***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.
[Reviews - 1] [Kudos - 564]
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents