Moments Like These

Title: Moments Like These
Rating: PG-13
Author: Reportergirl13

Fandom: Angel The Series
Pairing: Cordy/Angel
Word Count: 858
Warnings: Spoilers through season 3 Provider
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Joss Whedon, but if I did own them I would have nixed Cordy sleeping with Conner…



The whole day had gone to hell. Angel wasn’t exactly sure where he’d gone wrong, but he knew it was somewhere between accepting a suitcase full of money and leaving Cordelia and Conner to fend for themselves in the hotel. He knew Cordy was far from helpless; she was a fighter…one of the strongest women he’d ever met.

But still, it didn’t sit well with him that the two most important people in his world could have been hurt or worse while he was out making money. He let out a heavy sigh and watched her drift to sleep as she held Conner’s bottle to his mouth. His son sucked greedily on the nipple and Angel smiled.

He still couldn’t believe he had a son, no, not just a son, a family. Cordelia had been with him every step of the way since Conner was born. She showed him how to feed Conner, how to change his diapers, and basically all the little things that without the lovely creature in front of him, he wouldn’t have been able to do.

Angel reached a hand out and brushed a stray piece of hair off Cordelia’s face. She shifted and let out a soft moan as the bottle slipped from her hand. Angel’s fingers curled around it before the bottle had time to fall. He watched Conner finish up his formula before taking the bottle and placing it on the night stand.

Wide eyes looked up at Angel and he smiled.

“Hey there little man…you finished that bottle pretty quick...Delicious huh? Hmm maybe not so much.”

Conner kicked his feet out and smiled. He shifted his head toward Cordelia, reached out a hand and grabbed for her hair. Angel chuckled lightly and pulled Conner’s hand away.

“I wouldn’t wake up Cordy if I were you buddy. You know how she gets…”

Conner cooed as Angel played with him quietly. Cordelia’s eyes were closed and her breathing stayed steady even after the deep vibrations of laughter woke her up. She’d fallen asleep in Angel’s bed again…this was becoming a very bad habit.

Staying at the hotel to help Angel with Conner, but she couldn’t help it. She loved that little boy like he was her own and she was honored that Angel seemed to gravitate to her for help before anyone else. He trusted her with the most important thing in his life.
Knowing that made a warm feeling settled in her heart. He listened to her, took her advice and included her in every decision concerning Conner. It was almost like they were a family, something Cordelia had always wanted, but had been afraid to pursue out of fear of losing it.

They never talked about it, they never discussed that this was how they’d raise him, together; somehow it was just understood by everyone that, that’s how it would be. She couldn’t pretend to be asleep forever; he’d eventually realize that she was faking.

She swallowed hard and opened her eyes. The sight before her filled her with an emotion she didn’t want to acknowledge at the moment because it would just further complicate things in an already complicated situation. Angel’s eyes shifted from Conner to her.

He smiled and the look in his deep chocolate brown eyes made her weak in the knees. Had Cordelia been standing she was almost certain her legs would have collapsed beneath her.

“Hey…we didn’t wake you did we?”

She shook her head and covered her mouth as she yawned.

“It’s okay…what are you two up to?”

He shrugged.

“Just waiting for him to finally fall asleep. I thought he was tired, but he must have gotten a second wind.”

Cordelia glanced down at the laughing baby and grinned.

“Must have. Looks like he keeps his daddy’s hours more than we thought.”

She tickled his stomach and bent down to blow raspberries on it, which had Conner in a fit of giggles. Angel watched Cordelia as she played with his son and his heart swelled with love. Yes, that right, he was almost one hundred percent sure he was in love with his beautiful seer.

Angel didn’t know when it happened…but it did and he knows that a part of her feels it to. They don’t talk about it. They use Conner as a buffer between them, and for now that’s fine. Until Angel can figure out a way to keep Angeles under wraps it’s better this way.

But In moments like these he can’t help but pretend. Pretend that he, Cordelia, and Conner are a family. That she’s Conner’s mother and they live in a perfect world where their lives aren’t threatened on a daily basis. Cordelia glanced up at him and gave him her one thousand watt smiled that she reserved for him and Conner exclusively.

He returned it as she went back to playing with Conner. He looked down at his son and did the same. He and Cordelia might not be together, and their world might not be perfect or safe, but they were a family and if Angel had anything to say about it, that would never, change.