I've been meaning to read this since you posted it, and finally here I am.
Anyone could be happy, if they didn't know the truth.
OMG *sobs* Poor Angel. I mean, he's fucked no matter what he does, doesn't he? But of all the roles he's played, I think he was at his most human when it came to Connor. Which always made me think... wasn't Connor's very existence a sort of Shanshu?