A 20-minute Angel challenge response.



Out To Get You

Angel sighed. He wondered if the Powers were purposely trying to drive him insane. Not that they were directly responsible for everything, but he was beginning to wonder. The past six months or so had been crazy. It began by taking over Wolfram and Hart, then Spike came back, Spike beating him cause he wanted the reward more, Cordy’s death, and then Fred’s. Not to mention the whole being turned into a puppet incident, talk about embarrassing.

And now there was this. The brooding vampire looked down at the peacefully sleeping girl in his lap. She was simply dressed in a white smock and her bare feet had grass stains.

The little six-year-old had just walked into his office, climbed into his lap, and promptly fell asleep. She said nothing, just gave him an impish grin. Every time he tried to put her down, she physically protested until he stopped.

Angel looked up as Harmony entered his office. “Anything?” He asked hopefully. “Nothing boss. Nobody seems to know who she is and there have been no missing children reports.”

“Keep trying,” he instructed. “She can’t stay here.”

“Understood boss,” she said, before leaving.

He looked back down at the girl in his lap and was surprised to see she was awake. “What’s your name?”

She raised a set of shepherd's pipes to little pink lips and gave a little trill.

“Not talking huh?”

Her black eyes just shone in merriment.

********

Angel sat quietly in the car as he drove back to the office. He felt a little guilty about leaving the girl at the orphanage, but he didn’t know what else to do.

The girl had been in his life for barely six hours and he found himself missing her. Somehow she tapped into his fathering instinct and had filled the hole that losing Connor had left.

He trudged slowly through the building back to his office. He had stepped through the doors and stopped in surprise. “How did you get here?”

The little girl smiled back from her perch on top of his desk.

“I have to take you back.” She just looked at him. “But you won’t stay there will you?”

She hopped off the table and walked over to him. She held her arms up in a wordless plea until he picked her up.

“It’s not safe for you here. You’ll get hurt.” She rolled her eyes and snuggled in close. “Well Flute, it’s your decision... I guess.”

He never saw the triumphant look on her face.

Yeah, the Powers were definitely out to get him.

~finis~



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