," Angel asked in a panic.

"Angel, what do you mean you can't feel him anymore?" Xander asked him back.

"As my Grandchilde, I can feel if he's still undead or dust. We share a bond because of Drusilla," Angel explained.

"Didn't Buffy tell you?" Xander replied.

"No. I couldn't reach her," Angel said.

"Angel, Spike was dead. He saved the world," Xander said.

Silence.

"What do you mean was?" Angel asked after a few minutes of silence.

"He's alive and well. I'll explain when I get to you. Okay?" Xander said.

"Okay," Angel answered before ending the conversation.

"William, let's visit Deadboy," Xander said to the sleeping boy.

At sundown Xander parked his car in front of the Hyperion. He walked around the car to the back and opened the door. William was waking up and yawned widely.

"You had a nice nap, little one?" Xander asked, unstrapping William from the carseat. He picked the boy up and together they walked towards the entrance of the hotel.

Angel and his gang were sitting in the lobby when Angel sniffed the air and stood up suddenly.

Cordelia looked from Angel to the door, curious to know why Angel seemed so anxious.

The doors opened and Xander stepped into the lobby, carrying a small child.

"Hey, Cordy!" Xander said, still smiling at his babbling boy. During the drive to L.A. he had decided he wanted to take care of William. The little boy kept holding his hand. He felt happiness in his heart again, in spite of Anya's death. Maybe he had been given a second chance too.

"Xander! Oh, my god," Cordy shrieked, walking around her desk to run towards Xander.

Cordy came to a halt in front of Xander, gasping in surprise when she finally noticed he was carrying a baby.

"Is the baby yours? Where did you get him? Where is Anya? She is his mother, isn't she? Why are you here anyway?" she bluntly asked, looking at the boy who stared at her.

Xander looked at William and noticed the boy staring at his ex-girlfriend. William turned back to look at Xander, pouted and started crying.

"I don't think William likes you very much!" Xander joked.

Cordy broke into a smile and stroked William across his cheek. The boy pushed his face into Xander's neck.

After watching the reunion between Cordy and Xander, Angel walked towards them and looked at the baby boy Xander was holding.

"This baby is Spike, isn't it?" Angel asked.

"Yes, Deadboy. This is Spike or William as I call him," Xander said. "He saved the world and I thought he had died when Sunnydale turned into a pit. When I climbed down I found him as a baby."

Cordelia scowled at Xander and stepped back. "He shanshued?" she shrieked. "That was for Angel, not the stupid bleached blond," she protested.

Xander hugged William tighter after hearing the accusation. He stepped back but was stopped when he stepped into Angel.

"He's a vampire too?" Gunn asked, grabbing his stake from his jacket.

"Well, is he?" Cordelia pressed.

"Everyone! Calm down," Angel bellowed through out the hotel. "Gunn, you will not stake a human baby. Cordelia, who are you to decide to whom the prophecy belongs to. Spike had a soul before he died."

"Xander, how do you know that the baby is really Spike? How old is he? Is he human, like Angel said? Does he have a pulse? Can he stand sunlight, garlick etc?" Wesley asked.

William heard Angel shouting and started to whimper and then to cry hysterically.

"Now, look what you have done? Are you happy now?" Xander exclaimed to the gang while trying to calm down the baby.

"To answer your questions, Wesley. Spike was wearing his duster and this necklace. Um...I don't know how old he is....maybe about 5 or 6 months? I found William during the day, so I think I can say he's human," Xander told Wesley, rocking William gently. He showed Angel the necklace.

"He's telling the truth. This is the necklace I gave to Buffy and she gave it to Spike," Angel answered, staring at the necklace.

William's crying had tempered off to hiccupping and he placed his head on Xander's shoulder, falling asleep while sucking his thumb.

"I can test him to see how old he is, if you like," Wesley tells Xander.

"Um...Okay! Maybe later? Deadboy....Angel, do you have any legal connections?" Xander asked Angel. "I would like to be his father. I need legal papers for that. I feel I have been given a second chance too and I want to raise him like I would have with my own children."

Angel was stunned. First Xander came in carrying a human baby Spike and now he was already asking for legal papers. "I'll see what I can do. Do you have a place to stay?" He started to think about Xander's attitude towards Spike. He wondered why Xander would want to help Spike. Xander's protective attitude towards the baby was startling. Didn't the boy hate Spike? Why would Xander.....

"Angel! Stop brooding! Sunnydale is destroyed! Of course he doesn't have a place to stay," Cordy called out angrily.

Angel sighed. "You two can stay here, if you like?"

"Thank you Dead....Angel. I was hoping you would say that," Xander said, correcting himself to call the vampire by his name.

"Why?" Angel asked curiously.

"Don't you want a second chance too? After what happened with Spike? All the fights you had," Xander said, already regretting his words as soon as he saw the sadness in Angel's eyes. "Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, I'm not sad about that, Xander. I lost my own son a while back. I would love to raise William up with you," Angel explained vaguely.

Xander frowned and noticed that Angel wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Maybe some day.

"Which room can we stay in? I bought a lot of stuff for William and I would like to unpack them," Xander asked.

"I will show you the room myself. Do you need some help with getting your stuff out of the car?" Angel asked.

"If Wesley and...um...I'm sorry, I don't know your name." Xander starts.

"My name is Charles Gunn, but everyone calls me Gunn," Gunn introduced himself.

"Could you help me too?" Xander asked.

"Sure," Gunn replied.

"Here, Angel! You hold him for a while until Gunn, Wesley and I have everything placed in the room," Xander said, giving the still sleeping boy to Angel.

Angel watched how Xander and his two co-workers walked out to the car. He looked at the little baby and smiled. Cordy stood next to him and stroked the boy's blond hair, both lost in their thoughts about Connor.

"Can I hold him, Angel?" Cordy whispered.

Angel looked at the woman and knew she missed Connor too. He nodded and handed the boy to Cordy. She embraced the child in her arms and hugged him.

Gunn, Wesley and Xander stood at the entrance, arms loaded with baby stuff, looking at the beautiful moment between Cordy, Angel and William.

William chose that very moment to wake up and cry. Angel looked up to see the three men standing there, not knowing where to go.

"He needs his bottle. Cordelia, why don't you prepare it?" Xander asked, giving her the bag with the bottles and formula. "The measurements are written on paper, it's next to the bottles."

"Follow me, gentlemen," Angel ordered and walked up the stairs to the nearest and largest bedroom.

They entered and the men dropped their stuff....gently when Xander told them that.

Cordy had followed slowly with William who was happily suckling on his bottle. Xander took the boy in his arms when William finished eating. The little boy looked around and spotted his toykeys on the floor.

"Could one of you pick up those keys off the floor and clean them for William?" Xander asked, while trying to hold the agitated baby.

Gunn smiled, picked up the keys and walked to the bathroom to clean them. Afterwards, he gave them to William who happily grabbed the toy and played with it.

"Okay! It's way past bedtime for this boy here and I need some sleep too. I'm going to clean the room, take a nap and finish unpacking this stuff later, if you don't mind," Xander said, trying to hide a yawn.

"We leave you to your rest, then. Come and get us when you're ready to unpack this stuff. I would like to help," Angel said, looking at a yawning William.

"Thanks. William, say Good Night," Xander said before placing the boy on the bed and began undressing him.

The gang walked away, leaving Xander and his son alone.

Angel went to his room. He had a lot to think about. He didn't know how to handle Xander's attitude. When Angel first met Xander he was insecure and didn't have confidence in himself. Now after the battle with The First, he looked more mature and self-assured.

Angel had known that the young man wanted to raise Spike since the moment Xander had said he had been given a second chance as well. He just didn't know why. Angel wondered if Spike would ever remember these moments. It was time to visit The PTB.

****L.A. - a month later****

Angel looked around the hotel lobby, Xander and William had arrived a month ago. Since Angel came back from his visit to the higher beings, as Xander called them, life hadn't been the same anymore. The PTB had confirmed that Spike had been rewarded a second chance as a 6-month old infant, but they weren't sure if the boy would remember his former life as a vampire. That would depend on what Xander and Angel would tell him.

Their daily routine at the hotel had also changed. William had stolen everyone's heart. Because of the little boy, they had changed several things. No sharp corners, nothing hot or cold for him to reach when he begins to crawl. The floor was cleaned everyday so William could play on the floor. When they fought demons they made sure the boy wasn't within reach of the demon blood they always took home on their clothes.

Cordelia had ordered Xander to dress William properly. She had taken Xander shopping for the latest baby fashion. Every morning when she woke up, she went to William's room to lay out some clothes, just to make sure Xander didn't pick the wrong combinations. William became a real fashion boy.

When Xander was taken a nap, Wesley and Gunn always took William for a walk. This was something they loved to share. During those walks they got to know each other better, but Wesley was too shy to take it further. They also tried to teach William some words. They always envied Xander and Angel when William would babble words Xander and Angel had taught him.

Fred had finally come out of her room and was introduced to Xander and William. William and Fred took an immediate liking to each other. Since then, she babysat William whenever Xander wanted some time for himself.

Surprisingly, there was one benefit for Angel too, his soul had been secured to Xander. Since then, Angel's feelings towards Xander had changed considerably. He started watching Xander from a different viewpoint.

This young man was confident of himself and his son. He admired the way the young man took care of William. The soft touches when he dressed William, the way Xander always smiled at the little boy. Sometimes Angel wished Xander would smile at him that way. He was nothing like the boy he was when he worked with Buffy. Angel realized he hadn't thought of Buffy's fate since Xander had arrived. He wasn't interested how his former girlfriend was doing. He was sure she would be fine.

He had also started feeling attracted to Xander since he had spotted him naked in the shower. Xander hadn't heard him, so he had watched Xander soaping and rinsing his body.

***Flashback****

Angel walked into the bathroom where everyone showered when they had fought demons and stopped. He hadn't heard the shower running. He peeked around a corner and saw Xander, standing in the shower, washing his hair.

The vampire's eyes widened and followed the soapsuds trailing from the man's hair down his back to the nicely shaped ass. Angel groaned when he witnessed the suds trailing between the ass cheeks.

He quickly hid himself in case Xander had heard him. He didn't hear Xander leaving, so he peeked again, feeling his cock stir at the sight. Xander had turned and was now facing Angel with his eyes closed. Xander's hands started soaping his chest and Angel gasped when Xander's hands tweaked his nipples before continuing down to his cock. Angel's cock was hard, pressing against the zipper. He watched how Xander took his cock in his hand and began to stroke it to hardness. The young man cupped his balls and moaned.

Angel started panting and knew he had to go. He turned around and ran quickly but quietly out, never hearing Xander come while moaning his name.

***End flashback***

Angel had arranged for the legal adoption papers, but there was one little thing he had to tell Xander before the papers were legal.

"Xander, could I talk to you?" Angel asked from the open doorway of Xander's room, staring longingly at the young man's body.

Xander had been playing with William on the floor. He looked up and nodded. William continued playing with his blocks. Angel walked in the room and sat across from Xander. "What's wrong?" Xander asked anxiously, after looking into Angel's face mistaking Angel's staring for a sign of worry on his face.

"Nothing's wrong! It's just that the papers have to be signed and...." Angel started.

"Well, let me sign them then!" Xander interrupted.

"A second guardian has to sign too," Angel said abruptly.

"That's not a problem, Angel. You're his second guardian," Xander said, smiling and hoping the vampire wouldn't know about his secret crush. Not only did he want Angel to be William's second guardian but he also wanted Angel for himself since The PTB had secured the vampire's soul to him.

Xander's opinion of the broody vampire had changed incredibly. When Spike was still 'undead', he had showed Xander that Angel wasn't a bad guy. He had told him stories about how Angelus had taken care of the younger vampire when Spike was in trouble again. The stories had made Xander admire the older vampire and during the past month he had witnessed Angel's caring for William.

Xander's admiration had turned into lust when he caught Angel staring at him in the shower.

***Flashback***

Xander heard the door opening and stilled his washing. When he heard the door close again he had thought the visitor had left and continued soaping himself. That's when he heard a gasp from Angel. He would recognize that sound anywhere. Aroused by the knowledge that he was being watched, Xander closed his eyes, turned around facing Angel and let his fantasy wander. He soaped his body, rinsed and focused his attention on his cock.

Xander heard Angel moan and his cock hardened. Before he knew it he came, moaning Angel's name. Xander opened his eyes, hearing hasty footsteps running away and smiled. But Xander's smile faltered when he realized that he had orgasmed when he heard Angel moan.

Apparently, he was no longer in love with Spike, now that he was born again as baby William. Instead, he had moaned Angel's name at the moment of his climax. He would have to wait until he saw Angel again to see if the man had heard his slip of the name. He might have to leave the hotel if Angel knew about his feelings and rejected him.

That moment never came.

***End flashback***

"Really?" Angel said, stunned at the quick answer. "We have to think of a birth date for William.

"He's 7 months now and it's May, so his birthday should be on October 19th," Xander answered.

"Why the 19th?" Angel asked.

"That was Anya's birthday," Xander said sadly.

"Okay, October 19th it is then," Angel said, placing his hand on Xander's shoulder for sympathy.

"Dadassmeewlll," William babbled to Angel.

"Yes, William. Angel will be your second daddy," Xander answered William with a smile on his face.

Xander picked him up and settled the boy on his lap. He took the offered pen from Angel and signed the papers. But when he tried to give the pen back to Angel so he would officially be William's second guardian, William grabbed the pen and wasn't about to let go. Angel laughed and took out another one from his pocket. Father and Son watched how Angel signed the papers.

"Dudassswlluuhsss," William said to Angel. He threw the pen to Angel and it hit him on the shoulder.

"You had to hit me, William?" Angel growled. He stood up and stalked to the giggling little boy. He grabbed the boy and tickled him. William giggled even louder.

During the tickling fight, Xander helped William by tickling Angel. Who would have thought Angel was ticklish? William crawled away when Angel tried to block Xander's hands. He was now looking at his fathers with interest.

Angel tried to push Xander's hands away, but it only made his hands move to spots he normally didn't come near of. Xander leaned forward and slipped, falling on top of Angel. The young man blushed bright red when he noticed where his hands had landed. He quickly pulled his hands off Angel's cock and thighs before climbing off the vampire. He quickly sat behind William, who was clapping his hands as if to applause for the performance his fathers gave him, to hide the evidence of his arousal.

Angel coughed, stood up and tried to cover his hard cock with the now signed papers. "I will handle the rest and when that's done, I'll let Cordy arrange some food for us and William. You might want to change his diaper before you come down though," Angel said, leaving the room quickly.

Xander watched how Angel walked out of the room, eyes fixed on the hard cock outlined in Angel's pants.

"I think it's time for me to woo your other daddy, William," Xander whispered in William's ear, who in turn squealed his answer by overflowing his diaper.

"William!" Xander whined when he finally realized why his pants were wet.

****

Angel didn't know what to do, Xander kept sending him flowers, candy and stuffed toys, which he gave to William in turn. Cordelia embarrassed him by repeatedly asking whom they were from.

Angel knew the gifts were coming from Xander. He had seen the young man watching him, curious about how he would react to the next present. After a few days, Angel started sniffing the air. A wall of pheromones came his way every time Angel looked at Xander. He didn't understand why the boy would be attracted to him, instead of hating him as he used to in Sunnydale. His feelings towards the young man grew with each day and he hoped he could ask Xander about his feelings one day.

Xander was enjoying himself. He never knew vampires could blush. The first time he sent Angel flowers, the vampire had stuttered. The second time, the vampire had blushed. His feelings for Angel flew through the roof, the small signs Angel gave away whenever he received another gift were sent straight to Xander's heart.

Xander continued sending Angel presents and every time sneaking glances at him. And Xander looked down whenever Angel looked at him, sniffing the air. Xander knew he was giving off pheromones, but he couldn't help himself. Each day his feelings deepened and lust turned into love.

****

The gang sat in the lobby of the hotel. For the first time since William and Xander had arrived, they had some time off. No visions, so no actions to help the helpless. Cordy watched Xander and Angel. She knew they liked, maybe even loved each other but she was getting nuts from Xander's sneaking glances and Angel's hesitation in responding to the boy's interest. She decided to take the matter into her own hands.

Xander was throwing quick glances at Angel again. The dark haired vampire sat on the couch holding their son. Every time he saw Angel smiling, he felt his cock stirring. //Oh god, I want him!//

Angel felt someone looking at him and looked up to see Xander looking down quickly. The vampire continued gazing at the young man, his eyes roaming over the young man's body. //Need to touch him!//

"Guys, are you listening to me?" Cordy asked sharply, after finding the men staring at each other instead of listening to her.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Cordy," several voices rang through the lobby.

"I was talking about Angel and Xander, guys. Not you two," Cordy snapped at Wesley and Gunn.

"Cordy? What were you talking about?" Xander asked.

"Don't you think it would be time for you two to kiss? You've been staring at each other since the moment Angel came back with the announcement that his soul had been secured," Cordy said.

Both men looked startled, not realizing others had seen their staring.

"You want me?" Xander whispered seductively, only audible to the vampire.

"Xander, let's go upstairs. We need to talk," Angel said when he heard the question. He stood up, still holding William who reached for his other father. Angel felt nervous, he was finally confronting Xander about the presents he kept sending.

"Dadadadada," William babbled, pointing at Xander.

"Yes, son. Daddy is here," Xander replied to the little boy and followed Angel to his room. Xander was shivering, he didn't know what he was going to tell Angel.

****

Inside Xander and William's bedroom, Angel and Xander stood in front of each other. Angel breathed in the smell of Xander's arousal and stared at Xander's lips.

Xander stepped forward and kissed Angel on the lips; he felt his cock stir when their kiss deepened. William continued babbling but neither men heard it.

The kissing was rudely interrupted when William pulled Angel's hair. "Ouch!" Angel shouted.

William giggled. "You like that?" Angel asked the boy, while pulling the boy's honey blond hair gently. William only giggled louder.

Xander walked towards the door and shouted down the stairs. "CORDELIA!?!"

"What?" Cordelia replied after storming upstairs, afraid something had happened. As an answer, a babbling William was placed in her arms, without any further explanation.

Xander closed the door and walked straight to Angel. He pushed the vampire on the bed, straddled his lap, placed his arms on the sides of Angel's face and kissed him deeply.

Angel was shocked, he didn't expect Xander to throw him on the bed. Angel didn't hesitate any longer and kissed him back, placing his hands on the young man's hips and pulled them against him. He pushed his cock against Xander's and received a thrust back. He moaned at the feel of that warm body against his cool one.

Xander lost himself in the kiss; he wanted to do this since Angel had seen him naked in the shower. After that, he had dreamed about being intimate with Angel. Those dreams turned into daydreams, which was a risk because he always came at the end. The last time he had hardly enough time to cover himself up with a pillow.

He had pictured Angel coming into the lobby naked from the waist up because a demon had ruined his shirt. Xander couldn't stop staring at the muscular chest. Before he knew it, he felt himself come in his pants. Xander had been embarrassed that this had happened when Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn were close by. As soon as he was alone he quickly ran upstairs to his room.

"Xander, we need to talk," Angel tried to speak but Xander kept kissing him. Angel pushed Xander far enough for the boy to look at him.

"What about?" Xander gasped out.

"Us," Angel grumbled.

"What about us?" Xander said, leaning forward to nibble on Angel's neck. He finally had Angel in his arms and he wasn't letting the vampire go.

"Xander, I thought you hated me?" the vampire gasped out.

"I haven't in a long time. Spike told me stories about you. Even though I hate vampires, you and Angel are exceptional. You both changed, you helped us fight the demons and your capacity to sacrafice. Since I've moved to L.A. with William, my feelings for you have changed from admiration into caring and love," Xander explained.

"Love? But Xander, I'm a vampire."

"Don't care...didn't stop me from loving Spike..."

"But how long have you wanted me? All those presents..." the vampire gasped out.

"Since you saw me naked in the shower," Xander muttered, gently biting Angel on his collarbone.

"Ah shit! You...ah...saw...m.me?" Angel managed to stutter.

"Yeah! I've wanted you since that moment. I want to know you better. I want to be with you. I want to raise William with you," Xander pointed out.

"Right, the same things I want with you," Angel replied.

"Good. Now can we get back to the kissing part?" Xander whispered.

Angel just nodded and kissed his soon-to-be-lover. They continued kissing even when Cordelia walked in with their son. She placed William on the ground and watched how the boy tried to crawl to his parents. He started whimpering when he couldn't get closer to his still kissing fathers.

Xander ended the kiss when he heard William whimpering and looked up to see Cordelia standing in their room, watching them. He stood up from his place on Angel's lap. He walked towards the boy, kneeled in front of him and held out his arms.

"So, finally done with the kissing?" Cordelia questioned with a smile.

"Cordy, first you want us to kiss and now it's taking too long?" Angel asked, obviously frustrated about the interruption.

William squealed when he finally managed to reach Xander who was waiting for him. His hands grabbed Xander's. "Sshennassline," William said.

"Really? And what did you do then?" Xander said, pretending to understand the boy and laughing when his son answered by placing his sticky hand in Xander's hair.

Xander picked the boy up and walked downstairs, followed by a a scowling Angel and a grinning Cordelia . A surprising scene greeted them in the lobby. Gunn and Wesley were sitting on the couch kissing each other, not noticing the others coming in.

"So when did you two get together?" Angel asked the men.

Wesley and Gunn separated when they heard Angel's voice. Wesley blushed bright red and looked down at the floor, too embarrassed at being caught.

"Just now. Cordelia told us to kiss, she can be very persuasive!" Gunn answered calmly, hugging his shy lover.

"Are you two together now?" Wesley asked, watching the two men standing close together.

"Yep," Xander answered and squeezed Angel's ass. Everyone laughed when they heard Angel's 'eep'.

"Well, we're a couple now, thanks to Cordelia. Maybe we should get someone for her too. Let's see, who would be a good lover for Cordelia?" Wesley stated, his shyness gone when he thought about payback for the embarrassment she had caused him.

"Excuse me! You're not setting me up with a blind date!" Cordelia stated angrily. "I can pick my dates myself, thank you very much!

The two couples ignored the girl's protest and joined heads, discussing who would make Cordelia a happy woman.

Cordelia was sitting impatiently at one of the tables in a little Italian restaurant, waiting for her date to show up. She couldn't believe she had agreed to do this. Wesley had begged her to agree to a date and he had chosen a great partner for her.

****

"Wesley, are you sure Cordy won't kill us for setting her up with...?" Xander asked concerned, only to be interrupted when the lobby door opened.

Xander looked up to see Angel walking in while holding a crying William. He stood up and rushed towards his son. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. He keeps crying and nothing helps," Angel said frustrated.

Xander took William in his arms and looked at crying boy. That's when he noticed the white bulges in Wiliam's mouth. "Angel, what did the book say about getting teeth?" Xander asked while trying to comfort William.

Angel rushed to the bookshelf to search their parenting book. He quickly searched the index and showed Xander thriumphantly the information they needed. "Do we have a rubber bite ring?" Angel asked after reading the section on teething problems.

"No, but it also says that if we don't have one we could wrap an ice cube in a piece of cloth!" Xander replied.

Angel ran upstairs to grab a clean cloth and ripped a piece from it. While descending the stairs, he saw Wesley walking back with an ice cube. Angel and Wesley wrapped up the ice cube while Xander walked with William whose crying hadn't tempered off.

"William? Look what I've got for you," Xander said to the boy who had quieted down when his daddy placed something cold on the places where it hurt.

William's crying had turned into a mild hiccupping and he continued to gnaw on the ice cub. His small hands tried to grab the cloth, but Xander didn't allow it. "Wesley, could you buy the bite ring now? I don't think it would be wise to work with an ice cube all night long," Xander requested the ex-watcher.

"Yes, of course. GUNN!" Wesley yelled.

Gunn came running downstairs armed with crossbows when he heard his lover screaming. "Where's the demon?" he asked frantically, while looking around for the enemy and only seeing Xander and William looking at him smiling.

"Wesley, why did you yell?" Gunn asked frustrated, realising that he had come down for nothing.

"We need to buy some things for William," Wesley replied, taking Gunn by the arm and dragging him outside. Before Gunn was outside he dropped his crossbows into a closet so William couldn't hurt himself.

William, who had watched the interaction between his uncles with interest, realised the cold was gone. "nhanaialslmmnsee," he said to Xander.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Xander replied smiling. "Oh, you mean the ice cube is gone. Angel, will you get us a new ice cube?"

William giggled and bounced on his daddy's arm, grabbing Xander's hair to pull. "Ouch! William, little one. Let go!" Xander winced.

Angel returned quickly, wrapped it up again and gave it back to Xander. He smiled when William tried to grab it.

****

Cordelia had ordered a glass of red wine when a waiter brought her a single rose. "Whom has sent this?" she asked.

The waiter shook his head and walked back. All Cordelia could do was follow him with her eyes. She looked at her watch again. Her blind date was five minutes late. She looked at the people, perhaps she would see someone she knew. Her eyes fell on a older man looking at her. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place him. He was wearing black jeans with a white shirt and a periwinkle vest. His hair was slightly grey.

The man was looking at Cordelia. She was even more beautiful than the last time he had seen her in Sunnydale. She was looking at him now and he stepped towards her. He saw her staring at him until realisation dawned on her face.

"Giles?" Cordelia whispered.

"Hello, Cordelia," Giles replied softly, taking her hand and kissing the back of her hand softly.

Cordelia blushed. "Would you like to join me?" she asked.

"Yes, I would love to," Giles answered and sat down on the chair across the table.

"I thought you were going back to England?" Cordelia asked curious.

"No, I couldn't. I travelled from place to place. Plus, I wanted to visit Xander. I heard he's staying with Angel," Giles answered.

"Yes, he and William came to us a few months back."

"William?"

"Oh...you don't know! Well, Spike has been given a second chance for saving the world."

"Spike? What kind of second chance?" Giles asked surprised. He always thought Angel would be the one to get a second chance after having helped people for much longer than Spike.

"He's eight months old right now. And he's adorable," Cordelia said, tenderly taking the photo she had taken of the boy from her wallet.

Giles stared at the photo. He couldn't believe this little boy was Spike. "He's so small!" he whispered more to himself than to Cordelia.

"Yes, he is. Would you like to meet him after dinner? Unless he's asleep of course," Cordelia suggested.

Giles nodded. Before they could continue, the waiter came to place their orders. Their dinner went great, they talked about Sunnydale, Buffy and the others and of course about Angel and Xander.

****

"So they are together as in a couple?" Giles questioned, guiding Cordelia back to the hotel.

"Yes, they are. And they made William their son. And Gunn and Wesley are a couple too," Cordelia told him.

"So, Wesley is gay. Never thought I would see the day," Giles joked, remembering the shy young man when he became Buffy's watcher.

"Well, here it is," Cordelia said, taking him inside the hotel.

"Well, well!" Giles whispered when they walked in on a kissing Xander and Angel while William tigered across the floor towards the woman he had been out with.

"Hello, William!" Cordelia cooed to the boy. She took William in her arms and watched him chew on a rubber ring.

William laughed. Someone had picked him up again! "ashaiemiasisle," he said to Cordelia while looking at Giles with curiosity.

"Can I hold him?" Giles asked, still staring at the blond boy.

"Yeah, sure!" she said, placing William in Giles' arms.

The older man looked at the child with wonder. The blue eyes followed every move Giles made. "Now where's your daddy?"

William looked around and when he saw his daddy he continued calling him. "Dadadadada," he said, while pointing his chubby hand at Xander.

****

Xander and Angel had stopped kissing when they heard Cordelia talking to their son. They were now watching the interaction between William and Giles. Xander saw Giles' eyes examining his son before asking the boy where his father was.

Xander was proud when his son pointed at him and called him Dada. "Yes, daddy is here."

Angel smiled while he watched his dark haired lover walking towards Giles in order to take their son into his arms. Xander walked back and leaned with his back against the vampire's chest. Angel's arms closed around the young man and the vampire kissed his lover's slender neck, while sneaking a glance at the smirking Watcher.

"Giles, where are you staying?" Xander asked.

"I'm staying at a hotel nearby," Giles replied while looking at the beautiful woman in front of him.

"Why don't you stay here? We have enough room for another guest," Angel suggested slyly.

Giles looked up in surprise at the suggestion and nodded his head. "I would love to, that way I'll be closer to Cordelia." He walked to the woman and gave her a tender, but deep kiss before walking out with Angel behind him to collect his stuff from the hotel.

Cordelia blushed bright red when she realised she had been kissed by her former school librarian so passionately. She sat down, still dazed from that single kiss.

Xander had watched the byplay and the dazed look on Cordelia's face. He grinned and placed William on the floor before sitting on the couch next to Cordelia waiting for her to come back to herself. He saw she snapped out of her thougths when William giggled and tigered across the floor towards her.

Cordelia snapped out of her thougths when she heard William giggling. She looked down and saw William tigering across the floor towards her again.

***The Hyperion's lobby - 4 p.m.***

"Dadadada," William said to Xander.

"Yes, William. I'm here, but I have to make sure you don't find the presents," Xander answered his son.

"Xan, he's too young to know he's going to get presents. By the way, did you order the cake?" Angel replied smiling when William reached for him.

"Mamamama," William talked to Angel when his mother placed him in his arms.

"Yes, Mummy is right here. How come you're calling me mummy?" Angel frowned while the boy answered something that the vampire pretended to understand.

William had developed 8 teeth in the past 4 months and they had had many sleepless nights. Lately, the gang was happy whenever William let them have at least two hours of sleep.

Right now everyone was preparing William's birthday party, which would be held tomorrow in the lobby.

Xander was nervous. They had invited Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Faith and Andrew. Even though they had no idea who William really was, they had all accepted.

"Xan, calm down! It's going to be fine," Angel reassured Xander for the tenth time this evening. The girls and Andrew were visiting them tonight and would stay until the day after tomorrow.

"What about Buffy? Will she agree or make a fuss? Maybe she will scream," Xander babbled nervously.

"Why would I make a fuss?" Buffy asked when she heard Xander's questions.

"Eep!" Xander jumped and turned around. "Buffy, don't scare me like that!"

Buffy smiled and walked forward to hug Xander. Dawn was next and Faith and Willow followed soon after. Andrew held back and waited for the girls to get reacquainted with the former construction worker. He didn't have a good friendship with Xander like the girls.

Cordelia, who had walked downstairs when she heard Buffy's voice, stood next to Angel at the end of the lobby in order to give Xander some space with her old school friends.

Fred had heard the voices as well and stood at the top of the stairs watching the reunion. She was curious about them, having heard many stories about the Slayer and the Sunnydale crew, but she was too shy to join them.

William, who was still in Angel's arms, was watching the women with great interest. He began bouncing on his mother's arm. Angel had learned that was William's usual behaviour whenever he wanted to be put on the floor.

"Xander, our son is crawling towards you!" Angel warned Xander when William started crawling to his dad.

The girls heard the warning and turned around, looking at the floor to see a small blue-eyed blond boy.

"Son?" Andrew asked curious. Judging by their wary reaction, he could see that Cordelia, Giles and two other men hadn't noticed him yet.

"Yes, I'd like you to meet William, formerly known as William the Bloody or Spike, your friendly neighbourhood vampire," Xander introduced while picking up his son.

"What? Spike? That baby is Spike? Oh, my god! He's so cute," Dawn squealed and ran towards the little boy in Xander's arms.

"Our son?" Buffy sadly repeated the words Angel had said.

"Yes, we adopted him. Angel, why don't you change William's diaper and entertain the others while Buffy and I talk in the kitchen," Xander suggested. He walked to Angel, placed William in the vampire's arms and gave Angel a deep kiss before guiding a gaping Buffy into the kitchen.

Cordelia, Giles, Wesley and Gunn went out to buy William some presents. Angel was left alone to face Dawn, Willow, Faith and Andrew's questions on Spike's transformation and his relationship with Xander. The vampire winced, it was worse than facing a horde of Torak Han demons.

Andrew however was interested in the shy beautiful woman who stood at the top of the stairs and couldn't help but stare.

****

"Buffy, are you alright?" Xander asked, still a little nervous about how she was reacting to the news. Seeing her old school friend kiss her first vampire lover must have been a shock. But knowing both had adopted her second vampire lover as a human baby was probably a hard blow. After all, Buffy believed Spike had died after sacrificing himself to save her and the world.

"I'm fine. Shocked and under the impression I've landed in an alternate universe but fine. How long have you and Angel been together?" Buffy questioned, reassuring Xander with her calm attitude.

"Tomorrow on William's birthday, we'll also be celebrating our 5th month," Xander replied dreamily only to be snapped back when Buffy punched his arm. "What?"

"He must be making you happy for you to be daydreaming like that," Buffy commented grinning.

"You're not angry?" Xander hesitantly asked.

"No, I'm not. It was hard but I let him go when he left Sunnydale," Buffy replied. "Of course I hadn't expected he would choose you to share his life with. But what about his soul?"

"The PTB anchored his soul to me when we adopted Spike," Xander answered.

"I can't believe that little boy is Spike. He's so small and cute," Buffy stated.

"Yes, he is. But he's also very smart. He's been calling Angel 'mama'. I taught him that but don't tell Angel or he will throw a fit and not kiss me for at least a week," Xander smirked and saw Buffy grinning mischievously at hearing that.

"Shall we join them?" Buffy asked, ready to tease Angel.

Xander stood up, linked arms with Buffy and together they stepped into the lobby. The lobby, however, was empty except for the couple that was quietly talking at the far end of the lobby.

"Angel?" Xander called out.

"Upstairs!" they heard Angel shouting.

Xander quickly ran upstairs only to stop in the doorway at the sight of Dawn changing a crying William.

"Dadadada," William cried and reaching towards Xander.

Xander walked to his son, fastened the diaper and picked the crying boy up in his arms. William held onto Xander's neck and sniffled. "mama aid iduslie misueh," he explained to Xander.

"Angel, what did you do?" Xander asked sternly. He tried not to laugh at the guilty look on Angel's face.

"I didn't do anything!" Angel denied.

"He wanted to show me how many teeth William had developed," Dawn answered, squealing when Angel tried to grab her.

"You tried to open his mouth with the bite ring again?" Xander asked Angel, eyebrows rising in question.

Angel looked at the floor. "Yesterday he did it by himself, I was only trying to make him do it again."

"Right!" Xander said sarcastically. "So, Dawn, I think you need to practise the diaper change if you ever want to baby-sit William," Xander mentioned.

William was already happily bouncing on his father's arms, tears gone. He wanted to play on the floor. He squealed when his father raised him in the air and laid him down on the light blue carpet. Within no time William was happily crawling across the room to his toys.

"I can baby-sit William?" Dawn asked excitedly.

"Of course, you can only so that when you're in L.A. But yes, you can baby-sit William," Xander said seriously. He wanted his friends to be part of Spike's new life.

Dawn followed the boy and sat on the floor across from him. She smiled when William gave her a block. She placed it on the floor and Wiliam gave her another one. They continued until the tower of blocks became too high. William sat on his knees and pushed the tower, letting the blocks fall on Dawn while his giggling echoed throughout the entire hotel.

Buffy had watched the entire scene in silence. She couldn't take her eyes off William and joined her sister. The girls repeated the game that pleased William so much.

"Girls, watch William for a while. I need to take care of some things for our birthday boy," Xander instructed; he walked towards William, gave him a kiss on the head and left the room. "Angel, are you coming?" he shouted when he noticed that his lover wasn't following him.

Dawn and Buffy both looked surprised at Angel when he ran after Xander. Angel was acting like a lovesick puppy. The girls laughed, realising Xander had managed to do what everyone had considered to be impossible: to control the 250-year old vampire who had once been The Scourge of Europe.

William stopped laughing when he noticed that his parents had left the room. He looked at the two girls wide eyed, his bottom lip quivering.

Dawn quickly handed him a block, hoping William wouldn't burst into tears. It didn't work. William burst into tears, trying to get his parents' attention.

******

While Angel tried to answer the girls' questions, William was passed from one girl to the other, delighted to be the object of so much attention. Fred finally gathered enough courage to come down the stairs and Andrew left Angel to walk towards her and introduce himself.

Hi. I'm...I'm Andrew and you ...you are ...do you live here too? Andrew stuttered, having trouble being coherent in front of such a beautiful creature. "Hi," Fred said shyly; she bravely took his hand and walked to the couch in the corner. They sat down and talked about Xander's friends and Sunnydale, unnoticed by the others.

Cordelia and Giles walked into the lobby expecting a happy William, instead they heard William crying loudly.

"Fred, what's happening ? Why is William crying ? Cordelia asked sharply. Fred blushed bright red for not having noticed anything, engrossed by Andrew's heroic tales.

Cordelia and Giles both rushed upstairs, only to see Dawn and Buffy trying to comfort William without much success. Cordelia tsked and took William from Dawn's arms to place him into Giles'.

"What's this, William? Why are you crying?" Giles' whispered soothingly to the boy. "Buffy and Dawn are great girls and they like you very much."

Cordelia looked from Dawn to Buffy and both seemed worried about William. Whatever had happened they were probably not responsible for William's behaviour. She turned around and saw Giles whispering to the boy. She dreamily stared at Giles and William, imagining herself and Giles having a child of their own. She snapped out of her thoughts, interrupted by a flash. Someone had taken a picture.

All three women looked behind Giles to see Gunn and Wesley standing in the doorway with a camera. They smiled when William recognised them and stretched out his chubby little arms. Wesley stepped forward and took William.

William was now hiccupping and happily babbling to Wesley, pointing at the blocks on the floor. "Ah, you were playing with the blocks. Did you have fun?" Wesley asked William.

"Mama wsiewas dada ismwle subljem," William told Wesley all about what Angel had done.

"Did Angel try to show the girls your teeth again? And your daddy saved you?" Wesley asked William.

"Where are your mommy and daddy, William?" Gunn asked William.

William turned around to the different voice and pointed towards the door. "Dada siemasmle," William explained.

"They went downstairs and they went shopping?" Gunn retold William's words while Wesley grinned at the stunned faces of the two women. The AI team had always been able to translate William's babbling into English.

William wanted to be on the floor again and started bouncing. "Let's go downstairs. Dawn, would you take William's playblocks with you downstairs?" Wesley asked while carrying William, the rest of the group following him.

Wesley placed William on the ground while the rest sat down on the couches. That's when Xander and Angel walked in and spotted the whole group in the lobby.

"Hey, William!" Xander greeted his son before saying hello to the rest of the group.

Angel followed his lover inside and smiled. He was preparing a night with Xander alone. Ever since William started teething, they hadn't had an evening to themselves. Xander had spent many nights alone with a restless William during patrols. The young man never complained but he was starting to show signs of stress. Tonight Angel would ask Buffy and Dawn to baby-sit William and he would take his lover out to dinner.

Angel walked towards Xander and William, gave both of them a kiss and asked Buffy and Dawn to join him in the kitchen, while carrying a large box that contained William's birthday cake.

Xander watched with suspicion the girls following Angel into the kitchen. He turned back to William and sat on the floor in front of the blocks. He placed William between his legs and started building the familiar tower.

William was happy again. His mummy and daddy were back. He patted his daddy's face and watched with fascination how his father built the tower. He waited for the last possible moment and...pushed his arms forward. William squealed when the blocks fell onto the floor and his daddy started building the tower again!

*****

Angel stepped into the kitchen and placed the birthday cake in the fridge. He closed the door and turned around.

"Buffy, Dawn, could you baby-sit William tonight?" Angel asked.

"Sure. What are you going to do?" Buffy asked curious.

"Since William started teething we haven't had a night off. The guys tried to cover sometimes but when that happens we're both too tired to do anything but sleep," Angel replied.

"What have you planned?" Dawn questioned, already looking forward to babysitting William. She hoped he wouldn't cry because his parents were gone.

"I have a table reserved at an Egyptian restaurant nearby and after that I want Xander to choose where to go," Angel told the girls his plans.

"Angel?" they heard Xander call out from the lobby before the door opened. "What are you discussing?"

"William's birthday!" Buffy replied. It wasn't a complete lie.

"Xander, can I practise babysitting William tonight?" Dawn asked excitedly.

Xander watched the women and knew something was going on, but he didn't know what. "Sure, but we will still be here, so it isn't real yet."

"I know, I just want to spend some time with him," Dawn replied.

Xander nodded and dragged Angel forcefully with him into the lobby. He turned around and kissed Angel deeply, only to be interrupted when William pulled on both their jeans.

They both looked down to see William's eager face looking up. "Dada, mama, isnejswlsi," William told them.

"William, you want to be picked up again?" Xander asked, but when he did he smelled something familiar. "Dawn! Diaper time!" he shouted.

He carried William upstairs and heard Dawn following him. They entered William's bedroom and laid him down on the commode. "Okay, Dawn. Your turn," Xander said, stepping back and letting Dawn stand in front of the little squirming boy.

Dawn opened the trousers and took them off. William kicked his legs playfully, he grabbed his toes and pushed them in his mouth. It made the undressing more difficult, but Xander didn't help. She finally managed to unbutton the body-suit and crunched her nose when the smell only got worse. "William, did you have to do that? I just know your daddy has set me up by changing your diaper now and not this afternoon."

Xander laughed softly when he heard her remark. "You wanted to baby-sit, Dawn! Dirty diaper changing is in the job description."

Dawn opened the diaper, rolled it up and gave it to Xander while smiling the entire time. She was afraid William would cry if she didn't smile. She accepted the tissues from Xander and cleaned William thoroughly while blushing bright red, realising she was touching Spike's unmentionables. She hoped baby William would have no memories of his previous life or he would kill her when he got older.

Xander handed her the lotion and watched how gently she smeared it on William's body. The boy started moving his arms and legs and was making it very difficult for Dawn to place the diaper below the tiny waist.

Dawn took the diaper, spread it out and placed it under William. She pressed the diaper between the moving legs but William decided to turn on his side before she had the chance to fasten it. "No, William. Wait for me to finish this," Dawn muttered to herself. She turned the boy back and quickly fastened the slips. She made sure everything was correct and looked at Xander to see if she had done a good job.

Xander nodded and smiled. "Well, now that's done, want to choose something for him to wear at night?" he asked.

"Yes, you got something blue?" Dawn asked happily.

While watching William, Xander showed her the many clothes they had bought for William. She chose a light blue long sleeve body-suit with a little car on it. She took the body-suit and walked back to William who was watching her and Xander, seemingly confused about the reason why his dad wasn't dressing him as usual.

She opened the bottom and pushed the suit over William's head. When that was finally done, she tried to get the arms thought the sleeves.

"Here, I'll show you," Xander suggested before stepping next to her and he demonstrated how to get the arm through the sleeve. "It's quite simple, you just have to get used to it," Xander explained.

Dawn succeeded in dressing William and now had the quiet boy in her arms. Xander and Dawn took William downstairs, where Angel was patiently waiting for his lover. Xander was shocked.

Angel was wearing a black suit with a white silk shirt. He had clearly spent some time to arrange his hair. Xander was speechless at the stunning sight. Angel's eyes were glistening, happy to have succeeded in surprising his boyfriend.

"Xander, if you please?" Angel asked. "Kiss William goodnight, and follow me," Angel instructed and smiled when Xander did so without protesting. The little boy was given a kiss on the nose and Angel took Xander's hand, guiding him to the awaiting car.

"Be a good boy, William," Angel told the pouting boy.

"Where are we going? You set me up? Dawn, did you know about this? Angel, would you please tell me where we're going? What about my clothes? Shouldn't I change first? I can't go out like this!" Xander fired the questions at anyone who would listen. Angel kept silent and walked him out of the hotel. "Dawn, Fred, take good care of William!" Xander ordered before Angel closed the door of their car.

for his lover. Xander was shocked.

Angel was wearing a black suit with a white silk shirt. He had clearly spent some time to arrange his hair. Xander was speechless at the stunning sight. Angel's eyes were glistening, happy to have succeeded in surprising his boyfriend.

"Xander, if you please?" Angel asked. "Kiss William goodnight, and follow me," Angel instructed and smiled when Xander did so without protesting. The little boy was given a kiss on the nose and Angel took Xander's hand, guiding him to the awaiting car.

"Be a good boy, William," Angel told the pouting boy.

"Where are we going? You set me up? Dawn, did you know about this? Angel, would you please tell me where we're going? What about my clothes? Shouldn't I change first? I can't go out like this!" Xander fired the questions at anyone who would listen. Angel kept silent and walked him out of the hotel. "Dawn, Fred, take good care of William!" Xander ordered before Angel closed the door of their car.

***The lobby - 9 a.m.****

"Xander, did it have to be this early? Is something wrong?" Cordelia asked yawning.

"No Cordy, I needed to talk to you all before the day started to get hectic, I've got something important to say to you," Xander answered.

Yesterday night the LA and Sunnydale gang had gone to bed around midnight. After all the commotion about Dawn's fall, they had decided it was best to call it an early night. Ten minutes ago, Xander had been knocking on their doors, waking up Wesley, Gunn, Cordelia and Fred and telling them to go to the lobby because of something related to William's party. He had also asked Giles and Andrew to be present.

The young man hadn't quite understood why Xander was including him in what was obviously an A.I. matter but agreed to meet the others downstairs. It would be a good opportunity to spend more time with the beautiful Fred.

Angel walked downstairs with a sleepy William on his arm. The boy was still trying to wake up. Angel had no idea why his lover had asked them to get up so early but he could never refuse the boy anything.

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Xander greeted his lover. He stepped forward and gave the blushing vampire a deep kiss.

"Papa," William mumbled when he heard his father's voice.

"Angel, did you hear? He said papa instead of dada!" Xander exclaimed proudly while he took his son in his arms.

William giggled, now wide-awake. His daddy spun him around in the air and made William laugh even harder.

"Mama," William said while reaching for Angel.

Angel took his son and held the boy to his chest while Xander took five presents from the drawer in the corner and sat in the lobby. He gestured for his friends to sit down.

"Angel, Cordelia, Fred, Gunn and Wesley," Xander started. "These five presents are meant for all of you. I will give one to Wesley, Angel, Fred, Gunn and Cordelia," Xander continued while giving them the gifts. He waited patiently for them to open the presents. It had taken him a few moments to find them, but Willow had helped him. He had asked her to take photos of the others the previous day.

"Cordelia, why don't you start?" Wesley suggested calmly, while fidgeting with the present.

Cordelia nodded her head and leaned against Giles' chest. She carefully opened the gift and gasped. Xander had framed a photo of her and Connor. "How did you...? Why did you...?" she asked in shock.

"Angel has told me the story about Connor. I don't want the boy gone from this family. He will always be a part of it, a part of you," Xander explained.

Giles couldn't be more proud of Xander than he was now. He knew the boy thought family was important to have and to remember. "Xander, I'm very proud to have you as my son," Giles stated and smiled when Xander blushed.

"Your son?" Xander asked curiously. He never knew the man saw him like that.

"Yes, you're my son the moment since you started helping Buffy. It just wasn't easy for me to say that back then. But I couldn't be more proud of you than I am today," Giles responded.

Xander blushed but looked proudly at his new father, knowing he had understood his intentions with the gifts.

Gunn was next and the hunter opened his gift carefully. He had a feeling what the present might be after Cordelia opened hers. He couldn't stop his gasp when he saw the photo of him and Connor with Wesley on the background looking at him. "Wow! How did you find the photos?" he asked.

"I called Lorne early this morning while all of you were still asleep. He had kept all the photos taken from Connor and all of you," Xander answered.

Wesley opened the gift and saw the only photo that had ever been taken of him and Connor in a beautiful frame. He tried to fight back his tears but lost the battle and cried. Gunn hugged him tightly. They all knew Wesley still felt guilty for believing the fake prophecy and hurting the rest of the team by kidnapping Connor.

Andrew wanted to give Fred some comfort before she opened her gift and embraced her. He felt her snuggling against him and smiled dreamingly.

Fred shyly opened her present. She wasn't used to get this kind of attention. Andrew was sitting beside her and was holding her in case she needed it. She smiled sadly at the photo of her and Connor. The baby boy was suckling his thumb while Fred watched him. The young man held Fred tightly when she traced Connor's face with her finger. She placed her head on Andrew's shoulder and cried softly, her noises muffled by Andrew's shirt.

Angel was last to open his gift. He was still in a state of shock and awe at his lover's thoughtful gesture. He suspected his gift would be a photo of Connor, alone or with the rest of the gang since he wouldn't appear on film. With a pang in his heart for being once again reminded of his immortal condition, Angel unwrapped the present with William's help. As soon as he looked at the framed photo, Angel let out a sob and started to cry, hugging his son and letting the tears fall into William's hair.

"Xander, how did you do this? I don't understand," Angel cried.

"Just because you can't appear in photos doesn't mean that I have to give up. Did you know Willow could do magic long distance? I wanted to give you something special, so I had Willow magic a camera a week ago. I took some photos of you and William the last few days. After last night's revelations, I asked my bestest friend to copy and paste those photos with those Lorne gave me," Xander said, hugging his lover.

"Angel, show us?" Cordelia asked in a trembling voice, still emotional because of Xander's gift.

Angel turned the frame around and showed everybody the photo. Angel was sitting in the lobby with William and Connor on his knees. Below was written: 'a father with his sons'. Even though he was William's mother.

William let go of his father and gently slid onto the floor. He looked up and saw his mother hugging his daddy. He wanted to hug his mother too. William pushed himself on his knees and grabbed the edge of the couch.

Giles and Gunn were watching William while comforting their lovers. They gasped loudly when they saw William struggling to stand up.

Everyone heard the gasps and watched the boy pulling himself up. Xander and Angel watched their son standing, William smiled widely before falling down again.

Xander watched how William's bottom lip began to tremble before trying it again. He stood five times before humphing because he couldn't reach his mommy, so he settled down on the floor and crawled to his toys.

"He just stood, did you see that?" Angel said happily, tears gone.

The vampire stood up, picked up his frame and went upstairs. He came back a few minutes later empty handed. He walked towards William, sat down next to the boy and picked William up only to settle him back between his legs. Together they played building the tower again, one of William's favorite games.

"Why don't we all clean up and meet downstairs again in an hour?" Xander suggested. He knew he had shocked the A.I. team and that they needed some time to deal with their past.

Xander watched how everyone went back upstairs to their rooms. He walked towards his lover and their birthday boy. "Let's go upstairs, Angel," he instructed gently while taking his fussy son in his arms.

"William, we need to clean up. You can play with your blocks when we get back," Xander said to William, whose quivering lip disappeared when he saw who had picked him up.

Angel was still lost in thoughts about Connor, he stood up and meekly followed his lover back into their bedroom. When the door closed behind him, he let Xander guide him and William into the bathroom. The vampire watched how his lover undressed him and William before filling the tub with warm water and bubbling soap.

William squealed when he saw his daddy using his favorite soap. He turned back to look at his mummy sitting on the toilet and frowned. His mummy was crying, so he crawled to Angel, placed his hands on the vampire's knees and lifted himself up so he could look his mommy in the eyes.

Xander watched proudly how William was standing up again. He saw Angel snapping back to the present and smile when he noticed his son's new trick. The vampire reached out in time to catch William when his wobbly knees failed and he fell backwards, which earned him a grin from Angel.

William was proud of himself; he made his mommy laugh. He turned his head towards his father, still smiling and saw he was busy undressing himself.

"Angel, why don't you and William sit in the tub? I will join you in a few moments," Xander suggested. The young man stepped back into the bedroom and laid down their clothes for William's birthday party.

Angel stepped in the tub and slowly sat down. He reached for his son, standing next to the tub, and lifted him in the air. He settled the boy between his knees and together they watched Xander come back into the bathroom and step into the tub across from Angel.

Xander took Angel's hand for comfort in case the vampire needed it and smiled when William placed his small hand on top of theirs and looked at his mother.

William saw a vision next to his mother and watched someone in the mirror. " 'Liam," he said when he realized it was himself, a honey blond boy with sharp cheekbones, 8 teeth and blue eyes.

Both Xander and Angel observed how William was watching himself in the mirror and laughed. "Papa!" the boy said when Xander was seen in the mirror. "Mama!" when William saw the image of his mother.

"Mama?" Angel repeated questioningly and turned to see what William could be calling 'mama' in the mirror. The vampire gaped at his reflection before turning back to Xander, silently asking for an explanation.

"Remember the photo camera? Willow's magic was so powerful that from now on you'll show up on photos as well as appear in mirrors. The spell will never fade!" Xander said happily to Angel.

Angel smiled back and hugged his lover with their son in between.
They calmly washed themselves and William before slowly stepping out of the tub. They dried themselves and the small boy, calmly arguing about the clothes they should let William dress for his birthday party.

Angel was curious to know how well the party would go. Amongst the invitations sent out for the party, he had not only invited Gunn's friends as well as the Oracles. He hadn't expected the higher beings to actually say yes to his invitation to join the party and had kept it a secret from the others, even Xander.

Xander knew he was in for trouble today, he had invited D'Hoffryn to William's party. Anya had wanted to include the demon in their family at the time of their wedding. Xander wanted to grant that wish to his former fiancŽe even though she wasn't there anymore. He hoped there wouldn't be too much of a commotion when D'Hoffryn showed up.


*****

As Gunn and Wesley entered their apartment, Gunn took the framed photos from his lover and placed them next to the photo of his younger sister. A small cross lay between the frames. God would protect them.

The hunter guided his lover to the bathroom and undressed his unresisting lover. The hunter had never blamed Wesley for what happened and after a period of time the others had accepted Wesley back into their group. They had rebuilt the trust in each other, but he knew the Watcher still had nightmares about the event.

Wesley couldn't to do anything but stare at the photo Xander had given him. It was the only photo that had ever been made of him and Connor. It was taken the night that Cordelia, Fred, Gunn and Angel had to fight a demon and he had been left behind to research and babysit. Instead of researching, he had been playing and cooing with Connor. He remembered the flash; Lorne had taken the photo.

Gunn stepped under the spray, taking Wesley with him. Only then did Wesley snap out of his thoughts and cry on Gunn's shoulder. They stayed like this for quite some time before they washed themselves and dressed up for William's birthday.


*****


Andrew walked Fred to her room and was about to walk back to his when he felt Fred stopping him.

"Please come in, Andrew," Fred invited.

"Are you sure?" Andrew questioned.

"Yes, I am," Fred replied before kissing him lightly on the lips.

Andrew stepped inside Fred's room and closed the door. He walked towards the beautiful woman and embraced her again.

Fred looked Andrew in the eyes and kissed him again, watching his reaction to her kiss. She was pleased to find him kissing her back and she closed her eyes, putting her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened.

The normally shy woman stopped the kiss before taking his hand and guiding him towards the bathroom. "Shower with me?" she asked while blushing.

Andrew wasn't sure he heard her correctly, but when she blushed he confirmed her question. "Yes, I would love to."

They undressed each other gently before stepping into the shower. Andrew grabbed the loofa and soap before soaping her body, tracing her curves.

Fred couldn't believe she was showering with a man she had just met. But it felt so right to do this with Andrew and the young man was so gentle with her, she knew she had made the right choice. When she decided she was clean she repeated the soaping on Andrew's body.

She explored his body and when she reached his abdomen she noticed he was enjoying it as well. He was larger than Gunn, she thought when she watched his hard cock.

Andrew pushed himself under the spray to rinse the soap, he hoped it would soften his cock a bit. The man didn't want to scare Fred and he jumped when he felt a small hand stroking his cock.

"Fred?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you want this?"

"I'm certain. This feels right like we're destined to each other."

"I know, I feel the same."

Fred didn't say anything more and continued stroking the hard cock in front of her.

Andrew on his turn placed his hands on Fred's small breasts. He noticed they fit perfectly in his hands and squeezed the nipples softly. He smiled when he heard her panting, pleased to find out her nipples were very sensitive. He trailed his fingertips along her body until it reached her vagina. Still watching her face, he slowly placed his fingers on her clit before moving downwards towards her entrance.

Fred was enjoying Andrew's touches and pumped the cock in her hand harder. She smiled evilly when he jumped slightly and his hips started pushing forward. She gasped when one of his fingers entered her vagina.

Andrew wanted to go slow, but they didn't have much time. He took her clit between two fingers and put his other hand on her right breast.

Fred pumped the cock more tightly into her fist. She felt proud when Andrew screamed her name when he orgasmed, his semen spraying her hand and stomach before the spray washed it away.

Andrew felt himself coming and squeezed her clit. He smiled when he heard her shouting his name when she came.

They sagged against each other before shutting off the water and stepping out of the shower.

Andrew looked at his clothes and quickly dried himself before dressing. His clothes were still in his guest room. "I'll dress and I will pick you up within a few moments. Make yourself beautiful, princess," Andrew whispered in Fred's ear before exiting her room and walking towards his own.

Fred blushed at the nickname and stood in front of her closet to see what she would wear for William's birthday.


*****


Giles carried his girlfriend upstairs, she was too emotional to walk up the stairs without falling down. Xander had shocked the A.I. team extremely.

"Delia? Let's shower before attending William's birthday," Giles suggested before undressing her. Then he undressed himself and guided his lover into the shower.

Cordelia snapped out of her thoughts when she was pushed under the warm spray.

Giles kissed her deeply before taking the soap. He cleaned her body until Cordelia took the bar of soap away from him and started washing her older lover thoroughly. She grinned evilly when she took his hard cock in her hand and began stroking it softly.

Giles moaned, Cordelia was stroking his cock in an increasingly faster and harder rhythm until he came over her hand. He kissed her before kneeling down to start licking her clit. He slowly pushed two fingers inside her vagina while sucking her clit. He kept punishing her genitalia with increasing force and speed until he felt her on the edge of climax. He took her swollen clit between his teeth and bit it gently.

Cordelia felt herself coming and her legs gave out, no longer able to hold her up. She leaned onto Giles, trusting him to pick her up out of the tub and shut the water. They stepped out of the bathroom and dressed themselves.

Giles took the presents that they had bought for William and together they walked downstairs to see that Dawn, Buffy, Willow, Faith, Andrew and Fred were already downstairs, getting everything ready for William's first party.

***William's birthday - 12.30 p.m.***

William was watching his parents dress each other before turning to him. He watched how his daddy took a new set of jeans from the closet and kneeled before the little boy.

"Happy birthday, William!" Xander said to his son.

Blue eyes peered up at Xander before looking at the jeans his father was holding.

"Papa, me?" William asked while pointing at the jeans.

"Yes, these jeans are for you to wear," Angel answered.

In remembrance of Spike, the two adults had chosen a pair of black pants with a red shirt, the blond vampire's favourite colours. The little black boots completed the outfit.

William was placed in front of the large mirror after he was dressed. The little boy looked at himself and said "'Liam", after seeing his reflection again. He crawled closer to the mirror and pressed his hands against the glass before standing up with ease.

"Look!" Xander whispered to Angel.

Both men watched their son standing proudly in front of the mirror, looking at them with great interest.

William turned around and faced his parents. They weren't close by and the little boy wanted to be with them. He placed a foot forward, swayed a bit but nevertheless placed his other foot in front of the other. He stepped a little faster and William noticed he was getting closer to his parents. The little boy giggled when he saw he stood in front of his parents.

Xander and Angel watched their son taking his first steps before walking faster towards them.

Angel smiled and picked William up before spinning him around. "You can walk!" the vampire exclaimed happily.

William squealed happily. He loved being spinned around the room, it made him feel dizzy. He blinked when he saw a flash. His daddy had taken a photo again. The little boy wanted to be on the ground and began bouncing on his mother's arm.

Angel placed him on the ground before standing next to his son. He offered his hand while Xander did the same at the other side.

William looked at his parents' hands before placing his own hands into the offered ones. Together, they slowly made their way downstairs where the guests were waiting for the birthday boy.


****


Minus the birthday boy and his parents, everyone sat downstairs, placing the presents on the table.

They were startled when a couple appeared in the middle of the lobby.

"Greetings," a bluish female greeted.

Wesley and Giles were shocked to see the oracles standing in front of them. They had seen pictures of the sibblings in many prophecy books, but the higher beings were rarely seen by humans.

"Hello," Wesley and Giles said in unison, too stunned to say anything else.

"Where is William?" the male asked.

"You're here for William?" Cordelia asked, amused at the rare sight of her lover gaping at the duo. She herself was surprised to see them, but somehow it felt natural for them to be there. After all, they were the ones who had given Spike a new life.

"It is his birthday, isn't it? We were invited by our Champion," the female said.

"Your Champion? Oh, Angel invited you?" Fred asked, repeated the words. "Well, have a seat. We are waiting as well," the woman invited them.

"Thank you," the male answered while inclining his head. The divine duo sat down on the offered seats.

Another demon suddenly appeared in the lobby, dressed as usual in a thick white/greyish robe.

"D'Hoffryn," Giles said, leaning against his lover. Will there be more surprises?

"Hello, Mr. Giles. I see, we meet again!" the demon greeted the watcher who had taken his daughter under his wing. "Xander has invited me to his son's birthday party."

"Please sit down. Would you like something to drink?" Fred offered, not seeing the stunned looks her friends gave her. She kept glancing at Andrew who was smiling at her constantly.

The Sunnydale and the A.I. gang were spread across the lobby, watching the demons warily while Fred was happily playing host, too distracted by Andrew's interest in her to be worried about the unexpected appearance of a vengeance demon and two Oracles.


*****


Angel and Xander were too busy walking slowly down the stairs with William to notice their surprise guests had arrived. They didn't want their son to fall down.

William looked at the stairs and slowly placed his right foot on the step before he let his left foot join it. He held his mommy and daddy's hands tightly. Step by step, he carefully walked down to the lobby.

Everybody heard a giggle and looked up to see William in the middle of the staircase, standing between his fathers while taking his first steps.

After about ten minutes, the little boy was finally standing downstairs. The gang couldn't help themselves and applauded William's feat loudly. The birthday boy smiled and clapped his hands himself. Angel looked up to see his honour guests had arrived. "You came!" the vampire whispered.

The vampire picked up his son and walked towards the Oracles. "I'd like you to meet my son William," Angel introduced.

Both the female and male being were pleased to be introduced to the small child and smiled when William started clapping his hands. He stopped when the male being touched his hands and looked at his mommy.

Xander looked around the lobby and noticed D'Hoffryn. He took William from Angel and slowly made his way to his former girlfriend's father and boss.

"D'Hoffryn, thank you for accepting my invitation," Xander started before introducing his son. "I'd like you to meet my son William."

William watched the demon with interest. He reached out with his hand and touched the demon's white beard while giggling.

Everyone held their breath, unsure of what the demon would do to the little boy who had dared to touch him. They were shocked to see the demon smile widely.

"May I hold him?" D'Hoffryn asked, interested in the small innocent child. The little boy had softened his heart with his smile and giggles, reminding him of Anya's joy the first time she performed her vengeance.

"Yes, of course," Xander replied and handed William to the demon.

Angel watched the conversation between Xander and D'Hoffryn and walked towards them. He greeted D'Hoffryn and stood behind Xander just to make sure the demon wouldn't hurt his son. However, after a few minutes, the vampire was surprised to verify that the demon was completely taken by their son.

William was still busy exploring the demon's beard when he heard someone singing "Happy birthday to you". He looked up and saw Dawn singing while holding a beautiful birthday cake .

Dawn had left the lobby to collect the cake; she couldn't wait any longer to see William's surprised face. Everybody followed Dawn's example and started singing along.

William clapped his hands excitedly when his parents and the other guests joined the singing. He reached out for his mommy and D'Hoffryn placed the birthday boy in his mother's arms.

Angel watched his son looking at everyone with interest. But that interest changed when he was placed in front of the cake.

"Blow out the candle!" Buffy exclaimed, while watching the blond boy looking fascinated at the cake.

Xander stood behind his son and showed William how to blow out the candle. But the little boy wasn't interested in the candle and placed his right hand on top of the cake while Xander hurriedly removed the candle.

Angel removed William's hand and licked away the cake and sweetness. He grinned when it earned him a squeal from William.

"Me?" William asked while placing his left hand on the cake.

"Yes, the cake is for you, but let us give the others a piece first before you mess up the entire cake," Xander answered.

William watched curiously how his father pulled out plates and sliced up his cake, placing pieces of cake on the plates, to give to the guests. "ME!" William stated angrily.

"Uhm...Xander? Did he just tell you that the cake is his?" Willow asked smiling.

"Yeah, he did. Be glad it's just the word 'me' and not 'no'," Xander answered.

"No?" William repeated his father's word.

Willow and Angel laughed out loudly at the boy's repetition of the unwelcome word.

"Great!" Xander muttered to himself.

When everyone had been served a piece of cake, he placed a blue bib around William's neck so the boy couldn't mess up his clothing. They were already lucky, he hadn't smeared any cake with his dirty little hands.

"Yes, William, the rest is yours," Xander said while giving his son a small fork. He showed William how to use it before giving it to him.

William looked at the fork, then at the cake before dropping the fork and putting cake in his mouth with his hands.

The guests and family had been eating the cake while observing Xander's explanation . They were curious to see how well the new object would be accepted by the small boy. Everyone laughed at William's refusal to use the fork and the resulting sight of a cake-smeared child at the table, much to Xander's frustration.

"Oh, yeah. He understood your explanation of the fork," the male part of the Oracles said.

The female part of the duo, D'Hoffryn, Buffy, Dawn, Andrew and Willow laughed at the words while Giles, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Fred and Angel looked surprised at the relaxed duo.

"What?" the male asked when he noticed the looks he received. "I can't be relaxed when I'm not doing my job?"

"Sorry, we just never saw you like this," Angel apologized for their behaviour.

"Okay, present time!" Xander announced.

"P'ents?" William repeated the word.

"Yes, presents for our boy," Angel said to his son.

"Here's your first," Buffy said, while handing a large box to the boy. It was beautifully wrapped and had a large blue ribbon on top.

Xander took the gift and handed it to William, curious to see what William would do with it.

The boy stared at the box in his hands before placing it on the table and looked at his father.

"You have to unwrap it, William," Xander explained before tearing the paper a little for William to finish it.

William watched his father tear his box and was about to stop him until he saw something yellow peeking from behind the paper. Excited, he started helping his papa by tearing the paper further.

"Yes, that's it," Xander said and pulled back his hands to leave William to do it on his own.

William pushed away the paper before looking curiously at the pretty pictures on the box. Angel stepped forward and went to open the box to let William see his new toy.

"You got Lego(tm), William," Angel said to William who had pulled out the plastic bag with the colourful blocks.

"Ego?" William asked.

"Yes, Lego(tm). You can build towers and many other shaped with these blocks," Buffy explained, watching the boy examine the bag.

Xander pulled the bag out of his son's hands and placed it back in the box. He placed the box aside before taking the next present.

"ME!" William cried out angrily as he tried to reach for his box.

"Yes, it's yours. I'm just putting it aside so you can open the next present," Xander answered and dried the tears that were already falling down his son's cheeks.

The tears were gone as soon as William noticed all the other presents that lay on the table. He squealed and reached out his hands, demanding to be handed another present.

Dawn quickly obeyed and handed the boy another present. It was almost 5 p.m. when all their friends' gifts were unwrapped. Angel walked away, only to reappear with a large box in his arms.

During the unwrapping of the presents, dinner had arrived and everyone was eating as they watched William. Cordelia had called a restaurant that morning to deliver Chinese and Japenese food. She was glad when she saw their unexpected guests were eating it as well.

Xander and William unwrapped Angel's gift. The little boy was staring at the box, not really understanding what was in it. Xander picked up the boy and asked Angel to open it.

Angel emptied the box and placed the yellow toddler car on the ground. His lover handed William to the vampire so that he could place their son behind the car's steering wheel.

William was sitting in the car and watched his parents walking away. His bottom lip pouted, because he wanted to be with his mommy but instead of crying, he pressed himself forward trying to reach Angel. He was surprised when the car moved forward. He sat back and leaned forward again, feeling his feet were pushed back. He pulled his feet forward again and pushed them back. He was moving! And it made him get closer to his mommy.

Angel watched William proudly and yelped when the toddler hit his legs.

"Mama," William said.

"Visit your daddy!" Angel said, while pointing at Xander who was standing near the stairs, hoping his son would go.

"Papa," William said when he saw his daddy wasn't near him. He carefully turned his little car around and started driving towards Xander.

Xander smiled widely at his son driving and remembered how recklessly Spike used to drive. He hoped that he would be able to teach William how to be more careful.

"Angel, he's very smart for a 1 year old. He isn't going to be like normal boys, is he?" Buffy asked.

"He will be a normal boy, just a fast learner," Angel growled, defending his son. He didn't like the way Buffy was taling about his son.

"Stop growling at Buffy, Angel. She didn't mean to be negative about William," Xander warned his scowling lover.

"Mama grr!" William exclaimed when he heard his mommy growling.

"Yes, William. Mommy was growling," the vampire confirmed to his son.

"He knows you're a vampire?" Willow questioned.

""Yes, some days I soothe him when he's crying by showing him my gameface, just like I did with Connor," Angel explained. Talking about Connor was still hard, but he knew he would never be able to forget his first son.

"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed, while the rest of the group just nodded their heads. William had to know his mother was a vampire. Judging by his relaxed attitude, the boy already thought it was something natural. However, his parents would have to warn him about the danger of meeting other vampires.


***10 p.m.***


William was getting tired of playing but he didn't want to sleep. He walked towards his daddy and smiled at his parents who were looking at him proudly.

Xander picked up his son and pressed him against his chest. He knew the boy was tired and didn't want to go to bed yet.

"Will you be celebrating Halloween?" Andrew asked curiously. He and Fred had already decided he wouldn't be leaving L.A. The young man would stay with Fred.

"We haven't thought about that yet. I'm not sure if he's old enough to recognize it, but perhaps it would be fun," Xander responded while looking at his sleeping son. "Let me put our birthday boy in bed."

Angel followed him upstairs to take their son to bed.

William was fast asleep; he didn't wake up when his father undressed him and his mother changed him into his blue pyjamas. Angel pulled back the blankets while Xander placed him under it and tucked him in.

"Well, this will be a first time, we don't have to read a story," Angel said and kissed his lover deeply. "Happy five month anniversary."

Xander kissed back, but had to end the kiss to breathe. They looked at William; the boy was fast asleep under the blankets. A kiss was given on his forehead before they exited the room and rejoined their guests in the lobby.

"We have to leave. Thank you for inviting us," the oracles said in unison before disappearing.

D'Hoffryn, as well, had decided to leave. "I would wish to come more often. Is that okay?" the demon asked Xander and Angel.

"Yes, of course. Anya would have loved you to be a part of our family and I do want to grant her that wish," Xander said shyly.

D'Hoffryn nodded his head, placed his hand on Xander's shoulder for comfort before disappearing, leaving only sparkles in its place.

"Well, that went well, didn't it?" Xander asked his lover.

"Yes, it did. We made some more friends," Angel said while yawning.

"Let's get some sleep. Goodnight everyone, see you tomorrow," Xander announced before taking his lover's hand and guiding him upstairs.

Xander watched Angel walk towards the bathroom and he quickly looked under the bed to see if his box of toys was still under it. The young man knew his lover was too tired now but Xander was determined to use them in the morning.

"Angel, I forgot something downstairs. I'll be right back," Xander called out before stepping out of the room, not waiting for Angel's answer.

Xander saw Cordelia and Giles walking towards their room and stopped them. "Could you two look after William in the morning? I want to give Angel his surprise, but I have to be sure William won't interrupt us now that he can walk," he explained to the couple in hushed voice.

"Yes, of course we can, son," Giles answered and smiled at the flush that suddenly appeared on Xander's face. Apparently the young man enjoyed being called that way.

"Have fun!" Cordelia said as she opened their bedroom door.

"Thanks, Cordelia, Dad," Xander thanked the couple and went back to his room, not noticing the look Giles sent him. He hadn't been able to resist calling Giles dad.

"He called me Dad," Giles said dreamily to Cordelia.

"Gah! That means I'm his mother!" Cordelia exclaimed and dragged her lover into the room before closing the door.


*****


Xander entered their bedroom to see Angel had fallen asleep without him. He must have been really tired. The young man undressed himself, laid down under the blankets and hugged the larger man to his chest. He couldn't help but smile at the naughty things he would do to his lover the next morning.

***Halloween - 9 p.m.***

Angel and Xander were watching William driving around. Ever since he got the toddler car for his birthday, the boy had been driving through the entire hotel.

"William, let's get going!" Xander announced, stopping William from driving further.

"No!" William exclaimed and pouted when he watched his father looking sternly at him.

"William, are you ready for trick and treating?" Wesley called out when he and Gunn entered the lobby.

"T'ik 'n T'eat?" William questioned when he looked at his Uncle Wesley.

"AHHHH!" Cordelia shrieked. She had just entered the lobby with her lover, to rejoin their friends after their usual afternoon nap.

Four men jumped towards her, thinking she had a vision, while Giles stood behind her laughing.

"William? Is that you?" Cordelia asked the little boy.

The woman stepped towards the tiny vampire and kneeled down. "You scared me. Don't do that again, okay?" Cordelia said to the boy.

William looked up and laughed, showing everybody his fake fangs. With some glamour spells, Giles had transformed the toddler into a small vampire.

"Me 'ampir!" William told Cordelia and squealed when his mother lifted him and spun him in the air.

"Angel, as what are you going trick and treating?" Giles asked the vampire who was currently spinning his son.

"Mama, 'ampir! Papa, 'ampir!" William squealed from happiness.

Apparentely every member of the family had asked Giles to change them into a vampire.

"So, we're a vampire family, huh?" Gunn said, when he realised their entire family had changed into a vampire gang.

The group was startled when the Oracles and D'Hoffryn suddenly appeared in the lobby, in the midst of a blinding flash of blue light.

"Blue! Blus!" William called out as soon as he was placed onto the floor. He quickly ran to the Oracles. He hugged Blue's legs, the male part of the duo before hugging Blus, the female sibling.

"Blue?" the male sibling asked curiously.

"Blus?" the female sibling asked as well.

Xander blushed when he heard his son calling the siblings those names.

"Well, we didn't know how to call you, so we were trying out some names and William kinda decided he liked those names and started calling you that," Wesley shyly explained.

"Gandda," William said before hugging the demon's legs. He looked up at the demon and smiled, before running back to his father.

D'Hoffryn watched the boy and was pleasantly surprised to hear the boy had given him a name as well. "He has just called me granddad," D'Hoffryn stated, not really sure what to say. He had never been anyone's grandfather before.

"We wanted him to have a second grandfather," Angel answered, amazed that his son remembered the conversation he had witnessed about Anya's boss. It was Xander's wish to let William call the demon granddad. Apparently, William recalled the demon's name and had used the word 'granddad' correctly.

"Shall we go then?" D'Hoffryn offered. He normally doesn't do Halloween, but for the little boy he was willing to make an exception. The boy had stolen away his heart and he admired Xander's care to uphold his promise to Anya.

The strange group entered the streets to see many families trailing behind their children from door to door.

William watched the other children and was already walking to one of the doors. He looked behind him and saw his parents watching him. He smiled brightly and knocked on the door, the way his mommy had taught him. He watched the door opening and growled. "T'ick 'n T'eat!"

The old woman had seen William playing before as she sometimes entered the lobby just to watch the boy. She placed her hand in front of her mouth and pretended to be scared. "Oh my god, a vampire! What do you want?" she asked.

"'Andy!" William exclaimed happily and held out his hands.

The woman smiled and grabbed a handful of the sweet candy she had hidden behind her door. She handed it carefully to William who clutched the candy and quickly ran back to his parents. She closed the door and waited for the next child to knock.

Xander watched proudly how William bravely stepped forward to the next door. Everybody had already noticed that William was a fast learning. He remembered words that been said and could almost pronounce the words correctly. But he still acted like his age even though he could walk very easily and he picked up words he wasn't supposed to hear.

Angel smiled as his boy demanded more candy. He watched William running back, his hands full of bonbons, lollypops, and other sweets. He opened the bag he had in his hands and let his son dump the candy in there. Angel offered his hand, so they could walk together.

William placed his hand in his mother's before taking Angel to the next house. He looked up but didn't go to the door. The house was looming up and looked scary. He watched other children avoid the house and wanted to walk away from it rather than knocking on it.

Gunn and Wesley noticed the scared looks of William as well as the other children and looked at the house. They offered their hands to William who slowly pulled out his hand from his mother and took the offered hands.

The threesome walked towards the house and stopped in front of the door. Wesley knocked and waited for the door to open. The ex-watcher looked back at the others, surprised to see more families had gathered with their family.

Gunn had seen the families as well and watched careful how the door opened to reveal a young couple who looked down at William.

William whimpered. This house was making him feel scared and he hid behind his uncle Gunn's legs holding tightly on the pants' legs.

The woman kneeled down and smiled. "Can I see your face, little boy?" she asked. She sensed humans and her stomach growled from hunger. She needed to feed soon.

William started crying and when the woman reached out, he screamed from fright. The little boy could feel his little body vibrating with danger signs. It seemed like he was being pricked by hundreds of tiny needles.


Angel and Xander had watched their son's reaction to the lady and quickly walked towards their son. Angel picked up William who was now kicking and screaming loudly from fright, not even noticing his mother's comforting presence. "William, it's mommy," Angel spoke softly. The kicking stopped and William hung tightly around his neck.

Wesley looked suspiciously at the couple and couldn't help but feel shivers running down his spine. The woman looked friendly as well as the male who was standing behind the woman. But the moment he heard growling coming from Angel he knew something was wrong with the couple.

Gunn dragged Wesley away from the house when Xander and Angel took their son back to the family.


*****


"You scared them away...again!" Dave accused his wife.

"There were too many adults with the boy," Lia defended herself. "If we want to eat, we have to find children who are alone."

"They will never be alone now. We have to move to a different town or wait a few weeks, until they have forgotten Halloween," Dave stated.

"We wait then, I'm not moving again," Lia answered irritated.


*****


"William, what did you feel?" D'Hoffryn softly asked the crying boy. He too had felt the danger coming from the house the moment the door opened.

William looked up to see he was safe with his family. "scar'd, hurt me," he whispered and hid his face against his mother's neck.

"William, let's visit other houses before going back home. I need you to protect me," Fred said, hoping it would distract the boy from the house. It worked.

"Mama, down," William said. The moment he stood on his little legs, he ran to Fred and took her hand, tears all gone. More children gathered with William to visit the next house. Andrew followed his girlfriend.

While the families introduced themselves, the group of seven children, Andrew and Fred walked to the next house, knocking on the door. The children stood closer to Fred and Andrew while the door opened. A smiling witch with a bag of candy greeted the children.

"T'ick 'n T'eat!" William called out and held out his hand as he eyed the bag.

The woman smiled and handed William some candy as well as the others before closing the door again.

"Mama, see!" William squealed when he ran back with his hands full of candy, like nothing had happened before at the other house.

"Wow! That's a lot of candy," Angel responded, taking the candy from his son's hand and placing it in the bag.


***11.30 p.m.***


William was tired. He had collected a bag full of candy and he had even made some friends. He was now holding hands with a girl his own age and was chatting sleepily, while they were walking home.

Liza was happy she had finally found a friend in this city. She was listening to William chatting about his house, when they were scooped up from behind. She was startled but relieved to see her daddy had picked her up. He looked angry. Why?

William yelped when he was suddenly in the air and looked behind him. His father was looking sternly at him. He pouted, knowing he had done something wrong, but didn't know what.

"William, don't walk away from the grown-ups. What would you have done if you lost us?" Xander questioned his son, who looked adorable by pouting his lower lip.

William didn't know what to answer and instead hugged his father's neck, hoping he wouldn't be punished for it.

"Liza, don't walk away," Richard said worried. "I don't want to lose you."

Liza nodded her head and closed her eyes. Richard smiled and hugged his daughter before walking back to the large group of parents.

Giles watched his son walk back to them and decided it was time for them to return home. "Guys, let's get back home."

Richard said goodbye to his new friends and walked back home. Entering his home, he walked Liza to her bedroom en prepared her to go to bed. His wife's death had been hard for both of them. After finding himself a new job in L.A., they had moved to the City of Angels.

Richard smiled at Liza's sleeping face. His daughter had enjoyed herself very much and he was glad she had found a friend to play with. Being very smart for her age, finding friends had proved to be difficult. Now she had found William, who was as developed as she was. He tucked her in and locked the house before going to bed.


*****


The family entered the hotel. Xander said goodnight to everyone and carried a sleeping William back to his room with Angel following closely behind.

"He had a good time hadn't he?" Xander asked his lover, who was undressing his son.

"Yes, he had. I'm glad he found a friend," Angel softly replied.

"Liza is such a bright girl for her age, just like William," Xander said, staring at his son. "Angel, I'm still worried about that strange couple. What could be wrong with them? Did you manage to sense anything?"

"I don't know, but we have to find out. They are living too close for William's safety," Angel responded. "Why don't we research it tomorrow with the others?"

"Okay," Xander replied and kissed his son goodnight before stepping into their bedroom.

Angel gave his son a kiss before following his lover. He stepped behind Xander and hugged him tightly. He was tired and sensed Xander was tired as well. He undressed the young man before undressing himself.

Xander sighed when Angel tucked him in. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He snuggled against Angel when his lover laid next to him.

The vampire looked at Xander and smiled. He had the family he had always wanted. A lover who could still surprise him and a beautiful little boy who bewildered him with his sharp intelligence or his cheeky repetition of the words 'Mama kiss' whenever he caught his parents kissing each other. Sometimes the vampire had the impression he could see glimpses of the old Spike shining in William's bright sapphire eyes. Angel closed his eyes and fell asleep.

***24th December***

Angel looked around the lobby and smiled sappily. The Christmas tree was being decorated by Xander and two toddlers who wanted to put the sparkling Christmas balls everywhere but at the places Xander picked.

Richard, the little girl's father, laughed at the children's antics. He was seated in one of the many comfortable chairs in the lobby, watching Liza and William. The children had become bestest friends and never left each other alone for very long.

Richard and Liza were now both living at the Hyperion as Angel's guests. Two weeks after Halloween their home had been thrashed by demons and they had been saved by the AI team. After this incident, Richard had found out about the demons and monsters that lurked in the night. He had also accepted that not all demons were dangerous after Xander's explanation about Angel. Having lost most of their possessions, Angel had offered Richard and Liza a place at the hotel and they had never left. They became part of the family.

The others were spread around the lobby watching the two children giving directions at Xander, who obeyed to their demands where to place the Christmas balls. At Christmas time demon activity always decreased and gave them the opportunity to enjoy a quiet night of relaxation.

Giles and Cordelia were seated on the couch across from Xander and Angel. The British man was reading Dickens' Christmas Carol aloud to his girlfriend, still appalled by the young American's statement that she had never read the original story but had watched the movie many times. Fred and Andrew were snuggled on another couch, listening to the older man reading the classic tale in his rich accented voice.

Wesley and Gunn were seated on some pillows near the tree. Gunn was playing some Christmas tunes on his guitar while trying not to get distracted by the teasing words Wesley whispered in his ear from time to time.

"Mommy!" William called out.

Angel looked at his son, stood up and walked towards the toddler. "What is it, William?"

"Tree pretty!" William exclaimed while pointing his finger at the decorated tree.

"Yes, the tree is beautiful. You and Liza did a good job," Angel responded and hugged the toddler before sitting on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Xander asked worried. Angel hadn't responded very enthusiastically about the tree. He sat next to Angel on the large couch and placed his right arm over the vampire's shoulders.

"Just a bit tired and dizzy," Angel responded, his eyes already closing. Angel snuggled into Xander's embrace and leaned his head on Xander's shoulder before falling asleep.

"Angel?" Xander said softly, surprised when he witnessed Angel falling deeply asleep. He shook his lover gently; however, Angel wouldn't wake up. "Angel?" Xander started to panic, shaking the vampire more vigorously but without any success.

"Xander, what's wrong?" Giles questioned when he heard Xander's panicked voice.

"Angel won't wake up. He just fell asleep on my shoulder and he never sleeps at this hour," Xander explained very worried.

Wesley picked up William before the toddler would cry. The boy always cried when something happened to one of his parents even if they just hit their toes against the furniture or accidentally bumped their heads.

"Mommy?" William whispered tearfully. He had sensed his father's panic and looked at his mommy. Angel was fast asleep and the boy felt scared. His mommy was usually a light sleeper, a soft word or a cry from William were usually enough to wake him up.

"Mommy will be fine. He just needs his sleep, like you do at night," Wesley said, trying to reassure him.

Xander placed Angel's head on his lap and waited impatiently for his father to call Dr. Mitch Hunter. Dr. Hunter was an experienced doctor, qualified to deal with human and demon illnesses. After one of Cordelia's nastier visions, Giles had called for the doctor and the man had accepted to become their family doctor. Mitch arrived quickly and walked straight towards Angel.

"Xander, has he fought any unusual demons lately?" Mitch asked curiously, after examining the sleeping vampire. He had never seen a vampire in this particular condition before. However, he knew Angel wasn't a run-of-the-mill vampire and that he was protected by the PTB. Maybe the impossible was possible after all.

"Yes, we fought a Kran demon one month ago. A particular vicious demon but few reports on his species are available. I've been researching ancient scrolls and books but they have not been very forthcoming," Wesley answered instead.

"What have you found about Kran demons so far?" Mitch questioned, curious to know what the group knew about this demon. He already knew what the effects on another demon were.

"Nothing much, only some vague references to it being an ancient species with unspecified magical properties. " Wesley replied.

"Besides Angel, has anyone else been in contact with this demon's blood?" Mitch questioned.

"Uhm...Giles, Wesley and I did," Andrew answered curiously.

"Did you have intercourse after that?" Mitch continued questioning.

The couples turned bright red at that question and it answered the doctor's questions before he bluntly stated, "Kran demon's blood is fertile!"

Silence.

"Angel is pregnant?" Xander questioned softly when he realised what the doctor was implying.

Mitch chanted a few words and everyone witnessed the dot above Angel's lying form.

"Good Lord!" Wesley and Giles muttered in unison.

"Does that mean one of us could be pregnant as well?" Gunn asked curiously, already looking at his lover's stomach and gently placing his hand on it.

"Only male couples. The blood only has effect on gay couples. We don't know why yet, but so far only male couples have ended up pregnant after getting the demon's blood on them," Mitch responded. "Do you want me to check you as well?"

Wesley looked at Gunn and smiled. Would they be so lucky? "Yes, please," Wesley answered and watched with fascination how a blue screen appeared above Wesley and Gunn's stomach.

William looked from his uncle's stomach to the screen and didn't understand what he was seeing. He looked at his dad and wanted to be with his parents. He tapped on Wesley's stomach to get the man's attention.

Wesley looked from the small dot on his screen to William and noticed the teary eyes of the little boy. He stood up and carried William to Xander.

"Daddy, Angel come mommy?" Liza asked her father. Her sweet voice seemed loud in the silent room.

"Yes, I believe that's what the doctor is telling us. And not only Angel, but Wesley as well," Richard responded while staring in awe at the magic screens.

"Mommy!" William suddenly cried out. He didn't understand what the conversation was about, but his mother still hadn't woken up.

Xander looked up and took William from Wesley. "William, you have to be quiet. Mommy is sleeping," Xander said.

"Mommy sleeping?" William whispered while petting his mother's hair.

"Yes, mommy is sleeping," Xander replied.

Gunn hugged his lover. They were going to become parents. He gently placed his hand on Wesley's stomach and smiled. "We're going to be parents."

Wesley laughed softly, already seeing a little boy or girl playing with Angel's youngest.


*****


Angel woke up and was surprised to see his family and the doctor hovering around him. "What happened?" he asked curiously.

"Mommy sleeping!" William answered and hugged Angel.

Angel sat up and took William in his arms before hugging his son tightly. "I was sleeping? Why? I didn't notice anything?" Angel asked his lover.

"Angel, I have examined you and explained to the others what's wrong with you," Mitch answered instead.

"Something's wrong with me?" Angel asked in a panic, before looking at the doctor.

Xander took Angel's hand in his own and squeezed it softly before telling his lover the 'good' news. "Angel, sweetheart, you're pregnant. We're going to have a child."

"Huh?"

"You're pregnant, " Xander repeated, still finding it hard to believe the news himself.

Angel laughed loudly, amused by this ridiculous notion. " Xander, I'm a vampire. A male vampire, that is. Male vampires don't get pregnant."

"Remember the Kran demon?" Xander questioned.

"Yeah? What about it?" Angel replied, convinced his family was just playing some elaborate joke on him. Cordelia and Xander were always complaining he didn't have a sense of humour.

"Kran blood makes their victim fertile for three days. You must have had intercourse with someone in order for you to get pregnant, which seems logical to me," Mitch explained, trying to choose the right words because of the two smart toddlers in the room.

"Angel come Mommy!" Liza exclaimed happily again, seated on her father's lap.

William looked at his mother and still didn't understand what Liza was talking about. He was worried about his mommy; his grandfather had called the doctor, which meant something was wrong.

Angel noticed his little boy looking at him sadly and finally realised the faint heartbeat he was hearing didn't belong to William. A tiny heartbeat reverberated inside him. He was pregnant! William was going to have a brother or a sister. "William, you're getting a baby brother or baby sister."

"Baby?" William questioned while looking at his mother's belly. He and Liza had heard the older children at the babysitter's house explaining where babies came from.

"Yes, mommy has a baby in there," Xander replied before placing his son's hand on top of Angel's belly.

"When out?" William asked curiously.

"He is due in August," Xander replied and kissed his lover deeply before pulling back.

"We're going to have a baby!" Angel whispered in awe. Besides Connor and William, he was going to have another child.

"I want brother!" William exclaimed, happily bouncing on his mommy's lap.


**Midnight**


Liza and William were sitting next to each other, waiting for Santa Claus to come. Their fathers had explained that the man would only show up at midnight to deliver the presents. So here they were, sitting sleepily on the couch with their family watching them with a smile.

"HO, HO, HO!" Suddenly a loud voice echoed through the lobby and the two toddlers' eyes widened when a white bearded man came into sight. The stout man entered the lobby with a heavy bag on his shoulders and placed it next to the Christmas tree before turning around.

"Santa!" Liza called out.

"Santa?" William whispered, getting a bit scared by the large man towering above him.

"You must be William and Liza. Why aren't you in bed?" Santa asked, looking sternly at the family who was delighted by the children's reaction.

"Want see you," Liza answered, while William continued staring at the man, mouth and eyes wide open.

Xander stood up and placed William in his lap where the little boy snuggled against his father's side. "Don't be afraid, William. This is Santa," Xander introduced his son.

"William, I can't place the presents under the tree if you aren't asleep yet," Santa said, while crouching in front of the boy.

William found the man less intimidating now that he was almost at his eye level. He leaned forward and touched the beard, causing several family members to laugh as they remembered how William used to do that with D'Hoffryn.

Xander watched William playing with Santa's beard until he heard Liza telling her father she needed to go to bed.

Angel noticed how William looked up at that and leaned back against Xander. "William, are you ready to say goodnight?"

William nodded his head and softly whispered 'Goodnight' to Santa Claus. He giggled when his mother swept him from his father's arms and carried him upstairs, closely followed by Xander, Richard and Liza.

While the parents with their children were upstairs, Cordelia stood up and walked to Santa Claus. "Thanks for doing this, Ethan."

Ethan chanted a few words and he was himself again. "You're welcome. Thank you, Ripper for helping me," he answered, smiling shyly.

Giles had found Ethan badly injured on one of their patrols and had taken him into his care. He had explained Cordelia about their former friendship and she had agreed to take the man under their wing. The man they were looking at was nothing compared to the chaos worshipper they had met in Sunnydale.


*****


"Dave, the male vampire is pregnant as well as the human male. If we get them, we will be stocked for about three years," Lia whispered to her husband while she watched through the window.

"And how are you planning to get them into our house? They're never alone," Dave whispered back angrily.

"We'll use the little boy," Lia said calmly. She had it all planned out.

***25th of December - 10 a.m.***

William and Liza were playing in the lobby, waiting for their parents to join them. Their parents had said it would only take a minute for them to come back. Neither of them saw the demon looking through the window.

Lia looked inside the hotel and only saw the two children playing. She opened the door, peeked inside before slowly making her way to the children. She stilled when she saw the boy looking at her. Before giving him a chance to scream, she swept him into her arms and rushed out of the hotel. She never looked back and just kept running until she was around the corner where her husband was waiting. She jumped in the car and Dave drove them to their house. Even though they lived nearby, they didn't want to be seen kidnapping a child.

William had started crying, screaming and kicking to get out of her arms. As soon as they arrived home, the woman let go of him and he immediately started searching for a way out by trying to open windows.

"Dave, take the little brat and secure him in the basement," Lia instructed.

Dave sighed and managed to grab the boy. He struggled to carry him downstairs, William was screaming and kicking again. When he reappeared in the living room, he wasn't feeling so good. "Lia, something's wrong with the boy. When I touched him, I felt something penetrate my skin."

"There's nothing wrong with him! I touched him as well, didn't I?" Lia denied.

"I feel sick. I'm telling you, something's wrong with that boy," Dave argued, before turning around and throwing up in the corner.

Lia watched her husband throwing up and frowned. She was starting to feel something crawling under her skin. The boy had stopped crying, so she went to the basement to check on him. "What the hell!" she exclaimed before collapsing on the floor from the pain that was wracking through her body. Huddled in a corner of the basement, William was glowing bright red.


***2 hours earlier***


The children were asleep when D'Hoffryn arrived at Angel's hotel. He had found information on the strange couple from Halloween. They were two demons that fed on children to survive, but pregnant males were even better as sustenance. D'Hoffryn was afraid for his grandson as well as the boy's mother.

The Oracles had shown up and offered their help. They came up with a plan to use a look-a-like William who happened to be a life-like puppet.

The family agreed and made one of Liza as well in case they wouldn't take the bait.

Xander was glad the two children wouldn't know a thing about this. While the others were working on the spell to accomplish the look-a-likes he watched his son sleeping deeply. He smiled when the boy placed his thumb in his mouth and continued sleeping. He kissed William on his forehead before joining the others.

Angel watched with concern how Wesley and Gunn placed the fake children in the lobby with their children's toys. As he looked at them, he couldn't help but think about his little boy. Why did everyone want to hurt his children? First Connor, now William, he didn't notice that he was crying until Xander wiped his tears away.

Meanwhile, the Oracles had made an invisible wall from them to stand behind it and watch what the couple would do. That way the demons wouldn't be able to see nor hear them. Gunn, who had been keeping watch outside the demons' house, had already warned them that the couple was on its way to the hotel.

Xander knew how Angel was feeling as they watched the two children. He took the taller man in his arms distracting them from the scene. They didn't see how the woman snuck inside and quickly grabbed their son. Angel cried louder when he heard the boy's screams even though the puppet wasn't his son.

"Did they buy it?" Xander asked curiously worried.

"Yeah, she took William," Wesley answered as he watched the woman take the boy.

"Now what?" Fred asked softly.

"As soon as they touch the child's skin, a poison will penetrate their skin. The poison will eat them alive," Blue, the female Oracle, explained.

"How do we know when they're dead?" Andrew asked curiously. He sat behind Fred and held her tenderly. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. The rest of their family was being very emotional as well. There's nothing scarier than a threat to the children, Andrew mused.

"This stone will turn red," Blus, the male Oracle, explained.

"What will happen to the children?" Angel questioned.

"They will disappear when the couple has died," D'Hoffryn answered.

"Mommy?" William asked. He had woken up earlier than usual. Not seeing his mother in the room as usual, he left his bed and descended to the lobby where he could hear the voices of his family.

"William, little one, you're already awake!" Angel surprised to hear his son's voice. He hadn't expected the boy to be awake already and brushed his tears away with the back of his hand. The vampire forced himself to smile before placing the boy on his lap and hugging him.

"Mommy okay?" William asked again. He brushed his fingers below Angel's eyes.

"Your mommy will be fine, sweetheart," Xander answered instead. Angel was too busy crying again.

"Daddy!" William exclaimed happily. He hadn't seen his father as his focus had been on his mother.

A loud explosion caused everyone to freeze momentarily and then look for cover in order to protect themselves and their loved ones. William began crying and pressed his face against Angel's neck.

"The stone is red!" D'Hoffryn shouted, as he looked at the stone. "The explosion must be from the couple's house."

Relieved to know they weren't under some kind of attack, Angel and the rest of the family stood up. Richard rushed upstairs to check on his daughter. Gunn, Giles, Andrew and Wesley grabbed their jackets and left the hotel to see where the explosion had come from. Not much later, they returned and confirmed that the couple's house had been blown up.

The family gathered around the Christmas tree, glad to have averted and destroyed the threat to their youngest. "Daddy? P'ents?" William asked, his tears gone. Before their nap, Liza had told him that Santa had would bring them presents.

Everybody laughed at the innocent question. "Is Liza awake?" Giles asked.

William looked up at his grandfather before climbing off his mother's lap and ran towards his friend's bedroom. "LIZA!!!" he screamed. "P'ENTS!!"

"She is now!" Wesley stated ironically.

Angel stood up and swooped William up in the air as the boy came running back to his parents. "Liza awake!" William squealed, before he was placed on Xander's shoulder.

"Me big!" William exclaimed proudly as he sat on Xander's shoulders.

"Yes, William. You're a big boy," Angel repeated and watched the boy squeal with laughter when his father started running around a bit.

"Daddy, me too!" Liza demanded when she stepped into the lobby and spotted her friend's antics.

Richard sighed and picked up his daughter before placing her on his shoulder and gently began to chase Xander.

Angel and Wesley walked to the couch and sat next to each other. "Wesley, when are you due? We never talked about it yesterday," Angel asked curiously.

"I'm due in August 14th. One day after you," Wesley answered and placed his hand on his belly.

"Hmphf," Angel replied. He had been about to say something but Xander had leaned forward and kissed him deeply. William, who was still sitting on Xander's shoulders, perched forward and giggled.

"Daddy kiss!" the little boy exclaimed.

"Yes, boy, daddy is kissing. Again!" Wesley dryly repeated.

"Mommy kiss!" William exclaimed again and watched Wesley, expecting another comment.

"Yes, your mommy is kissing as well. Do you feel left out?" Wesley asked while he watched the boy take a closer look at his parents' mouths.

Xander ended the kiss and was startled when his son bent more forward almost falling into his mother's lap. "William, be careful. Do you want sit with mommy?"

"Yes, me sit with mommy," William repeated, slowly climbing off Xander's shoulders and sat next to his mother.

When everyone was seated, Gunn took a present and gave it to William, whose name was on the nametag.

"Me?" William asked. Not waiting for an answer he tore into the presents, revealing colour pencils and a drawing book. He squealed as he opened the book and started colouring.

"We should have thought about that sooner. It keeps him quiet!" Angel said ironically as he watched his son colouring outside the lines.

"Maybe he doesn't want his other presents anymore," Xander joked. But he regretted the words immediately as William looked up, having heard there were more presents.


***1 p.m.***


When every family member finished opening their presents, the gang went upstairs to change for Christmas lunch. Xander wanted to spend some time with his pregnant lover and had asked his father to look after William for a while. Giles had just smiled and carried his grandson into their room, letting Cordelia and Ethan carry William's presents as the boy wanted to continue playing with them.

***25th of December - 9 a.m.***

"Cordelia, where is William?" Giles asked when he started searching for the boy as they played hide and seek.

Cordelia smiled as the little bundle under the blanket giggled. "I don't know, maybe he's under the bed."

The moment Giles ducked under the bed, William shot from the bed and ran into the hallway. "No, he isn't here either. Where could he be?"

William ran into the hallway, bumping into Fred, but continued running. He giggled while looking behind him, seeing that his grandfather had already stood up before running into his parent's bedroom. Without looking he jumped under the blanket, still trying to hide from his grandfather.

Xander froze the moment the bedroom door opened and closed. The young man and his lover turned their attention to the small lump under their blankets.

"Angel, please tell me that's not our son?" Xander whispered as he stilled his thrusting inside his lover.

"Sorry, I can't. That's our little boy, playing hide and seek," Angel replied while squeezing his ass. He smiled in victory as Xander couldn't stop his groan.

"Uhm...William, what are you doing here?" Xander asked softly, knowing his son heard him.

"Shhh. Granddaddy find me," William whispered while he lay very still.

Someone knocked on the door. "Xander, Angel, I'm sorry to interrupt, but is my grandson in your room?" Giles said as he softly opened the door to peek inside, trying to avoid the naked couple on the bed.
The older man immediately saw the small bump under the blanket and tiptoed to the bed while keeping his eyes on the ground.

William didn't do anything until he felt his grandfather grab his legs. He laughed and squealed as he was hanging upside down facing his parents. He looked with interest at his mother as Giles walked them out the room. "Grandaddy, what mommy and daddy do?"

Angel groaned as he heard the innocent question, but he didn't have the strength of character to end their love making and started moving again.

Xander felt the movements but waited patiently for his father to close the door before he continued slamming his cock inside the tight heat, hitting his lover's prostate hard. It didn't take long for him to orgasm and he filled the tight ass with his semen.

Angel howled as his orgasm slammed through his body, shooting his semen onto his chest before collapsing lax on the sheets. He felt Xander lying next to him as he slipped from his body and snuggled against his side.

Xander held his lover and placed his hand on top of Angel's belly. Soon there would be a small bump. As they rested they heard William's squealing echo throughout the hotel.

"I hope he forgets the question," Angel said softly.

"So do I. And if he doesn't, I'm very curious to know what dad will give him as an answer," Xander replied as he made his way out of the bed. "You coming?"

Angel quickly stepped out of bed, wincing at his sore muscles before joining Xander into the bathroom.


*****


But William hadn't forgotten his question as Giles carried him into the bedroom. He was placed on the bed as Cordelia prepared his bath with bubbles. "Grandaddy? What mommy and daddy do?"

"Uhm...they were...uhm...taking care of your brother or sister," Giles said as the little boy was looking at him curiously. Why did he always get William's questions?

"You were hiding in your parents' bedroom?" Cordelia asked as she heard the question.

William nodded and continued looking at his grandfather to hear more.
"How take care?"

"How do they take care of your baby brother or sister? By massaging the stomach where the baby is in," Cordelia answered as she saw Giles didn't have a clue as what to say to the little boy.

"Unc' Wesy too?" William asked as he remembered that his uncle was pregnant as well.

"Yes, your Uncle Gunn massages his belly too and that sooths the baby," Cordelia continued with her explanation. She looked smiling at the little boy who was finally satisfied with the answers given.


*****


Everyone met downstairs when William made his way to his parents. He climbed on the couch where they were seated and began touching Angel's stomach.

"William, what are you doing?" Xander asked curiously as he watched the boy touching his mother's belly.

"soofing my brother," William answered as he continued petting his mother's belly.

"That's right, William. You go soothing and massaging your mother's belly just like your daddy did a few moments ago," Cordelia said, hinting the two men.

Angel knew instantly that was the answer Cordelia and Giles had given their son on his innocent question after playing hide and seek.

Xander smiled and imitated his son's movements. It earned him a large smile from his little boy. Although Xander was very curious to see how William would react once the baby was born. He just wasn't ready for the inevitable question of where babies come from and how was it going to get out. Ah, the joys of parenting, he could only hope that he and Angel would do the right thing by William.


***April 2004***

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Xander screamed as he felt a pain shooting into his heart. He knew instantly that his sister had died.

"Xander?" Angel asked worriedly as he witnessed his lover's collapse.

"My sis...sister. She's...she's dead," Xander whispered as his tears rolled down his cheeks.

"You have a sister?" Cordelia asked curiously. She couldn't remember Xander having a sister.

"Yes, she was 10 years older then me. When she turned eleven, she was attending the school for each year. She only came back for the summer. When she was 15 years, she tried to take me with her, but my parents fought her and she lost. She always promised me, one day she would come back," Xander explained his story in a few words.

"How can you tell from the pain that she died?" Wesley wondered and realised he had spoken his thoughts out loud by the look on the boy's face.

"Since I was born, there has always been a connection between us to let us know we were OK," Xander explained as he remembered his sister fondly while coddling his son against his chest.


***Two days later***

William and Liza were playing in the lobby while Xander, Angel and Richard tried to find Xander's sister 's telephone number hoping to call someone who knows when the funeral would take place. As they focused on the pc, they jumped in fright when they heard three loud pops in the air.

"Alexander Lavelle Harris?" Albus Dumbledore asked as he addressed the young man who had picked up a young boy.

"Yes, that's me," Xander answered and looked at the two people standing behind the strangely dressed man. His eyes widened when he saw two small boys staring back at him.

Hagrid watched with caution how the young man walked towards Harry and Draco before placing his own little boy on the floor.

"Daddy, who that?" William asked curiously as he and Liza stared at the boys.

"This is Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy," Dumbledore answered to William.

"My sister has a son?" Xander whispered as he watched the curious little boy who was snuggled in the giant's arms.

"Yes, she has. You are Harry's only living relative," Albus said, hoping Xander would take at least Harry in his care.

Xander turned to look at his lover with questioning eyes. He closed his eyes when Angel embraced him, silently telling him to take his nephew into their family.

"We'll take Harry," Xander answered from Angel's embrace and turned around to take Harry in his arms. He was moved to tears as the little white blond boy began crying as Harry left his side.

"Who is he?" Angel asked curiously about the sad boy.

"That's Draco Malfoy. His parents were killed the same way as Lily and James Potter...protecting their children," Professor McGonagall explained. "We have to find a family for him too. He has no living relative either."

"We'll take him as well," Angel stated without talking with Xander.

Xander wasn't surprised to hear that Angel wanted to bring the other boy into their family as well. He had seen the look on his face as he looked at the white blond boy.

"Are you sure? You will take two magical boys into your family," Dumbledore stated.

"Magical?" Giles asked curiously.

Albus watched as the family seem to grow as more people came in from several different rooms. He looked at Hagrid and Professor McGonagall before placing silencing spells on the hotel before explaining his story.

"So, when Harry and Draco turn eleven, they will receive a letter from this Hogwarts School, just like Lily did?" Xander asked to make sure he understood the story.

"Yes, that's correct," Albus confirmed.

"I see. Will you be visiting the two boys often?" Giles asked as he stood behind his grandson who was touching and looking at the little boys sitting on the floor in front of him.

"We will try to do so," Hagrid answered as he watched Harry crawl over to William.

"Wow, in one day we suddenly have three sons instead of one," Angel mumbled as he watched the three young boys get used to each other.


*****


Xander was sitting on the couch with his now three sons surrounding him as he waited for the questions to be asked.

"Xander, tell us about Lily," Angel asked softly.

"She was ten years old when I was born and my parents didn't bother to look after her, because in their eyes they had to take care of me...a baby. When she turned eleven, she received her letter from Hogwarts. Back then I didn't understand the importance of it, but I do now. She only came back to stay the summer," Xander explained and sighed before continuing his story.

"Because of our connection, I knew she was fine. If I remember correctly, she was 17 years old when she found someone special; who loved her and wanted her for who she was. When I was 14 years old, she came back to see how I was doing and she explained of the connection that we shared. Whenever I was hurt or feeling sad, she knew and comforted me through the link. But it was the other way around as well," Xander stopped talking to hug the three boys against his chest.

"Harry and Draco will never be thrown out or not loved because they know magic," the young man said as he hugged the two 10-month old boys.

"Daddy, me brothers too?" Liza asked; she felt left out as William was focused on his new brothers.

"If you want to, Liza, they can be your brothers as well," Xander answered as he saw Liza smile before sitting with William.

"Did your sister knew magic when she turned eleven or was she younger?" Giles asked curiously as he watched a mug float in the air.

Xander saw the flying mug as well and looked to see Draco's eyes fixated on the mug.

Gunn stood up and took the mug from the air before placing it back on the table.

"I don't know. I only remember things floating or bars from cages disappearing so the puppies could escape from the pet shop, during the summer," Xander said; laughing at the cherished memories.

"So that's how the puppies got away," Cordelia stated as she remembered the chaos in the pet shop.

"Yeah, it hurt every time when Lily had to leave, but I always knew how she was doing, so I wasn't worried about her," Xander said as he saw Harry pointed at the mug. The mug went flying again.

Angel looked at his family and knew their days will be getting stranger by the minute...he wouldn't mind at all.

***June 2004- Draco's first birthday***

It had been two months since Harry and Draco joined their family. The boys were shy and scared to touch anything. Only when William started petting his mother's belly again did the two boys joined in, stroking the tight skin of Angel's bump.

Angel was proud and delighted that William had accepted the boys as his brothers even though Harry was in fact his biological cousin. The vampire and Xander had decided that Harry and Draco would call them whatever they wanted, but that they would always remember their natural parents.

"Harry, shhh," Angel whispered to the boy in his arms as they tiptoed to the boys' bedroom. They had silently taken Harry and William out of the bedroom to let them collect the presents before going back together. It was Draco's first birthday and the family had decided on a small birthday party for the white-blond boy.

Harry mimicked the hush and placed his finger against his lips as Angel had done. As a family, they stepped into the bedroom to see Draco waking up and watching them in surprise before smiling.

When Xander and Cordelia started singing, he clapped his chubby hands and gave the family a big smile before standing up in his crib. Angel had been surprised when both Harry and Draco started standing on their own while holding onto their older brother.

Xander picked the boy from his crib and sat on William's bed with Draco in his lap. The blond boy giggled when Angel placed Harry to sit on Xander's other leg.

William snuggled on his mother's lap while watching his brothers. "Mommy, Draco how old?"

"Draco is a big one today. He's one year littler than you," Angel answered as they watched the small infant looking at his presents.

Giles kneeled in front of his son and together with his new grandson; they opened the first gift, smiling when Draco seemed to like the paper more than the present itself.

"Just like little William when he turned one," Giles said affectionately as he watched Draco play with the paper. He showed Draco the box that was wrapped within the paper before he opened the box, giving his grandson a small plastic car to play with.

Draco squealed when he noticed the car. He got a toy! He grabbed the car from his grandfather and showed it to Xander while laughing the entire time.

Once they were all dressed, they went downstairs where Albus, Minerva and Hagrid were already waiting for the birthday boy.

Within minutes the entire family, including the Oracles and D'Hoffryn, were sitting in the lobby watching Draco as he placed his hands in the birthday cake and proceeded on tearing it up and licking his fingers covered with the sweet icing.

William helped Harry walk over to sit next to Draco while the others witnessed this moment fondly. Since Harry was sitting next to Draco and Xander, William rushed back to Giles. He climbed onto his grandfather's lap and watched his younger brothers. His parents had explained to him about Draco and Harry and he felt himself drawn to protect the two boys. William snuggled in his grandfather's embrace before closing his eyes. It was time for a little nap.

Draco watched William from his place between his father and Harry. William was protective about him and Harry and it made him protective of his older brother as well. He looked at his present and started playing with his toy car.


***Harry's first birthday***


Draco was tiptoeing next to Angel as they quietly walked towards Harry's crib. He had to be quiet as Harry was still asleep.

William carefully escorted his mother towards the bed. He understood from his grandfather's conversations with his Aunty that his mommy was going to give him a new little brother or sister soon and that they had to be careful with him. Therefore William had taken it upon himself to be his mother's protector.

Angel and Xander had noticed the protective way William was being with the vampire and they were glad the boy understood that Angel would be giving birth in a few weeks. They didn't use the word birth though, because the boy didn't understand the word.

Harry was waking up as he heard coughing and opened his bright green eyes to see his new family entering his room just like they had done with Draco two months ago. He was one year old today!

Draco, who was walking on his own, ran on his chubby legs towards his brother, handing Harry his present as their parents started singing Happy Birthday.

Xander watched the scene and suddenly noticed how much Harry resembled Lily in both looks and mannerisms. The look on his face when he wanted something or how he would sit and wait until someone asked him what he wanted was just like Lily.

Draco had been watching William carefully as the older boy was now using a potty instead of a diaper. Draco wanted to be a big boy like William so he wanted to use the potty, too. So William together with Angel started teaching Draco how to use the potty.

Harry wasn't at all interested in the potty, but wanted William's toys much to William's chagrin. He would look at William and then start pointing and babbling at his older brother. William after much coaxing from his parents would then give the toy to Harry to play with it carefully. Since little boys were never known to be careful, Angel was always buying toys for his "careful" sons.

"This your cake," William gleefully said to Harry as he showed the small boy the birthday cake.

Harry stared at the cake covered with red and green dots with one candle on top of it. He pushed one finger into the cake only to pull it out and stare at his finger. The boy squealed with delight as Xander licked his finger clean. Harry repeated his actions with another finger and his squealing echoed through the hotel as Angel mimicked Xander's actions.

Draco was jealous and wanted that as well. He pushed his fingers into the cake and presented them to his parents.

Angel noticed the jealous look on the small boy's face before taking the cake-smeared fingers in his mouth, earning himself a loud squeal in his ear.

Xander quickly cut the cake before there was nothing left and returning the rest of the cake to Harry and Draco who played with the cake instead of eating it.

Several flashes and pops were heard in the lobby and they all turned around to see that the rest of their extended family had arrived with a guest.

"Abus!" William called out as he saw the old man appear. The toddler ran towards his third grandfather and jumped to be caught in Albus' arms.

"Hello William, how are you this fine morning?" Albus asked as he smiled at Harry and Draco's older brother.

"Hello, D'Hoffryn, Blue, Blus, Minerva, Hagrid," Angel greeted the group as he walked slowly towards Xander. He was holding Draco and Harry by the hand as he walked with them. Harry was still having trouble with his balance when he tried to walk alone and Draco just liked holding Angel's hand.

"How is my grandson?" D'Hoffryn asked as his grandson came running towards him.

"I good," William answered before playing with the demon's beard.

The stranger watched from a distance, seeing how both Harry and Draco were receiving the love and care they both needed. He still didn't understand why he was here. Albus brought him here to see his godson. The boy was happily walking with what appeared to be his new 'mother' as the dark haired man observed the heavily pregnant vampire.

"Xander, Angel, I want you to meet Severus Snape, the best Potions Master of Europe and Draco's Godfather," Albus introduced calmly.

***August the 14th 2004***

"Mommy? Are you all right?" William asked concerned as he watched his mother breathing deeply.

"No, William. Mommy is not all right. You have to find Daddy and bring him to me," Angel muttered as he squeezed his eyes shut as another contraction hit his body.

Draco and Harry both sat on the bed next to their mother and massaged the large belly as William had instructed them to do.

"DADDY!" William screamed down the stairs and watched his father rush upstairs. He was startled when Xander picked him up and ran towards Angel.

"Angel?" Xander whispered as he saw his lover and their two youngest sons on the bed.

"Xander, it hurts," Angel cried out as another contraction came.

"DAD! Call the doctor now!" Xander ordered as he had stepped out the room to inform his father. The young man smiled as his father clumsily got up and ran to the telephone to follow his son's orders.

Ethan looked on from a distance, as the whole family was awake in seconds. He had just returned from a trip to England with Severus to collect his godsons' belongings. 'Severus,' he thought dreamily as he gazed towards the dark haired beauty.

Severus didn't know what to think. His feelings were a mess. His belly flip-flopped whenever Ethan Rayne walked by and his heart fluttered whenever the man accidentally touched him as he passed by. He had promised Albus to visit at least each school holiday to watch over the two youngsters until they were eleven years old. Love was something he had never even thought he would have a chance at. He could just picture Albus with his twinkling eyes when he let him know of his feelings towards Ethan.

Both Ethan and Severus didn't noticed the loud noises as they stared at each other until Wesley and Gunn walked into them on their way to the lobby.

Wesley entered the lobby and stopped again when a contraction hit his body. Gunn, who had placed his hand on Wesley's lower back, waited patiently for his lover to be able to walk again.

Richard had been alarmed as well; he had placed Liza with William as he rushed downstairs towards the couple and together with Gunn, he helped Wesley to Angel's bedroom.


****


The doctor never saw so much chaos like he did the moment he entered the crowded bedroom. "Everyone but Xander and Gunn out!" he ordered.

As the family slowly made their way into the hallway taking the children with them, Mitch focused on the two deeply breathing men. Angel and Wesley were lying face to face as they held their lovers' hands.

"How long have you both been having contractions?" Mitch asked softly, knowing they heard him.

"They started last night."

"This morning."

Both answers said while breathing away the contraction. Mitch smiled and instructed them to lie on their backs so he could examine them.

"Wesley, your contractions are coming every 10 minutes. I need you to try and walk until the contractions are closer together. Can you do that for me?" Mitch asked.

Wesley nodded and with help from his lover he rolled off the bed and walked around the room, not wanting to leave the bedroom.

"Angel, you're contractions are coming every two minutes. You're almost ready," Mitch explained as he watched Xander sit behind Angel, ready to support Angel's back.

"Gunn, I want you to bring Severus and Ethan in to prepare the spell for Wesley," Mitch instructed the nervous hunter who kept Wesley close to him.

Gunn nodded and made sure Wesley was supported by the wall before warning Ethan and Severus sitting in the hallway.
Mitch focused on Angel again and watched Angel's expression change as he realized he had to push.

"Angel, go ahead and push," Mitch said encouragingly as he and Xander pressed Angel's legs to the side.

Angel moaned, groaned, mewled and finally screamed when their child's head left his entrance. His breathing deepened as he stared at Wesley who was staring at Angel.

"Push!" Mitch ordered again as he saw Angel's concentration faltering.

"Fuck you!" Angel snarled and howled when the child left his body. He collapsed against his lover and closed his eyes. He was exhausted and thought he was finished when a strange feeling came over him. "What? Another one?"

"No, it's the placenta that's coming out," Mitch said smiling at Angel's shocked face.

"Oh," Angel whispered as he pushed again. He felt something slip from his body before closing his eyes again.

Xander had cut the umbilical cord when Angel collapsed and watched Ethan take his child from Mitch and Severus mutter a cleansing spell for the entire room and the people in it. When Angel was sitting in the bed, the baby was placed on his chest.

The vampire was examining his child for all ten fingers and toes when he finally realized they had a little girl. "Xander, we have a girl."

"A beautiful daughter," Xander repeated.

"Lily Harris," Angel whispered.

"Really?" Xander asked shocked. They hadn't picked a name out yet, but it was perfect.

"Excuse me, I believe it's my turn now," Wesley said pained. His contractions were flying all over the place and he couldn't count the minutes anymore.

Mitch turned his attention to the pained looking male and guided him to lie next to Angel, who had made more space for Wesley to lie on.

Gunn knelt next to the bed holding his lover's hand as Ethan and Severus started the spell.

"Why couldn't I have the spell to remove our baby?" Angel asked jealously.

"Because you're a vampire, not a human," Xander asked patiently. He had heard this question so many times during the pregnancy that the answer came natural.


*****


D'Hoffryn, the Oracles, Albus, Minerva and Hagrid had come the moment they heard and felt something happening at the Harris family home. Their spells and protection wards had also alarmed them.

Harry, Draco and William were sitting on the floor crying when they heard their mother screaming and howling. Fred and Andrew sat on the floor with them and each took a boy into their arms while William snuggled in D'Hoffryn's lap.

"Mommy okay?" William questioned softly as he kept watching the door, hoping it would open soon.

When the door did open, everyone was disappointed to hear Gunn call for Ethan and Severus to prepare the spell for Wesley. Before they could sneak inside, the door had closed again.

"I'm sure your mother will be fine. It hurts to deliver a baby," D'Hoffryn explained to William.

Draco and Harry didn't understand what was going on. They only knew their mother was hurt and they weren't allowed to be inside.

"'Liam," Harry cried out as he tried to reach his brother. The small boy couldn't pronounce his brother's full name.

William climbed off his grandfather's lap and joined his youngest brother on the floor, holding him tight to his chest.

Liza copied William's movements and petted the dark haired boy in her friend's arms.

Fred smiled adoringly at the beautiful sight in the middle of their group. William was holding Harry while Draco was trying to reach Liza.

William turned his head to see if Draco was doing okay, when he noticed the small blond crawling towards Liza. She opened her arms and a squealing Draco jumped into the embrace. He blinked when several flashes went off. "No piccies!" William huffed irritated.

"No piffies!" Draco repeated as well, causing the family to laugh, forgetting their anxiety for Angel and Wesley for a few moments.


*****


"Wesley, Gunn, you have a beautiful daughter," Mitch said when he placed the little girl on Wesley's chest.

"Shall we?" Wesley asked weakly as he laid his head on his lover's shoulder.

"Xander, we would like to name our daughter after Anya. Would you mind?" Gunn asked calmly while holding his family.

Xander gasped at the question. "No, I think Anya would be honored that you named your little girl after her. I think even D'Hoffryn would be honored," he answered as he watched Wesley cuddle his daughter.

"Ethan, Severus, would you bring our children to us?" Angel asked Ethan.

When the two men left to collect the children, Angel looked at Xander. "Did you notice the way Ethan and Severus stare at each other?"

"Yes, I have. But let them figure it out on their own, okay?" Xander smiled and kissed his vampire.

"That depends on whether or not Cordy knows, she can be unstoppable. You know that," Gunn deadpanned.

"That's true," Xander laughed.

"Daddy? Mommy okay?" William asked as he stepped into the bedroom with Draco and Harry following him.

Xander stood up and picked up Draco before placing him on the bed next to Angel. Harry was next and was placed on the other side while William climbed on the bed and straddled Angel's hips as he peered at the bundle in his mother's arms.

"Mommy is okay," Angel said as he showed his daughter to her brothers. "You have a sister."

"No brother?" William asked curiously.

"You already have two brothers, William. Now you have a sister," Xander answered as he watched the three boys stare at the baby's face.

"Unc' Wesy?" William questioned as he looked at Wesley.

"We have a little girl too," Gunn answered.

"Don't' you think that's fair, William? Now we have three girls and three boys in this family," Angel suggested as he stared at his daughter.

"Okay," William said meekly.

"Oty," Harry repeated and was echoed by Draco.

"What name?" William asked he stroked his sister's cheek softly. The girl opened her eyes and looked at William before yawning widely.

"Your sister's name is Lily and your cousin is Anya," Xander introduced the girls.

"Lily," William said. "I hold her?"

Xander placed a pillow in William's arms after having him sit straight up in the bed. He then took Lily from Angel's arms and placed her gently on the pillow in William's arms. Draco and Harry sat next to William and watched as their brother held their new baby sister.

Mitch was sitting in a corner watching the family being introduced before making his presence known, as they had seemed to have forgotten about him.

"Xander, Angel, Gunn, Wesley, I'm leaving now. But please remember that Angel and Wesley are still fertile for 5 more months," Mitch announced before packing his bag. "I'll be back tomorrow to see how you're doing." With that he left the hotel.

***Two months later***


"Xander, you did use a condom right?" Angel questioned as he thought about their night.

"Uhm...I'm not sure. Do you see a used condom on your side of the bed?" Xander asked stupidly.

Angel visibly paled as he searched his side of the bed. It was their first time since since Lily's birth and they had made love all night. Now he remembers the doctor's words on fertility.

"Please tell me, you found it!" Angel begged.

"I'm sorry, but I can't find anything," Xander whispered as he turned to look at his lover.

Angel lay back down on the bed and prayed that it was not happening again, he really, really didn't want to get pregnant again. He had four beautiful children, that was more than enough.

"DADDY!" William screamed enthusiastically as he bounced into their bedroom.

"William, be quiet. You'll wake up Draco, Harry and Lily," Xander stated in a stern voice not seeing the angry and sad look on his son's face.

Before Angel could say anything, William ran off, crying loudly; creating as much havoc as possible.

"What the hell!!" Xander said when he heard the racket his son was making. "What did I say?"

"Our attention is divided. It's not all his anymore," Angel explained.

"Oh. I'll go and look for him and then we need to sit down and have a talk with him. Maybe Draco and Harry should be there as well," Xander mused out loud before leaving the bed. The young man got dressed before going in search for his oldest son.

William was angry. His daddy didn't love him anymore now that Lily had arrived. Maybe he should leave. As William reached his bedroom, he quietly slipped inside and prepared his backpack. Not really knowing what he would need, he packed the essentials; teddy bear, socks, underwear and his saved up money. As he bent forward to kiss Draco and Harry goodbye, he didn't see his father standing in the doorway.

Xander was shocked. He was totally unaware of how lonely and forgotten his son felt. What kind of father was he? He fell to his knees, causing a loud thud and startling William.

"Eep!" William yelped as he heard the thud. He turned around to see his father kneeling in the doorway...crying?

Angel, who had picked up Lily from her crib after dressing, followed his lover in search of their oldest. Just like Xander, he was shocked at the sight of William leaving.

Giles didn't understand the racket William was making, but the sudden silence didn't feel good. He stepped out of his room to stand next to Angel watching William stare in fright at the people gathering in the doorway.

William couldn't stop his tears as they fell down his cheeks. He stared at his parents and was startled when Draco and Harry hugged him from behind.

"'Liam leaf?" Harry asked sadly.

Xander pulled himself together, stood up and walked towards William. He gathered his son into his arms and picked up his backpack.

Giles gathered Draco and Harry in his arms and together they walked to the Master bedroom. He placed the boys on the bed before sitting on the edge, not wanting to leave.

Xander was ashamed of himself as William sat stiffly in his arms, not hugging him or leaning against him as he had always done. "William, you were going leave us?"

Angel gasped when he realized the extent of William's unhappiness. He looked at the backpack in William's hands and gently took it from the small, shaking hands. The vampire opened the pack and saw his sons' belongings. "William?" he cried out softly.

William was puzzled. Why were his parents crying? They should be happy that he was going away, now that they had another child.
"You not love me," he whispered and was surprised when his daddy hugged him tightly.

"William, you can't leave. We love you so much, it would break our hearts if you left us," Xander said sadly while wiping away his tears.

"You love me?" William asked curiously. He was convinced they didn't.

"Yes, William. Everyone loves you so much," Giles answered this time. "Now that Harry, Draco and Lily are here, it doesn't mean that we don't love you. Yes, you need to learn to share your parents' attention, but don't you love your brothers and sister?"

"Me love Draco, Harry and Lily," William said softly. He hadn't thought about his siblings when he wanted to leave.

"And they love you," Giles said and was happy to see William hugging his father tightly while crying loudly into Xander's shoulder.

"Where did you learn that speech, Dad?" Xander asked curiously. The speech sounded more like Cordelia.

"Being with Cordelia pays off," Giles joked.

"I heard that!" his girlfriend's voice echoed down the hall.

"Oops!" Giles said before leaving their bedroom to return to his.


*****


Xander looked at William, who had cried himself to sleep. "I didn't know."

"Neither did I. I don't think anyone knew how bad he felt," Angel said softly, not wanting to wake their son.

Draco only understood one thing from this chaos and that his older brother wanted to leave him and Harry. That wasn't allowed. He crawled to their playground and took his pens as Harry came crawling to him with some paper.

Together they were going to draw a pretty drawing for William, so he would know that they loved him and that they weren't allowing him to leave.

Angel watched their youngest sons draw and knew the drawings were going to be for William. As he stared at Xander watching William, he knew Xander would never let William think that he was not wanted again. He was shocked as well when he saw the small backpack. The vampire hadn't realized how serious this was.

William woke up to see his parents looking at him. He blinked as he remembered what had happened and could not look at his parents, too ashamed to face them.

"William, let's clean you up," Xander said as he picked the boy up and carried him towards the bathroom.

As Xander filled the tub, William undressed himself before slowly climbing into the tub.

"I'm sorry, William," Xander whispered as he knew this awkwardness would remain until they talked about William's feelings.

William looked at his father's face before repeating the words. "I sorry too."

"What will I have to do to keep you from running away?" Xander asked emotional as he closed the tap.

"You have Lily now," William answered softly.

"We have you, Lily, Draco and Harry. We're a family, William. A family stays together. What about your grandparents? Your uncles and cousin?" Xander questioned as he saw realization dawn on the small face.

"Me love them," William said as he was lost in thoughts as he hadn't thought about the rest of the family until his daddy mentioned it. "You love me?"

"We all love you very much. You're our oldest son and your siblings older brother. We need you!" Xander answered and smiled when he saw a relieved smile on his son's face. "Talk to me whenever you feel like this again, okay?"

"Okay," William answered and hugged his father before sitting back in the tub.

As William was still too quiet and not back to his normal bubbly self, Xander decided drastic measures were required. He struck suddenly, his fingers tickling William's sides.

William squealed loudly as it echoed through out the entire hotel before turning his squealing into laughter...loud laughter.

Angel smiled when he heard the beautiful sound of laughter and watched his daughter waking up. She stared up at him before smiling at him. They were lucky to have such a wonderful child who slept through the night.

Draco and Harry heard William's laughter and began demanding to go into the bathroom. "No, your brother needs this time to be with your father. You can go after William is finished," Angel watched the confusion on the boys' faces. They always shared with William.

Harry understood from his mother's words that they weren't going to join William. His bottom lip trembled and it didn't take long for Harry to start wailing. Draco followed soon after.

"What's going on?" Giles asked as he walked into the bedroom. He had heard William's laughter, followed by Harry and Draco's crying and decided to investigate. He needed to know for himself if his grandchildren were all right.

"I told them they couldn't share the bath this time with William," Angel explained as Lily didn't do anything but watch everyone with curiosity.

"Draco, Harry, come here! Let's go take a bath in the other bathroom, and then you can get dressed. Once you're clean and dressed you can both go play with William." Giles then took each boy by the hand and they walked off to the bathroom.

Angel watched Giles take the two small boys with him and the room was quiet again. He looked at his daughter who was once again looking at him before yawning and falling asleep.


*****


"Are you sure this is the family Lia and Dave were talking about before they were killed?" Adam asked as they watched the family through the window. "They sure don't look scary or dangerous."

"Lia wouldn't lie!" Michelle objected as she turned a stormy face to her brother.

"Well, when do we attack?" Duncan questioned, preparing his axe to kill someone.

"As long as you don't kill the children, I don't care who you kill," Adam answered.

"Perhaps I can help you," said the man who was listening to the trio's conversation.

***Two hours later***


As Harry and Draco were giving William his drawing, Harry suddenly screamed. The boy started crying while grabbing his forehead. Xander quickly picked him up as Ethan fire called for Severus and Albus.

The Headmaster had explained the significance of Harry's scar immediately before they officially adopted the children into their family They knew someone or something would be coming after Harry but they didn't think it would be so soon.

As Albus and Severus entered their lobby, they immediately secured the hotel with a protection spell. This new ward would alarm several members of the Hogwarts' staff in case more help was needed.

Xander removed Harry's hand to look at the scar and it was bright red. He gently kissed it and he was glad the redness disappeared.

Harry was still instantly when he felt his father's kiss. He stared stunned at his father as he lifted his hand to touch his scar. The pain was gone!

Angel had been watching the tender moment and snickered. "You do know that every time one of them is hurt, they are coming to you, don't you?"

Xander shrugged and smiled, helping his children feel better was one chore the he would never tire of. Harry snuggled against his shoulder when Severus and Albus came back to the group.

"What happened? Did you see anything?" Ethan asked worried.

"Stop it, Ethan," Severus said blushing, as he looked around at all the curious looks the family was giving him.

"So, when did you two get together?" Andrew asked calmly.

"I told them the same thing I told Angel and Xander as well as Gunn and Wesley," Cordelia said dryly.

"Told you so!" Gunn stated as he stuck out his tongue at Xander causing all children to giggle.

"I need a holiday!" Angel muttered while holding Draco and Lily.

"That can be arranged, if you like," Albus answered as if he already had been planning.

"Where would we go? Our family is too large to just get a hotel or something," Xander asked as he held Harry. The boy had fallen asleep as soon as he laid his head on his father's shoulder.

"The Weasley's have a large home and they wanted Draco and Harry to visit them when they heard of the sad news about their parents. Let me just fire call and I'll let you know," Albus answered while he walked towards the fireplace.

All of a sudden, the wards rang loud, causing Severus and Albus to stand ready for attack, when a green demon entered the hotel, stopping when he noticed the two strangely dressed men. "Is Angel here?"

"Lorne? I thought you were in New York, starting another karaoke bar?" Angel questioned as he welcomed the green demon.

"It didn't work out. I was hoping I could help you guys, with fighting or something else," Lorne answered, while staring at his friends. "Did I miss something?"

"You missed a lot!" Cordelia then began explaining all of the new changes that had happened to their family.


*****


"Are you sure this family wouldn't mind such a large group imposing on them for a few weeks? What about D'Hoffryn? We have to let him know about our whereabouts," Xander said, worriedly as they packed their suitcases for their sudden holiday.

"Daddy, I done packing," William announced as he placed his backpack with his father's suitcase.

Angel watched his oldest son as he began helping his little brothers pack as he had been instructed. He was growing up to be a little man.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Angel asked worriedly as the blond boy suddenly cried out. When he reached down to pick him up, he saw a small yellow puddle of urine around the small feet. "Oh, that's what's wrong. You were too late to use the potty. It's OK son, don't worry about it."

"Xander, I'm going to clean Draco and then we're set to go!" Angel shouted while carrying Draco into the bathroom. The vampire shifted to his game face when he saw several faces staring at him through the window. "Draco, we'll have to clean you later," Angel said, trying not to frighten his son."

The vampire rushed downstairs, shouting that there were strangers outside the hotel watching them.

Chaos began as soon the wards alerted Albus and Severus that several more men were trying to come inside. Harry screamed when his scar started to hurt him again and he hugged his father tightly, hoping his father would make the pain go away.

Albus and Severus' spells defeated most of the attacking men, but a hooded creature entered calmly as if nothing had happened and looked at the family. Gunn protecting his lover and daughter while Xander did the same to his family, Giles pushed Cordelia behind his back as Richard held Liza in his arms, Andrew holding Fred. Harry screamed loudly when the creature lunged towards William.

Each person looked at Harry as a beam of white light shot from the small body into the creature's heart, leaving it screaming until it exploded in million tiny black pieces.

Xander, with Harry in one arm, picked William up in the other while Albus prepared the fireplace to move them quickly into their safe house at the Weasley's.


*****


Molly Weasley was startled as a large group of people flew hurriedly into her living room. A young man introduced himself quickly before checking each child that entered.

Draco, who was crying hung onto Angel's neck when the vampire entered, quickly looked around.

"Molly, where's the bathroom?" Albus asked as he stood next to Angel who still had a wet Draco in his arms.

"It's over here," Molly guided the vampire and his precious burden to the bathroom before returning into the living room. She saw that most of her children had already gathered in the doorway to watch the new group of people.

Xander, who had introduced himself to Mrs. Weasley, shook her hand before he sat on the chair with three children. That's when she noticed that one of the children was a small baby girl, around Ginny's age.

Angel returned to the living room holding a towel clad Draco as the vampire searched the boy's bag for some clean clothes. Draco, himself, was more interested in Angel's hair then anything else. "Ouch, Draco. What has William been teaching you?"

William giggled when he saw Draco doing the same thing when he was younger...pulling his mother's hair. His giggling turned into squealing as Angel began tickling his son's sides. The laughter echoed throughout the entire house, causing more members of the Weasley family to enter the living room.

Angel picked up some dry clothes for his son and began dressing him. When his son was dressed, he placed the boy on his feet and took the small hand into his own before slowly walking back to the others.

"Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, I would like you to meet my family. My lover Angel, our oldest son William, our two adopted sons Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy and our daughter Lily," Xander said before turning the other way. "This is my father Rupert Giles, his girlfriend Cordelia Chase, our friends Wesley Wyndham Price, Charles Gunn and their daughter Anya, Richard Mills and his daughter Liza and at last but not least Ethan Rayne and his lover Severus Snape."

"Professor Snape?" Molly asked as she stared at the man and couldn't help but smile when the man blushed. She knew she was staring but no one knew the Professor had a lover.

Ethan took Severus' face into his hands before kissing the man deeply in front of the others, not caring who giggled.

"Mommy, kiss?" William asked as he looked at his uncles.

"Yes, your uncle loves to kiss Uncle Sev when he's in a large group of people," Angel smiled as he played with his children.

The vampire watched a small red headed boy crawl towards him before giving him a bright smile. Angel smiled back before opening his arms for the child to join their circle.

"Let me introduce our family," Mr. Weasley said. "My name is Arthur Weasley. This is my lovely wife Molly, our sons Charlie, Bill, George, Fred and our youngest son in Angel's arms is Ronald. Our daughter Ginny is still sleeping in her room. And this is our nephew Daniel Osbourne," Arthur introduced finally.

"Oz?" Xander asked with surprise in his voice as he saw his old friend standing behind a large red headed man.

"Hey," Oz said quietly. The young werewolf watched Richard play with his daughter and was immediately attracted to him. He sniffed the air, scenting a delicious smell coming from the man.

Richard watched the younger man from the corner of his eye. He felt attracted to Oz and blushed slightly when he saw Oz's nose sniff the air. The way the man looked at him made him feel like he belonged. He didn't know what to do or say, he still loved his late wife.

Angel watched the two men stare at each other and smiled. He knew they were interested in each other and wondered how long it would take them to become a couple. He saw Liza looking from her father to the man her father was staring at. He opened his arm and beckoned Liza to come over and join the other children, leaving Richard and Oz to get to know each other.

"Why don't we show you to your rooms and you can get comfortable," Molly said before guiding her guests to the other rooms they had magically added to their home.

"William! Liza!" Richard called out furiously as he and Oz were splashed with water again.

"Fred! George!" Molly shouted sternly at her twins as they had convinced William and Liza into pulling pranks on the others.

"Liza, could you please come here? I need to talk to you," Richard asked and watched how his daughter worked her way onto his lap and looked at him with her big bright eyes.

"What wrong, Daddy?" Liza asked with a quiver in her voice, noting that Oz's arm was wrapped around her daddy.

"Nothing's wrong, sweetie. It's just that Oz and I are becoming more serious in our relationship and I want to know what you think," Richard said in a calm voice that belied his nervousness.

Liza saw both men looking at her as if life depended on her answer. she had all the answers. "You like my Daddy?"

"Yes, I like your daddy more every day," Oz answered as he squeezed Richard's side gently.

"You don't hurt my daddy?" Liza asked again.

"No, I would never hurt your daddy," Oz answered quite calmly.

"You hurt him, I hurt you!" Liza stated calmly but her eyes told Oz enough as she climbed off her father's lap to continue playing with William and the twins.

"I guess that means OK." Oz asked as he softly kissed Richard's lips.

Richard didn't answer, but deepened the kiss. He stopped when he finally noticed the sappy looks he was getting from his friends and family. received from his family and friends. "Let's go!" Richard said as he took Oz's arm and dragged the other man upstairs to their room.

"Oz? Don't forget the locking and silencing charm!" Molly ordered. She never received an answer.


*****


"Draco, Harry, William, Liza, it's nap time," Angel said before standing perfectly still. He looked at his stomach then ran straight to the bathroom.

"Angel, are you okay?" Xander asked as he watched his lover sprint to the bathroom. He followed and knelt behind Angel on the bathroom floor.

The vampire placed his head on the porcelain toilet and whispered Xander's shoulders before whispering "I guess we didn't use the condom."

Silence.

"Mommy give brother?" William asked as he saw his mommy throwing up again. He remembered his mother throwing up before he was given his sister.

"We don't know. Let's get a doctor," Xander said as he guided Angel and the children into their bedroom. Xander noticed his daughter sitting in her crib playing with her dolls.

Suddenly the Oracles appeared in their bedroom. "We have come with an important message," they said without greeting.

"Blus! Blue!" William squealed before hugging their legs.

"Hello William," they answered in unison.

"What kind of message?" Xander asked as held his nauseous partner in his arms.

"Our champion will have his reward," the Oracles said vaguely.

"What kind of award?" Xander asked again impatiently.

"He will shansu tonight," they answered and watched the realization dawn on their faces.

"I will become human?" Angel whispered before taking William into his arms and Draco and Harry hugging his legs.

"Yes, we will take care of everything. And we will return tonight for your name," the Oracles answered.

"But I already know my name," Angel answered softly before looking at Xander.

"And that would be?" Blue replied in her imperious tone. She was curious to know and did not want to wait. Their champion had embraced them into his family and that fact alone made him special.

"Liam Harris," Angel answered clearly.

To say Xander was surprised would be an understatement, they had never discussed Angel's former name. He was so happy and proud that Angel wanted to take his name. He fingered the little box in his pocket and couldn't help but smile brightly at the perfect timing.


*****


Oz pushed Richard onto the bed before straddling the older man and kissing him deeply. The werewolf knew Richard wasn't ready for more and just touched the patches of skin he could touch.

Richard enjoyed every bit of attention from Oz. He was still surprised that he attracted to another man. He always had been attracted to women until he laid eyes on the red headed werewolf. He gasped when Oz found his right nipple and nibbled on it. His hands touched the muscled back until they rested on Oz's small area of his back, just above the rounded ass cheeks.

Oz moaned as he licked and bit gently on the little nub before turning to its twin. The body beneath him arched and Oz grinned...he found a sensitive spot on the gorgeous man below him. He let go of the nipple before looking into the flushed face.

Bright blue eyes looked up at him, dark brown hair falling on the pillow and red puffy lips. Oz kissed Richard gently and lovingly before his hands found the zipper and unzipped the black jeans.

Richard lifted his hips to help Oz push his jeans down. to his knees. He felt a warm hand taking his aching erection and stroked his warm skin before pumping him harder.

Oz watched Richard's face as he stroked the heated skin of the large cock. With his other hand he cupped the heavy balls before leaning down and licking the oozing cock.

Richard watched Oz lean forward to suckle of his cock head and his orgasm swept over him. He shot his semen into Oz's mouth, and moaned loudly as he noticed Oz swallowing. Oz lay down next to him and unzipped his own jeans.

Oz took himself into his hand and stroked slowly. He smiled when the large hand pushed his own hand away before fisting his cock. He pushed his hips into Richard's hand as the man pumped him towards his orgasm. He couldn't stop his howl as his pleasure coursed through his body, semen splattering on Richard's chest.

Richard brought his hand to his mouth and slowly licked Oz's semen off of his hand, looking at his lover as the panting went heavier. He took the werewolf in his arms before snuggling against him.


*****


Liza looked upstairs when she heard her father moaning and curiously looked at the others.

"Okay, I guess Daniel forgot about the silencing charm?" Charlie Weasley smiled as he heard the howl as well.

"Daddy is making Angel noises," Liza said quietly while looking at William.

William, who had recognized the noises as well, looked at his mother, who looked embarrassed at the floor "Yes, mommy noises," he agreed.

Xander laughed loudly at the children's logic before kissing Angel deeply. He looked deeply into the warm brown eyes before kneeling in front of him next to Harry and Draco.

"Angel, I love you with all my heart and soul. With our children, you are my life," Xander said with an honesty in his voice that stunned the vampire to his core. "Will you bond with me?"

Angel nodded, as he was speechless before crying softly in Xander's arms. "Yes," he whispered. He watched the children surround him as Xander slid the ring on his finger.

"So when's the wedding?" Oz asked as he and Richard arrived just in time for the felicitations.

***Night time at the Burrow***

Xander stood in his sons' room, preparing himself for his and Angel's bonding ceremony. He was wearing a silver tux with a bright red tie. The red tie had been a father's day gift from William and the boy had insisted that he wear it tonight. He turned to Lorne, who had been helping him, to see if he looked all right.

"Are you sure the girls arrived safely?" Xander asked again after Lorne and Severus had brought their friends for the bonding ceremony.

"They're fine and can't wait to see you," Lorne answered calmly. He and Severus had used the fireplace to go to Italy where the girls were in an attack position when they came out. It would have been funny if the women hadn't been heavily armed.

The green demon nodded and whistled at the complete attire. He looked down to see Draco and Harry trying to imitate him in whistling. In actuality all that was heard was the rushing of air and some spit thrown in for good measure. He chuckled but praised them for a good job. It earned him two bright smiles.


*****


Angel was nervous as Wesley helped him in his dark blue tux with a golden tie. It had been a mother's day gift from his boys. The vampire looked into the mirror and breathed deeply, hoping it would calm his nerves. But being pregnant didn't help much.

Wesley watched his friend as they prepared themselves for the bonding ceremony to begin. He was proud when Angel had asked him to be his best man. Wesley left the vampire in his room to stand under a large willow tree.

The Oracles waited patiently for their champion to come out of his room. They were glowing with pride as the vampire had asked them to give him away.

Xander stood next to Albus Dumbledore, as the wizard would be performing the ceremony. His father stood to his right and Wesley to the left. He heard soft music playing in the background before looking up the path. William, Draco and Harry were all wearing black pants with blue shirts, guiding Angel towards him. His beautiful, pregnant, dark haired lover was slowly making his way towards him, taking the speed of their youngest son Harry. Lily was on Wesley's lap while Anya sat in Gunn's lap. Both girls wore a white dress with little blue and green flowers.

Harry and Draco were smiling as they got to help their older brother escort their mother up the path to meet their father. They watched as Xander and Angel held hands. William guided the two youngsters to their seats before sitting next to Dawn. He looked up to her as she took his hand. The boy blushed, but held her hand nevertheless.

Xander grinned when Dawn took William's hand while the boy acted shyly. "William got a girlfriend."

Angel looked at their son and smiled tenderly at the display. There had been no time in introducing the ex-Sunnydale clan to the London family as chaos had reined when the women had to get dressed for the bonding of their dear friends rather quickly. Dawn and William had arranged their chairs next to each other the moment the young boy had spotted her. William instinctively knew that this young woman was very important to him.

"We are here together to witness the bonding between Alexander Harris and Liam Harris," Albus started quietly.

Everybody watched the two men kiss the moment Albus said the two men were now bonded. He smiled as their children clapped their hands. Behind the children sat Severus, holding hands with Ethan, as well as all the other members of their extended family. Albus finally looked at the young women in front sitting next to a blushing William. He stared suspiciously at the redhead as her aura was mingled with dark magic.

Willow was fidgeting as the old man stared at her like he could read her without asking questions. She understood from Gunn that they were among magical people and couldn't help but feel frightened. She had done so many bad things with magic, that she wasn't comfortable being around magic. She looked up to see the wizard standing in front of her.

"You're going to be just fine," Albus whispered to the nervous woman.

Willow smiled shyly as she needed to hear that. She nodded and looked at her best friend, who was still kissing Angel deeply.

"When Xander is done with our Champion, we would like to give him his reward," the siblings said in unison.

Xander broke the kiss, leaving Angel dazed behind. "You're getting your reward, sweetheart," Xander said as he guided the vampire towards the Oracles.


*****


Angel sat still on the bench outside on the Weasley's veranda. His sons sitting next to him, touching him as their mother was now warm instead of cool. His daughter was looking at him, smiling and blowing raspberries. His husband standing in front of him, taking photos for their album as if it was only temporary. But it wasn't; he was human and would stay that way.

Xander sat down next to him, lifting Draco in his lap and together they stared at the horizon as they thought of their bonding and the jobs that had been offered.

"Do you want to stay in L.A.?" Xander asked curiously.

"No, I want to be with you. And if that means here in London or somewhere else, I don't care," Angel answered, hugging Lily, while playing with her hands.

"I want to take this chance. Let's do this and give our children the childhood of their lives," Xander exclaimed as he brushed Draco's blond hair away from the silver eyes.