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.
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