"Why can't we just take him? Angel has no legal claim. The birth was never registered. His disappearance was never reported to the police. We have a birth certificate, all his records. People have known us for years. They know we're his parents. And you're a lawyer. You know what to do."

"It's not right, Kate."

"Maybe not. But I don't care. I can't leave our son. It would break my heart. And it would break yours. I know. He's a vampire, Lindsey. I don't care how good he is, something could happen to turn him. Then what would happen to Mike?"

"That's not something any of the others are worried about. They all have kids here. I know he'd never hurt his son."

"He killed his family, remember."

"Please, Kate. Don't make it any harder. You know this is the right thing. We have to do it. If we believe our religion, we have to do good, not evil. And suppose the shoe had been on the other foot and Angel had had our son for five years. Wouldn't we want him back?"

"If he had any compassion at all, he'd leave Mike with us. He knows how much we love him and how much he loves us."

"Oh, Katy." Lindsey held her tight against him. He put her hand on her belly. "We have Beth. Feel her? She's moving right now, trying to get comfortable to go to sleep. And we have our Patty. And we have each other. We're blessed, Katy. Angel has friends, but he has no one to love. No one but Mike. Remember the story of the rich man and the poor man's little lamb?"

"We're not King David and Bathsheba, Lindsey. It's not just for us; it's for Mike, too. He'd be happier with us in Tampa. You know it."

Lindsey didn't answer. He felt that it was true that Mike would be happier with them. That made it harder. But he had left Wolfram & Hart to try to be the person that he had been meant to be. He couldn't steal Angel's lamb, not when they had a beautiful flock of their own. "We'll have another child when you're ready. If it's a boy, he'll be our new Mikey."

"No. He'll be his own little David, or John, or Kevin, or whoever he turns out to be. But he won't be Mikey."

Slowly the two of them settled into sleep. In the next room, as Patty slept deeply, Mike lay awake. He didn't really understand what was going on, but he knew that his parents were very sad. He was confused. The man they called Angel was a stranger, yet he could feel love coming from him as well. Were his parents going to leave him with Angel? It seemed that way. They didn't want to. Maybe he could do something.

Mike lay awake listening and thinking. He heard babies crying and then he heard nothing. The man they called Angel was downstairs awake. Everyone else was asleep. He got out of bed and walked downstairs as quietly as possible so as not to wake Mom or Dad. Yes, Angel was there.

"Why are you up now? You should be in bed." Angel smiled at him.

"May I have a glass of milk? I'm thirsty."

"I'll bet I could even find some cookies. Let's go see." He led Mike into the kitchen. Although he tried to stand between Mike and the refrigerator door as he got the milk out, Mike could see something strange in there. There were bags of something red. Once he had seen a medical show on television with bags like this that held blood. Why was there blood in this refrigerator? That frightened him.

Angel closed the refrigerator door quickly and took the container of milk to the table, where he poured a glassful for Mike. Then he found a box of Oreos and set it on the table. "Here you go, Mike. I'll leave the milk out in case you want more."

"Thanks." Mike looked at the man and suddenly he knew what to do. "I can't sleep because I'm just so excited about tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I'm going on an airplane for the first time."

"You've been on an airplane before. How do you think you got here?"

"I don't know. I woke up in the place where you found me. I guess I was on a plane, but I must have been asleep." He smiled. "I'm going home tomorrow. I can't wait. We have so many things planned. Dad and Mom are taking us to DisneyWorld for Patty's birthday. And we're going to have a picnic on the beach. And I've got a t-ball game. And Dad says we can go see the Devil Rays play. And maybe one day in the winter we can go to Orlando and see the Magic. And maybe the Bucs. And we might go to Busch Gardens for my friend Keith's birthday. And I start kindergarten. So does Patty, but we have different teachers. Mom & Dad thought we should be in different classes so we wouldn't be in. . .I forget the word."

Angel smiled, but he didn't like the way this was going. "Competition?"

"That's it. They didn't want me to be in competition with Patty because I'm older and bigger and stronger. I'll have Ms. Sanchez and Patty has Mrs. Lowe." He paused, dunked his cookie in the milk, and took a bite. "Dad said we can play soccer, too. Mom has been coaching us until she got too big. And then the baby is coming. I told Mom & Dad I wanted a brother, but they said we have to take what God sends us."

"Well, there are a lot of great things to do here in Los Angeles. Did you know there are dinosaur bones in the La Brea Tar Pits? And lots of amusement parks like Knott's Berry Farm and of course Disneyland. And we have beaches here, too."

"I know Disneyland is much smaller than DisneyWorld. Dad told me that they built Disneyland first and then, when they made DisneyWorld, they made sure to allow enough land to expand it as much as they wanted. He said they learned from their mistakes. They have MGM Disney and Animal Kingdom and lots of neat stuff there. And there's Universal Studios. Dad said he'd take me on the Spiderman ride when we go there."

Angel sighed inside. He hadn't even thought that Mike might not want to stay here. He had been a fool. Kate and Lindsey had given Mike a wonderful life. He could give him love, but so could they. He couldn't give him siblings. He couldn't even take him out in the daytime. Yes, Mike could probably be happy here one day, but what would happen now? He pictured a sobbing Mike fighting to follow his family as they left for the airport. Could he do that to his son? Could he tear him away from everyone and everything he loved? "Okay, Mike, go try to get some sleep now." He reached his arm out to tousle his son's hair but drew it back. Now wasn't the time.

He watched Mike go up the stairs and into the bedroom. Then he tapped on Lorne's door. "Are you up?"

Lorne opened the door a crack. "Come on in. I've been expecting you. I didn't need any singing to feel all the emotions surging through this place. It's given me a headache. It's even making me think pleasant thoughts of Pylea!"

Angel smiled wryly at his friend. "Should I sing?"

"Anything but Mandy." Lorne paused. "No, you really don't need to sing. I understand what you're going through. You want him so badly and yet you know he doesn't want to stay here with you."

Angel nodded. "I guess I was just thinking there would be an instant bond. There wasn't."

"You know, Lindsey and Kate want him so much but they're giving him up because it's the right thing to do. But is it the right thing for him?"

"Lorne, help me. What do I do?"

"You are going to have to make your own decision, Angel. Just remember it's not what you want, or what Kate and Lindsey want, or even what Mike wants that counts. It's what's best for Mike. I think you can work that out for yourself. Don't let anything else distract you."

Angel put his hand on his friend's arm. "Thanks, Lorne. I'm going downstairs for a while." He left the room and started down the steps. As he did, he heard a baby cry. It was little Lindsay, needing to be fed. He heard Fred's and Wes' hushed voices as they tended to their daughter. I hope they never find themselves in a situation like this, he thought.

When he got downstairs, he began playing the discs Lindsey had brought. He watched Mike with Lindsey, with Kate, with Patty, with his friends. As he sat watching the happy little boy, tears made their way down his cheeks.

About 4:00 he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Lindsey. He headed for the kitchen.

"Can't sleep either?"

Lindsey turned. "You startled me. No, it's about 7 my time. I usually get up about now. I guess I'll make breakfast again. Cooking helps me relax and get centered."

"You have something you have to do first. Call the airport and get a ticket for Mike. He's going home with you."

"Angel. . ."

"I've been thinking about what's best for Mikey. He needs a mother and a father right now. He needs friends. He needs familiar surroundings. After all, he's been through a lot and I'm sure it will catch up with him soon. Someday maybe he'll come and live with me, but for right now he needs you and Kate and Patty."

"If I'd known he was yours, he'd have been back with you years ago."

"But you didn't, and he wasn't. We have to play the cards we're dealt. You're best for him now. Go get him a ticket before your plane is full."

"I already have one. Hope springs eternal. I had to believe that he'd be coming back with us, and buying a ticket for him made it seem possible."

"All right, then. Make breakfast. Everybody seemed to like it yesterday. Maybe they'll make you stay and cook for us!"

Lindsey looked at the floor. "Angel, I don't know what to say. There are no words."

"There were always words when you were the big bad lawyer. You don't need them now." He held out his hand. "Take care of our boy, Lindsey."

Lindsey took Angel's hand. "I promise. One day he'll want to come to you. It may be a few years, but it will happen. I promise."

"You could have had plastic surgery to have the scar removed," Angel said, looking at Lindsey's wrist. "Why didn't you?"

"I never will. It's a reminder of the evil that I did. I'll never let myself fall again. I know I'll make mistakes sometimes. After all, I'm human. But I'll never let myself turn to the darkness. I have a wife and children to love and care for."

"All right, enough. One more word and I'll have to kill you. Go make breakfast!"

Soon the others came down the stairs in family groups. Lorne came alone, as did Wes. "I'm not sure Fred's ready to come downstairs yet. I'm going to bring her some milk and cereal."

"Take her pancakes, Wes. I assure you they're delicious." Lindsey filled two plates and set them on a tray along with two glasses of juice, a glass of milk, and a cup, which he started to fill with coffee.

"No, thanks. I don't need anything to keep me awake. I have your niece!" With a smile, Wes carried the tray upstairs to his wife.

As Kate sat at the table, Mike's hand tightly in hers, she looked at Lindsey. He gave her a reassuring smile as he set a plate in front of his son. "Pooh cakes!" Mike laughed at the pancakes in the shape of a bear that Lindsey always made for Saturday breakfast.

"I like Mickey Mouse waffles better," Patty said.

"Next Saturday, I promise." He looked at Angel. "I have a waffle iron that makes waffles in the shape of Mickey Mouse. The kids love them."

"Do you think you could get us one, Lindsey? We have a lot of kids who'll soon be old enough for waffles." Anne gave him a shy smile.

"Disney Catalog. I'll send you one."

After breakfast Gunn & Lorne volunteered to clean up the kitchen while Kate and Lindsey went up to pack. Mike and Patty sat on the floor watching Cordelia's twins learning to sit up. Angel watched his son through the mist of tears in his eyes. He was a very special little boy. If only he could have stayed. If only Lindsey and Kate didn't live on the other side of the country. If only he hadn't told Lindsey not to come back. If only. . .

Groo volunteered to drive the McDonald family to the airport. Kate and Lindsey settled into the convertible, Kate between the children, strapping them in as they had no car seats. They had said their goodbyes to everyone, kissing their new little relative Lindsay gently on top of the head. After the car was out of sight, Anne and Gunn left for a walk, taking the twins in the double stroller. Lorne went to his room. Cordelia was left downstairs with Angel.

"That was a very special thing that you did, Angel. You did what was right for Mike."

"If it was so right, Cordy, why do I feel so miserable?"

She sat down on the sofa next to him and held him tightly. "It'll all work out one day, Angel. Believe me. He'll come to love you and to know that you're his father. He's a lucky boy to have so much unconditional love."

"It's a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done before?"

"You're not Sydney Carton going to the guillotine so that Lucie & Darnay can get out of France. You're more like the child's rightful mother in the Bible story. You'd rather give him up than hurt him. You are a true champion, Angel. And you deserve a reward. Call her. See how she's doing. Remember, one day you'll be human again, and she'll be there. For now, just let yourself hear her voice." Cordelia kissed him gently on the cheek. "One day maybe you'll even have a child together. Love is eternal." She handed him his cell phone. "I'll leave you alone for a while."

Angel looked at the phone for a minute as her footsteps faded away. Then he dialed the familiar number. "Buffy? It's me. Can we talk for a few minutes? I have a story to tell you. . ."

At Wolfram & Hart, Gavin Park carried a box of his possessions into the office that had once been Lilah's and now bore no trace of its previous occupant. I won't make her mistakes, he promised himself. I wonder what they did to her?

When Mike got home, the impact of what had happened to him finally hit him. He didn't eat and had trouble sleeping at night. With infinite love and patience, Lindsey and Kate helped him through the trauma until he was back to normal, with the exception of an occasional nightmare. Once the time seemed right, Lindsey and Kate began telling him stories about Angel, who helped the hopeless and was trying to do his part in the fight against evil. One day soon, when he was ready, they would let him know the truth about who he really was. Until then, they tried to make his life as normal as possible. And they succeeded. Mike was the happy little boy he had been before Lilah had come for him. And life went on as it had.

"Lindsey! Please change your clothes before you go kneeling in the grass. Have you seen our dry cleaning bills lately?"