Jack watched through the glass as Angel hugged her father. His eyes saw the scene playing out before him, but his mind was watching a different scene: the vision he'd been granted the night he and Angel had met.
He'd attended the dinner party for the exact reason his friend Jeff, the host, had figured he would: free food. Early on, he claimed the darkest corner of the room and glared meanacingly at anyone who approached, leaving the corner only for short intervals to swoop in and grab some more food, then retreating back to his corner to eat in what remnants of privacy he could gather around himself.
It was as he returned from one of these "gathering runs" that he returned to find her in his corner -- and not just standing there, but looking as though she were trying to fade into the wallpaper. A little knot of jealousy and fear formed in the pit of Jack's stomach as he confronted her.
"That's my corner," he started to say. But as soon as the first word left his mouth, he felt the familiar tug, as though someone were pulling on a string attached to his soul.
Weeping with pain, she looked up at him from the hospital bed. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Over and over she whispered it through the moans and grunts of pain.
"OK, dear, once more..." Jack turned his head and looked at the doctor. "Push, Angel...push!"
Tears filled Jack's eyes as the heart-rending scream of pain and frustration mixed with the sweetest sound Jack had ever imagined: the lone wail of a newborn child. "It's a boy!" the Doctor proclaimed, grinning at Jack.
Emotionally spent, Jack looked from the woman in the bed to the child and back again. She grinned tiredly and said "Congratulations, Daddy."
Jack stared at the girl, shocked. Never before had he had a vision which led to anything other than death or pain. She cocked her head and looked at him quizzically. "That--?" she asked. Racing to cover his shock, Jack looked at the floor and said "That's a nice dress." Looking up, he watched as a red glow crept up her neck and filled her face. Drawing her eyebrows together in a frown she spat "Cute. You come all the way over here to say that, did you? Yes, I know my dress is torn. No, I don't normally dress like this. No, you can't have my num--"
She stopped, examining Jack's face. Something she found there must have spoken volumes, because her tone changed instantly. "Oh, you were actually complimenting my dress! I'm sorry...I figured you were just another jerk coming to make fun of me."
"Actually, I was looking for a place to hide, but I think you need it more than I do." Jack looked around the room and then stepped over to Jeff's couch, pulling a decorative blanket off the back. Without saying a word, he folded it into a rectangle and wrapped it around the girl's waist, tucking the top back into itself to form a makeshift skirt. Realizing how close the gesture had brought him, he looked down into the girl's face and smiled.
"I'm Jack. And you must be Angel?"
Jack woke from his reverie to find Angel staring at him from across the terminal, her jaw clenched. Jack raised his eyebrows and started towards her, but she dropped her gaze to the floor, shaking her head sadly, and walked away.
