Part Six
“And where does this one go?”
Connor looked seriously at the Christmas tree that took up a chunk of the hotel lobby. Walking around the heavily decorated branches, he glanced at the glass ornament and back to the tree again. “There,” he declared firmly once his inspection was done, pointing at a spot just a little over his head.
Angel held the ornament close to the tree. “Here?” he asked.
“Higher!”
The ornament caught Connor’s reflection for a moment in its red shiny surface as Angel raised it to the next bough. His own reflection remained conspicuously absent. “Here?”
Connor nodded eagerly, and Angel secured the ornament to the branch. “There,” he said, and stood back to admire their handiwork. “All done.”
“Daddy!” Connor said sternly.
Angel raised an eyebrow at the little boy, smiling good-naturedly. “What, am I forgetting something?” he teased.
Connor ran over to the box that held all of the decorations. “The angel!” he reminded his father loudly.
“Are you sure?” Angel asked.
“It’s right here,” the boy pointed out, struggling to lift the angel tree-topper out of the box too big for him to reach into.
Angel leaned over to help him. “Oh, this?” he said. He placed it carefully in Connor’s small hands. “Maybe you’d better put this up there. Just to make sure I don’t forget again.”
Connor’s smile could only be described as thrilled. “Could I really?”
“You’ve got the angel?” Angel asked gently.
Connor nodded and held the figure by the waist for his father to see.
“Okay, then. Hold on tight.” He lifted the boy easily with no more warning than that, making Connor laugh in delight. Then Angel held him up by the top of the tree so that he could place the angel there with excruciating carefulness. Connor stuck his tongue out slightly as he set it on top of the tree. As he took his time to get it right, Angel couldn’t help but be glad of his supernatural strength – Connor was much larger than he’d been a year ago.
“There!” Connor finally declared loudly.
“How cute. All of my favorite angels.”
Angel froze for a second in mid-motion of putting his son down, and Connor squirmed in protest. “Unca Lorne!” he said happily once his feet were on the ground again.
The flashy demon smiled at the little boy. “And a merry Christmas to you,” he said. “I see you decorated the tree this year.”
“Daddy helped,” Connor said, making both vampire and demon grin.
“I’m sure,” Lorne replied, looking at the tree. It was heavily decorated…from about the middle down.
Angel couldn’t help but continue smiling at the unexpected arrival. “Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“Well,” Lorne said, gesturing broadly, “I happened to run into Cordelia last evening, and it seems that she’s quite upset over a certain ex-girlfriend of yours being in town.”
Angel’s smile slipped. “Not you, too,” he said.
Lorne waved his response off. “She’s just looking out for you,” he said. “Me, I’ve never even met the girl. And something tells me I’ve only gotten a hint of what she means to you.”
Angel was uncomfortable under the sudden scrutiny. He said nothing, but shot Lorne a look.
The demon smiled back at him. “I’m just as willing to stand back and see what happens,” he said. “Like, oh, now.”
The front door opened as if on cue, revealing Buffy with several shopping bags. Angel rushed past Lorne and Connor to grab a couple of them and hurried to put them down on the counter. “What’s this?” he asked in surprise.
“And hello to you, too,” Buffy retorted.
Angel’s smile returned, stronger than before. “Hello, Buffy.”
“And to answer your question,” the small blond continued, “it’s Christmas dinner.”
Angel opened his mouth to protest, and Buffy immediately cut him off. “I know you’re not experienced at this, seeing as how you’re on a liquid diet,” she said with a smile. “And if I can handle Thanksgiving for the entire Sunnydale gang, I’m sure I can manage a small Christmas gathering. Right?”
“You didn’t have to do this,” Angel protested.
“I didn’t,” Buffy agreed. “But I want to. Besides, who else is going to do it?”
“She has you there,” Lorne spoke up.
Buffy was startled by his voice, but not half as much as she was when she actually saw who spoke. Angel had almost forgotten how much simpler it was in Sunnydale – chances were if it wasn’t human, it was evil. “Uh, I don’t know you,” she stuttered.
Lorne smiled at her pleasantly as Angel spoke up. “Buffy, this is Lorne. Lorne, Buffy.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Lorne said, offering his hand to shake.
Buffy took it a bit hesitantly. “Likewise…I think.”
Angel tried not to smile at Buffy’s discomfort. “He’s a friend,” he explained easily.
“Oh.” She looked down abruptly to see Connor going through one of the bags she’d brought. “And what do you think you’re doing?” she asked with a smile.
“Presents!” the toddler declared.
“Yes, they are,” Buffy agreed. “But they’re not for until tomorrow.”
Connor pouted at her.
She sighed. “Nope, not going to work,” she declared.
The boy turned his attention to his father then with the same pleading expression.
“One – but not until tonight, after dinner,” Angel said after a moment. “The rest wait until tomorrow.”
Connor stopped pouting, but he did look quite longingly at the bag of presents.
“Here,” Buffy said happily. “Why don’t you help me put these under the tree?”
That put the toddler instantly in a better mood, and he hurried over to show Buffy all of his hard work that morning. On her way, Buffy flashed Angel a pleasant smile, one he happily returned.
Lorne leaned closer to talk to Angel once she was a ways across the room. “I see why Cordelia was worried,” he said.
Angel shot him a look.
“She’s quite something,” Lorne continued, undaunted. “I bet she leaves broken hearts in her wake all over the place.”
Angel’s reply was barely above a growl. “Don’t remind me.”
“Just don’t want to see your heart be one of those,” he finished in a warning tone, then crossed the lobby to join Connor and Buffy under the tree.
Leaning against the counter, Angel knew that any such warning was already way too late.
On to Part Seven
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