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Chapter 14: The Weekend Getaway It had been two months since Christian's real identity had been discovered and all had been quiet from the Wolfram & Hart front. A fact that made the group very suspicious, it was never a good sign. “Auw”, Buffy moaned and tried to rub her back. She had developed a habbit of walking around the small garden to ease her backaches since the ground was softer than on the sidewalks. Of course Angel wasn't very happy with it when she did it at daytime because he couldn't come out to help her if something happened. But then again, he didn't like the idea of her outside after dark either. Buffy tried to convince him that she could still take care of herself despite her protruding stomach but he had become even more protective of her after Wolfram & Hart had kidnapped her and he watched her like a hawk. She could feel his eyes on her back, he had been staring at her as long as she had been outside. She turned around and gave him a smile. He was standing in the shadows, just out of sun's reach. She sighed and glanced at the sky before heading back inside, the walk hadn't done all that much good and she didn't like it when Angel worried. “How was your walk?” he asked and before she could answer, planted a soft kiss to her lips. “Walky”, she answered and laughed as he dropped down to his knees and spread his hands possessively over her stomach. “Hey there little one”, he whispered to the baby inside her. Buffy watched intently as he whispered things to their unborn child and the calm, happy look on his face made her heart flutter, he rarely looked so at ease and she was certain if his soul hadn't been bound, soon she would have been looking into Angelus' dark eyes. But as their eyes met, there was no doubt that it was Angel who looked back at her. His eyes shone with happiness that was rarely there and the small lopsided smile on his lips was contagious. “She kicked”, he stated happily. “He takes after his father”, she said and he looked at her like he wanted to protest but changed his mind, they both had their opinion about the baby's sex, but soon they would find out. “I never get tired of seeing this”, Gunn's humorous voice said from behind Angel. He spun around to look at the man and sent him a glare before grudgingly getting up to his feet. “So how is the mama doing?” Gunn asked ignoring the vampire and walked closer to Buffy. “Just fine”, she answered leaving out the fact that her back was killing her. Her small frame didn't like the pregnant stomach, but she had a feeling her pains would have been much more pronounced if she wasn't a slayer. “Okay, take it easy. I gotta go and take a look into that vamp case”, Gunn stated and after a reassuring smile he left the hotel. Buffy looked after him with a frown, she hated that she couldn't join the fight and just had to look while others did it. She felt helpless and useless, and they were not feelings she liked. “Are you sulking?” Angel asked with a crooked smile tugging at his lips. She turned to him with a halfhearted glare and answered with a pout, “No.” He didn't look convinced. “I think I'm going to sit down, now my feet are killing me”, she said and headed to the round couch in the lobby. Angel followed her and kneeled down in front of her, removing her shoes and gently rubbing the bottoms of her feet. “Oh. That feels nice”, she sighed and smiled down at him. She let her eyes close and lost herself in the sensations he created. “You're really good with your hands”, she said, letting out another sigh as he worked the pain away. “I know”, he smirked and she opened her eyes enough to look at him. He looked smug and sexy as hell. “Funny”, she stated, a smile tugging at her lips. But the moment was broken as they heard the front door open and grudgingly she pulled her legs away from Angel's hands as Cordelia walked into the lobby with a wide smile on her face. She spotted Buffy and made a straight line to her. “Guess what! Preston asked me to spend a weekend with him! At his beach house!” she announced, one step away from jumping up and down from excitement. The smile on her face was so wide Buffy started to worry she might pull a muscle. “Isn't that a little quick?” Angel asked uncomfortably and sat next to Buffy on the settee. Cordelia's gaze turned to him, her eyes narrowing and she threw him a cool look. “At his beach house”, she repeated slowly and firmly like it explained everything. Finally she let out a exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. “Men”, she muttered and turned to Buffy, ignoring the vampire next to her. “Can you believe it!” she said to Buffy, the wide smile returning to her lips. But then it disappeared and was replaced with a look of horror. “Oh my God! What am I going to wear?!”
The group was gathered in the office with stacks of books surrounding them. Buffy sighed in boredom and put down the book she had been reading. She really wasn't one for research if she could help it. “Why do I have to do research? Can't I just pass with the excuse that I'm pregnant?” she questioned. Angel put down his book and moved to sit next to her. “Maybe you should go upstairs to rest?” he suggested, his hand unconsciously moving down to her stomach. Her whole body seemed to relax at his gentle touch. “It's my brain that needs rest, too many boring pages full of boring details of ugly demons. Do I really need to know how those things mate?” She picked up the book and opened it, pointing at the drawn picture of a large demon with five hands, two mouths and drooping veiny skin. “I don't think so”, she added grimacing. He chuckled and shook his head in amusement. “Why don't you take a break then, make sure the boys behave while I'm patrolling”, he said and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before standing up. He looked at the clock, then at the phone with a frown in his face and Buffy rolled her eyes. “If she has a vision, she will call”, she stated. He was already playing the worrying father, she didn't know if it was worthy of an eye-roll or kinda sweet. “I know. I'm going.” “I'll keep the bed warm for you”, Buffy whispered with a crooked grin, quiet enough that only Angel could hear her. He leaned closer to her, placing his hands against her chair's backrest on both sides of her head. “Vixen”, he accused and stole a brief kiss from her when he knew the others weren't looking. He glanced at Wesley and Gunn who were occupied with the research and again he kissed her lips, then took a step back and left quickly so he wouldn't be tempted to stay. “Shouldn't you two be over the honeymoon phase?” Gunn questioned drawing Buffy's attention to himself. She just looked at him innocently and reached out for a different book, deciding to ignore him. Some time later, the front door slammed loudly and everyone jumped to their feet. As they gathered at the doorway and to their surprise they saw Cordelia stalking through the lobby, not looking happy. Buffy was almost afraid to ask what had happened to make her interrupt her romantic getaway two days early. She started approaching the fuming woman like she was a wounded animal. “That pompous ass!” Cordelia exclaimed, dropping her bag to the floor and throwing her arms in the air. “What happened?” Buffy asked tentatively. “All men are pigs!” she cried out. “On the behalf of my gender: Hey! Don't generalize”, Gunn protested from the office doorway. “I agree with Gunn”, Wesley added. But both men were ignored. “What happened, Cordy?” Buffy asked again, but the brunette didn't look too keen on sharing while the men were listening. Buffy glanced at the men by the office door and then directed her gaze back to Cordelia, understanding her reluctance. “Let's go to the garden”, Buffy said and led her outside. They sat to the bench next to the fountain and Buffy waited patiently for Cordelia to start talking. She didn't have to wait for long. “He seemed so different from other guys. You know!” Cordelia began and Buffy gave her an understanding nod, not interrupting her. “But he was just like the rest of them! Till now he was sweet, kind, charming and everything I thought I'd like in a guy. He was even rich! He had a beach house and new Mercedes. I thought maybe this time it would be different, he was human, he wasn't trying to sacrifice me to anything, he seemed dependable so I wouldn't have to worry about walking in on him and his best friend necking”, she continued with a frown. Buffy didn't say anything, just let her tell everything on her own pace. “But he was exactly the opposite. He was an asshole. I thought we had something! I thought spending a weekend at his beach house would be romantic and like a vacation from all the craziness of my life, a vision-free time for me.” She paused taking deep calming breaths and tried to keep herself from crying. She didn't want to let a guy make her cry, not after Xander, she was stronger than that. Also she didn't want to cry in front of Buffy. “When we got there, he changed. He wanted to make his own video but when I said no, he yelled at me. Accused me of leading him on and using him for my career. What career?! I've only had few commercials!” she cried out, not realizing she had let her facade of the great actress fade. Buffy took a hold of her hand, giving it a soft squeeze, letting her know she wasn't alone. “And he grabbed me”, she added painfully and Buffy's eyes drew to the forming bruises on her wrist. “You want me to teach him a lesson?” Buffy asked half serious, she was willing to smack him around a little bit. Cordelia let out a painful laugh and shook her head. “I already kicked and maced him. Before I left. I think he might have some problems reproducing in the future but that's just a good thing.” She paused again, turning to Buffy, looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen her. ”When he grabbed my arm, I was scared. Different type of scared than with demons and other creepy crawlies. And I don't want to be scared, I want to know how to defend myself. Other than the standard kick to the crotch.” “You want me to teach you how to fight?” Buffy questioned with a raised eyebrow, surprised by the possibility of what Cordelia was saying. “Yes. I don't want to be scared of people. Demons and other things I can handle cause you can just slay them, but I want to know how to defend myself without a sharp wooden stick”, Cordelia answered with a nod. Buffy didn't know what to say, Cordelia Chase had actually asked her for help. She opened her mouth to answer her, but then closed it again, trying to find the words. “Okay”, she finally said. “I'll teach you some basic stuff while I'm still on the pregnancy leave and the rest after the birth. Are you sure about this?” “Yeah, I'm sure.” “Okay, we'll start tomorrow”, Buffy said and stood up. Cordelia did the same and frowned at her. “Tomorrow?” “Changing your mind?” Buffy smirked and Cordelia gave her a defiant look, her eyes narrowing. “Not gonna happen”, she stated and started walking back to the hotel. Buffy looked after her with a smile. Slowly she turned around finding Angel standing behind the fountain with a bloody ax in his hand. He didn't look happy. “I know, I know, I'm not supposed to be outside after dark. But I have Mr Pointy with me. And how long have you been standing there?” She looked at him scrutinizingly. “Heard pretty much everything. Wesley called that they found what kind of a demon it was and it needs silver bullets”, he answered and casually walked closer to her. “Since you're too much of a middle ages gentleman, you won't do the whole na-na-na-naa-I-told-you-so-thing. But you do know that Cordelia will stake you if she finds out you heard her?” she stated and he nodded in confirmation. Though they both knew Cordelia couldn't stake him even if she tried. “I know. And I wasn't born in the middle ages.” She smiled at his petulant look. “You're cute when you pout”, she stated with a soft laugh and he threw her a halfhearted glare which only made her smile wider. “So you're gonna be training Cordelia”, he changed the subject and started leading her back inside. “Yeah. I couldn't convince you to take me with you for a demon hunt?” she asked and batted her eyelashes at him with a sweet smile, but dropped the act as his expression didn't waver. “I didn't think so. I can't believe this, but I think I miss the slaying.” He pulled her into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Think of it as a vacation, you can relax for a change.” “With a huge stomach, swollen ankles and back that is trying to kill me”, she grumbled with a pout. He shook his head and got down to his knees in front of her, covering her stomach with his hands. “You're beautiful”, he stated and pressed a kiss to her stomach. He looked up to her, she was smiling but her eyes still showed skepticism. “Why don't you take a relaxing bath and when I come back, I'll rub your feet”, he suggested and got up to his feet. A bright smile rose to her lips, lighting her whole face. “Okay, you've got yourself a deal.” “I won't be long”, he said stealing a quick kiss from her and going to the weapons cabinet. He took out a pistol and loaded it with silver bullets, checking it twice before heading towards the door. “Hey! Not to sound all cliché, but be careful”, Buffy said and he stopped, turning to look at her.
“Don't worry, I'll be right back”, he said and left. Buffy watched him disappear into the shadows and sighed wearily. It was easy to say not to worry, she knew he could look after himself, but it was still hard not being there fighting alongside with him. She turned around and started going up the stairs, maybe the bath wasn't such a bad idea.
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