Southern Comfort (9/?)

Author- Midnight Faith

Spoilers- 'Lullaby'

Distribution- FF.net, AOH anyone else just ask :)

Pairing- Lilah/Lindsey

Rating- R

Summary- Angel returns… and things as they often do get even more complex…

Disclaimer- not mine… yadda, yadda

"I'm not going to be able to stand it," Lindsey told Lilah, attempting to bury his face in her hair.

She sighed slightly and moved out of his reach.

"First of all no-one is exactly supposed to know about us," Lilah reminded him rationally, "And it's only for one night… you know Cordelia's right. She needs to tell Angel about us staying here *not* for Angel to come home and find his two ex-arch enemies living in his hotel."

"I know… it's just going to be weird… not having you around."

"It's only one night," Lilah repeated, beginning to feel a little restless and suffocated, "One of us stays on Wesley's sofa… one of us on Gunn's… they're like three blocks away from each other."

"What if you need something?"

"Gunn will be there… and besides I'm not three years old I can look after myself."

Lilah watched a look of distress flash across Lindsey's face.

"I'm sorry…" she told him kindly, "But it's only for one night… you were gone for six months and you probably didn't think about me once right?"

"That's not true," he told her taking a step closer.

He wove his arms around her waist as she clasped her hands at the back of his neck.

"Go out with Wesley… got out, get smashed in some bar or something," Lilah told him.

Lindsey brought his lips gently to hers, pulling her tighter towards him.

The mood was broken by the two doors, one leading from the courtyard, and one which led off the busy suburban street being opened simultaneously.

Through one door walked Cordelia, eyes wide at the sight of Lindsey and Lilah caught in a passionate clinch and through the other walked Angel carrying Connor in his arms, equally as wide eyed and turning paler than usual at the noteworthy scene.

There were a few seconds of stunned silence before where everyone stood motionless and then the four adults in the room all seemed to talk at once.

"What the hell are they doing in my hotel?"

"Why does he have a baby? What is it his? Is that not impossible? Did you know about this?"

"I can explain…"

"Yeah, I knew about this but I didn't think it was top of my list of things to tell you."

"Did you lose your mind? They're *evil. *"

"Is this something to do with you? Is that why you didn't say anything?"

"They're not evil… anymore. This is kind of a safe house."

"How can you even ask me that?"

Connor's loud, possessive shriek broke the myriad of voices by now almost at shouting intensity.

"He's picking up on your negative energy," Cordy told Angel flatly, "Come on, let's go and talk…" she asked him.

Angel gave in to her and proceeded to follow her into the kitchen, Connor still crying in his arms.

"No," Cordy told him, "leave the baby."

"No way," Angel said defensively, firing acidic looks at Lindsey and Lilah, "I'm not leaving him with them."

"He'll be fine," Cordy said trustingly, "I promise."

"If anything happens…" Angel began menacingly.

"Angel…" Cordy cut him off.

Angel resigned himself to walking in Lilah's general direction.

A slightly panicked expression flitted across her face as she took a defensive step backwards, putting her arms behind her back.

"Oh… no," she said apprehensively, "I'm really no good with kids."

Lindsey wove his way between Angel and Lilah and held out his arms to take Connor.

Angel tentatively lay the baby in his arms.

"Anything…" Angel warned once more before allowing Cordy to drag him off into the kitchen.

When the door had closed behind them, Lilah slunk past Lindsey towards one of the sofas in the lobby, where she picked up one of Cordy's discarded copies of 'Elle' and began to absent mindedly flick through it.

Lindsey followed her, sitting down gently on the sofa opposite her.

"What's his name?" Lindsey asked her.

"Connor," she told him blankly not raising her eyes from the magazine.

"Is he…"

"Human? Yeah… he's apparently some sort of miracle kid or something, and in case you're wondering… he's Darla's, she's dead and I've got to get out of here,"

Without a look back Lilah strode out of the hotel.

*****

The first fingers of dawn were beginning to creep over the horizon. The hazy skyline reminded the early bird residents of LA that it would be another beautiful, seemingly perfect day in California.

Lilah had seen too many sunrises from the fifteenth storey of Wolfram and Hart's glass and chrome tower. She felt she could systematically recite the order of colours the sky became before the sun finally rose over the equator of skyscrapers.

This morning Lilah was too absorbed in her own thoughts to glance once at the sky.

She took a left at the hotel and began to walk slowly down the near deserted street, arms wrapped around her ribs in comfort and against the coolness of the early morning air.

Her thoughts were a churning body of confusion. Why had Lindsey reacted the way he did for Connor? Lilah had expected him to be mad or storm off or make *some* negative reaction. But he'd actually shown some warmth towards the kid. Maybe it was because Connor was Darla's son…

Lilah was so deep in thought she almost ran straight into Gunn walking in the opposite direction towards her.

"Hey… West Wing girl I was just on my way to see you," he said neutrally.

"Why?" she asked him.

"I've just been to the post office to pick up our mail… got a letter from your bestest friend, Gavin. Wolfram and Hart are suing us…" he told her suspiciously.

Lilah opened her mouth to say something but was cut off when Gunn quipped,

"Anyone know a good lawyer?"

*****

Lindsey walked through the lobby towards Lilah sat tiredly on the sofa late that night.

"I feel like I've been up forever," he told her, sitting beside her.

The day had been long and strained for everyone at the Hyperion. After the original members of the gang had got through their not so concealed scepticisms about the nature of Wolfram and Hart suing them they'd awkwardly mingled with each other making touchy small talk and drinking countless cups of coffee.

Gunn had surprised Lilah, that it was him not Lindsey that had handed her coffee and asked her if she was OK.

"I swore I'd never work on another lawsuit," again he said, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.

Lilah vaguely felt herself melting away beneath his touch, wondering just how he could make the events of the day disappear with one kiss.

"I'm sorry about today," he said close to her ear, trailing kisses down her cheek, reaching her jawbone. "Am I forgiven?"

He watched her lips curve into a contented smile, tilting her head back so she leaned against his shoulder, allowing him more access to her neck.

"Forgiven," she told him a little breathlessly as he kissed his way down to her collarbone.

She suddenly snapped her eyes open shivers of cold and anxiety suddenly flooding her senses.

"Lindsey?" she asked him more of a question, needing a verbal confirmation that what she thought was about to happen was really happening…

"Ssshhh…" he said tenderly, pressing his forefinger gently against her lips.

He took her hand and led her up the stairs to their room…