Chapter 4: Big News “How am I going to tell this to everyone? Giles will be so disappointed. And my mother will kill me!” Buffy panicked and Angel pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly. “Everything will be alright”, he assured her and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. “Is it? We've known for two weeks and I haven't had the guts to tell anyone. Except Cordelia, and you to Wes and Gunn. What does that tell you?” “That you are just nervous, it is your friends that we are talking about and Giles is like a father to you, it is only normal”, Angel assured her but she looked at him skeptically. “Yeah, mom is going to be so proud of me, her little girl pregnant at 20”, she said sarcastically and groaned. “Your mother loves you, I'm sure she will understand and accept it.” Buffy turned to look at him with a small smile on her lips. She raised her hand to his cheek and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Yeah, but it may take a while. I know she loves me but she has hard time accepting that I'm a slayer, she doesn't understand what comes with it and sometimes I think she doesn't want to”, she said with a soft voice and pressed a finger to his lips as he was about to protest. “I'm not blaming her and in some level I understand it but she needs to accept that I'm never going to be the perfect, normal daughter she always wanted and on some levels had for the first 15 years.” Cordelia burst through the door and frowned after one look at the couple. “Okay, you two, stop the brooding”, she commanded and turned to Buffy. “This little girl is going to have some serious brooding genes from the father's side so it's your job to make it not happen by not brooding yourself.” “Girl?” Angel questioned and turned to look at Buffy, was there something she hadn't told him. “Cordy is convinced the baby is a girl”, she explained with a smile. “Okay, brighten up, you have the doctor's appointment in two hours and then we have to go shopping since you're returning to Sunnyhell tomorrow”, Cordelia continued without paying attention to what the couple was saying. “I'm so not going shopping with you, last time I did that, I was having a diet against my will”, Buffy said sternly but Cordelia didn't seem to listen, she just waved her hand dismissively. “But the baby is going to need clothes”, she protested, making Buffy chuckle. “The baby isn't going to be born in seven months”, she said back but Cordelia didn't seem to care what she was saying. She took a cup from the cabinet and sat to the table. “I thought you were supposed to be puking every morning but you don't seem to have that problem”, Cordelia said and looked pointedly at the empty plate in front of Buffy. Buffy blushed and looked away in embarrassment. “Yeah well, I'm constantly craving for ice cream but I'm not complaining, although it would be nice not to wake up in the middle of the night and want to eat a carton of ice cream.” “Yeah, that stuff goes straight to your thighs”, Cordelia said and Buffy immediately looked down at her legs, frowning. Angel chuckled and pulled her into his arms. “Don't worry, I'll be happy to help with the exercise”, he whispered to her ear and pressed a small kiss next to it. A happy smile rose to her lips. “Hey! A person present! What did I tell you about making out in front of people? Namely me!” Cordelia said loudly, making the couple laugh and turn to her. “I promise we'll keep it PG”, Buffy smirked. “Yeah, what ever”, Cordelia said dismissively and waving her hand she got up. “Well, I'm going somewhere where it's safe to open my eyes”, she added and walked out the room. “We're not that bad”, Buffy said with a pout. “I'm sure we're not”, Angel added and rained kisses down her neck, paying extra attention to his mark. She moaned softly and threaded her fingers in his hair before shifting in her chair and climbing into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her more tightly and claimed her lips hungrily. After a long passionate kiss, she pushed him back, trying to steady her breathing and get a grip of the last shred of self control she had. “We can't do this here, not now”, she whispered breathlessly and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth before getting up to her feet. “I know”, he said back and wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her in place as he pressed his face against her belly. He listened carefully before pulling back, lifting her shirt up her stomach and pressing his ear against the bare skin. Buffy giggled and threaded her fingers in his hair, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head. “I can hear the heartbeat”, he whispered, his voice full of wonder and he turned to look up to her, his eyes showing the same amazement, bringing a bright smile to her lips. “Yeah, the vamp hearing and all, I have to wait for two hours”, she said, her voice only a whisper. Angel got up and pulled her into his arms, kissing her lips tenderly. “I never thought I could have this - have a child... with you. It's a miracle”, he said gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. “It's our miracle”, she whispered. She closed her eyes, a single tear escaping and rolling down her cheek before he brushed it off. She opened her eyes and looked at him nearly pleadingly. “We'll keep our child safe, right? I know every demon and other things will be after him... or her, but we will keep it safe?” she questioned her voice revealing her fears. “Yes, this is our miracle and I'm not letting anything bad happen”, he assured her, not letting her know of his own fears that were just beneath the surface. “That is why I never did consider having children, it wasn't that I don't want them, but I'm the slayer, look how many times the bad guys have gone after my mother, just think about how it would be with my own child. But we can protect it, right?” she continued getting more anxious. “Yes, we're both strong, we're not going to let anything bad happen to our child. Calm down, there's nothing to worry about”, he whispered to her ear and placed a quick kiss to her cheek. xxx Buffy and Angel were snuggled into each other in their room, laying on top of the bedspread and looking at the small picture from the ultrasound. “It's so small”, she said with a small smile playing on her lips. “It will grow”, he assured her and gently rubbed her belly with his hand. “I can't wait to see our child grow inside you”, he whispered to her ear and pressed a kiss to her neck on top of his mark. “Don't even talk about it, I'm going to be big as a house, that's one thing I'm not looking forward to”, she said with a pout and made Angel laugh. “Well, I can't wait. See your belly swell with my child, see a life growing inside you.” “You may have to take those words back before the nine months is up”, she said smirking after seeing that he was completely honest, with excitement gleaming in his eyes. “I highly doubt it”, he answered and pulled her into a gentle, unhurried kiss, full of love. He pulled her closer to his body and wrapped his arms around her protectively, placing his hands on her stomach and rubbing it soothingly. “Why don't you sleep, it has been a long day”, he suggested but she shook her head. “I should still go slaying”, she protested and Angel turned sharply at her. “Not gonna happen, no slaying for you for seven months”, he said sternly but she sat up and turned to look at him just as decidedly. “Angel, I'm the slayer, I can't just stop slaying for seven months”, she said and he also got up, grabbing her arms. “It is dangerous for the baby, I'm not going to let you risk it”, he said and Buffy's face grumbled, she hadn't thought that she might hurt the baby, she was a terrible mother already and the baby hadn't even been born yet. “I'm sorry”, she whispered and placed her hands on her stomach, almost like apologizing to the unborn child. Angel wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his arms, placing a comforting kiss to the top of her head. “It's okay”, he whispered but she shook her head. “What are we going to do, Hellmouth can't be without a slayer and I can't patrol with the fear of hurting our baby. Maybe Willow could do a protection spell?” she finally asked hopefully but Angel shook his head. “No, it's still dangerous, what if I patrol in Sunnydale?” But this time it was Buffy who shook her head. “That's not likely option either, you have your hands full here already.” There was a long silence, both of them thinking through the options till Angel finally found the answer. “Faith”, he said simply and Buffy groaned out loud. “She's never going to let me live this down”, she said with another groan. xxx Buffy was making her way to the car after the usual goodbyes with the gang. The sun had just set less than hour before. “Man, I still can't believe the big guy knocked you up”, Gunn said once again in amazement, shaking his head. “You said that already”, Buffy smirked, Gunn's bewilderment of her pregnancy was just too amusing for her. “I've got a whole new respect for you, man”, he said and slapped Angel in the back in a very manly manner. Cordelia just rolled her eyes and turned to Buffy. “Remember to call me, okay?” she reminded and Buffy nodded. “Of course”, she promised. She picked up her backpack and turned to Angel who was loading the car. “I still don't get why you don't let me drive to Sunnydale, I had to get the car and now I can't drive it”, she huffed but he just gave her a crooked smile. “I didn't know you were pregnant then”, he answered and closed the trunk before making his way to open the door for her. “Fine, I'll humor you. But being pregnant doesn't prevent from driving a car, you know. Next time, I'm driving back here, the only reason I'm letting you do this now, is cause I need you as the backup when I confront the gang... and my mother”, she said stubbornly and sat to the car. “What ever you say, sweetheart”, he responded and placed quick kiss to her lips before closing the door and making his way to the driver's seat. He loved Buffy when she had the stubborn look on her face, okay, he loved her what ever face she had but to him, she was adorable when she was pouting with the determinate look on her face. Buffy looked at him as he pulled out of the drive way, he didn't argue with her and that made her suspicious. “Just because I called Faith to come to Sunnydale, doesn't mean that I'm going to relent to every idea you have, I've got the car and I'm driving it too. I promise I'll let you play driving miss Daisy when I'm too big to sit behind the wheel”, she said and Angel turned to look at her in question. “It's a movie”, she explained and smiled, he was adorable with the lack of pop culture knowledge. Two hours later Angel puller over the car in front of Buffy's apartment building. He turned to look at her and couldn't stop the smile from surfacing as he saw her sleeping peacefully. As quietly as he could, he got out of the car, walked around it to the other side and gently lifted her into his arms. She stirred but then just snuggled closer to his chest and sighed contently not waking. He pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head and carried her inside the building. He tried desperately not to wake her as he struggled to get the keys from her jacket pocket. “Can I help you?” came a stern voice from behind him and he spun around to see a woman in her 60s standing behind him looking like a angry mother-in-law. “No thank you, just trying to get the keys”, Angel answered with soft voice so he wouldn't wake up the woman in his arms. The lady looked at him suspiciously, measuring him with her eyes and Angel was getting uncomfortable under her firm gaze. “I believe I have seen you here before”, she stated. “Well, I'm her boyfriend. I live in LA”, Angel said shifting on his feet. The woman's face hardened. “No, you are not. I've met the young man she is currently seeing and don't take this the wrong way but you are older than him”, the woman said knowingly. “You mean Xander?” Angel asked feeling the jealousy bubbling inside him but didn't let it show in his voice. “Not the klutz. I am talking about the nice, polite young man, Mr Finn I believe was the name, such a gentleman, always bringing flowers.” Angel had to suppress a growl from escaping, he could have dealt with the mistake of thinking Xander as her boyfriend but the thought of Riley sniffing around was making him ready to kill something. “Riley Finn?” he asked with a low voice that made Buffy stir and finally open her eyes. She stared up at Angel and noticed he didn't look happy. “Hey”, she whispered and pressed a soft kiss to his neck before she noticed her neighbor standing on the hallway. “Umm... hello Mrs. Hopper”, she said slightly embarrassed to be found in the arms of her boyfriend in front of her elderly neighbor. “Good evening miss Summers, I was just inquiring what this young man was doing trying to get into your apartment with you unconscious in his arms.” Buffy blushed and turned to Angel. “You can put me down now”, she whispered and reluctantly Angel let her down back to her feet. “Miss Hopper, this is Angel, Angel, this is my neighbor Mrs Hopper”, she introduced them and turned back to her neighbor. “And I wasn't unconscious, I fell asleep in the car. Angel is my boyfriend”, she explained not missing the look of disdain that crossed Mrs. Hopper's face. Mrs. Hopper eyed the couple and finally turned to Buffy. “I can't believe you would abandon such a nice man as Mr Finn, for a...”, she glanced at Angel, trying to find a suiting word to describe him. “...a pretty face.” Buffy's defenses got up and she crossed her arms in front of her as a shield, sending a firm look to her neighbor. “What are you talking about? Riley and I haven't been together for a year. Come to think of it, how do you even know about Riley, I didn't live here back then?” she asked suspiciously, being a slayer had taught her to be rather paranoid than sorry later. “I don't understand, Riley and I have talked quite a bit, nearly every time he has visited you”, her neighbor answered little surprised by the question and where it was going. “Riley's been in my apartment”, Buffy said quietly as the realization hit her. Angel wrapped her arm around her and gave her hand a tight reassuring squeeze. “Thank you, Mrs Hopper”, she said and quickly opened the door to her apartment, stepping inside with Angel without explaining to her neighbor. As soon as the door was closed, she turned to Angel looking frantic. “He's been in my apartment”, she whispered, shaken, she had rarely felt so unprotected and Riley visiting her apartment without her knowing brought bad memories of Angelus' visits back to her mind. “It's going to be okay”, he assured her pulling her into his arms and rubbing her back soothingly, even though he himself was feeling anything but, he had a screaming urge to find Finn and teach him a lesson, possibly one that would rive him from having children. “I need to call Willow, she has to know some spell that protects against unwanted visitors with a pulse or something”, she said and pulled away from Angel to get to the phone. “Are you going to be okay, if I get our bags?” he asked and she nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, I only wish he would come in right now and I could teach him a lesson, one that would make him walk funny”, she answered with a smirk and a image of her teaching Finn that lesson flashed through his mind, almost making him smile. “Okay, I'll be right back”, he answered and walked out the door, making sure it was closed securely after him. Buffy watched as the door closed and brought her concentration back to the phone she was holding. It didn't take long for a sleepy Willow to answer the phone. Buffy glanced at the clock and she couldn't help but wonder why Willow was sleeping so early. “Hey, it's me. I need you and your witchy knowledge. Could you please come to my apartment?” she said to the phone and the tone of her voice got Willow concerned. “What happened?” she asked and Buffy could almost see the worried frown on her face. “Riley's been in my apartment, when I'm not here. Many times. Do you know any spell that would keep unwanted visitors with a pulse from getting in?” Buffy answered and turned as she heard a knock on the door. She went to the door, glancing through the peephole and opening the door to let Angel in. “I'm not sure, I'll ask Giles if he knows any”, Willow said to the phone and Buffy nodded absently. “Okay, I'll see you when you get here”, she said and after a quick confirmation and a goodbye, she hung up. “Willow and Giles are coming here, and I'm suspecting Tara will also be coming since these days Willow goes nowhere without her”, Buffy told Angel and sat to the couch with a sigh. Angel sat next to her and pulled her into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her hair. “It's okay”, he whispered to her ear and she gave him a bland smile. “I know Riley has nothing on me, I could take him out without breaking a sweat. But he's human, and he broke into my apartment, God knows how many times without me even suspecting anything. It just makes me feel... violated, and vulnerable”, she said and leaned against his shoulder, taking his hand into hers. “And it reminds you of what Angelus made you feel”, he added and solemnly she nodded before turning to him and grabbing a hold of his chin. “No brooding about it, it's in the past, you're not Angelus, we've been through all this. I love you and he's not going to roam free, that's that”, she said sternly and placed a soft kiss to his lips before he could protest. xxx Two hours later Giles and Willow had made a spell that no one uninvited person could step into the apartment. Tara, Xander and Anya were also present. Buffy glanced at Angel, wringing her fingers nervously, everyone was there so she could tell them about th pregnancy and not stretch it until tomorrow. “Umm... Guys, I have something to tell you”, she said and turned to Angel for help. He cave her a reassuring smile and took a hold of her hand, giving it a small squeeze. Everyone turned to look at them, even Xander abandoned the fridge and made his way to the living room. “What is it, Buffy?” Giles asked fatherly while Willow looked at her in concern seeing how she was fidgeting. “Umm... You guys better sit down”, she said and started pacing the floor, sending nervous looks to her friends and receiving reassurance from Angel. Finally she stopped and took a hold of Angel hand before turning to the expecting audience. She took a deep breathe and blurted: “I'm pregnant.” There was a long silence till it was broken by Xander. “You're what!?” he yelped loudly. Angel sent him a angry look but didn't say anything, just gave Buffy's hand a comforting squeeze. “I'm pregnant and Angel is the father”, she continued, silence falling again as the group looked at them dumbfounded. “But Buffy, you and Angel must know that vampires can not conceive a child. A vampire is practically a dead body and so is his... semen”, Giles said awkwardly, Buffy was like a daughter to him and imagining her having sex with anyone was just too strange to him. It was also a fact of life he was happy to ignore. “Yes, that's why I used to prefer them from the other demons, no need to worry about getting knocked up”, Anya said and everyone turned to look at her. “What?! I said 'used to', I find Xander very satisfying and the modern medical substances very useful”, she said not understanding what the big deal was and again she caused Xander to blush in embarrassment. “Moving on... I don't know how it happened but it did and the child is Angel's. We already visited a guy that reads destinies and all that and he told us that the child is Angel's”, Buffy explained. After the first shock was over, Giles removed his glasses starting to clean them and he turned to the couple. “I have never heard of such a thing happening. Are you sure the child is...” he started not knowing how to finish without hurting anyone. “The baby is human”, Angel said to him and everyone could see the relief on his face. Willow who had sat thunderstruck, started to understand what she had been talking about and a bright smile lit her face. She jumped up from the couch and pulled Buffy into a tight hug. “I'm so happy for you! Are you happy?” she questioned and Buffy gave her a teary eyed nod. “I'm gonna be aunt Willow”, she declared proudly, making Buffy laugh. “Umm... Yes, I presume a congratulations are in order”, Giles said getting up and making his way to the couple. He gave a very male handshake to Angel, before turning to Buffy with a small fatherly smile. “Congratulations, Buffy”, he said and she gave him a teary 'thank you' before pulling him into a tight hug. It meant to her more than she could say that he accepted the news and didn't give her a hard time. “Although I do believe, you are still too young, I can't condemn you, this truly is a miracle but no matter what, it will take some time to get used to”, Giles said to her, leaving out that he was going to go through his books as soon as he got home, there was no way that a child of a vampire slayer, fathered by a vampire such as Angel would not be in any prophecy but he wasn't going to cause any harm to their happiness before he knew more. Xander was standing in the background, glaring at Angel but not saying anything, he had just gotten his relationship with Buffy the way it used to be and he wasn't going to let the vampire destroy it. Gingerly he went to the others and pulled Buffy into a hug. “I'm happy for you, Buff”, he said and hoped the lie wasn't visible, if someone noticed that he didn't mean it, they didn't say anything. “Thanks, Xander”, Buffy said even though she could hear the lie in his words, he was making an effort and it was enough for now. Now all she had to worry about was telling her mother, and she had a feeling it wasn't going to be as pretty. xxx Buffy made her way to her mother's house, she had convinced Angel to stay back at her place, to wait for her. She had a feeling that it would be better that she told her mother without Angel, knowing that he wasn't her favorite person. Angel had his own suspicion that Buffy was better off dealing with Joyce on her own but he still wanted to be there to support her. Buffy was sitting in the living room, nervously sipping her cup of tea and glancing at her mother from time to time. “Honey, something is bothering you”, Joyce stated with a soft tone and looked at Buffy expectantly. Buffy put down the tea cup and turned to look at her mother, getting more anxious by the second but there was no way out of it, she needed to tell her and she had already told her substitute family so it was only fair. “Mom...” she started but didn't know how to continue and she got up from the couch, pacing for few moments before turning to Joyce, opening her mouth to continue but then ending up closing it again. “I know you're going to be disappointed in me and all that but I'm going to say it”, she said dreading what was going to come and she finally just got the words out. “I'm pregnant”, she said so quickly she wasn't sure it made any sense. “Come again”, Joyce said trying to keep calm. “I'm pregnant”, she repeated, this time more slowly. “That's what I thought you said”, Joyce said with a sigh and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “Are you completely disappointed in me?” Buffy asked like a little girl who didn't know if she had done something bad. Joyce turned to look at her and her eyes betrayed her feelings. “I'm not going to lie to you, you're only 20 years old, this isn't something I was expecting for some years, not until you were married and many years older, ready to have a family of your own”, Joyce said sighing again but suddenly her glum mood seemed to brighten. “You found someone new? Did you make things right with Riley?” she asked hopefully and all Buffy could do was look at her in shock. “Mom, the baby is Angel's”, she interrupted her mother's musings and the scowl was back to Joyce's face. “But you yourself said that vampires can't have children”, she said hopefully and confused at the same time. “They don't, they aren't supposed to, it has never happened before. But now it has, I'm having Angel's child, it's a miracle I never thought would happen. Please, mom, be happy for me”, she said and added the last nearly in tears. Joyce sighed deeply, hanging her head before getting up from the chair and pouring herself a full glass of brandy. “Buffy, you're still young, do you understand that a child with that... man is going to keep you tied to him for eighteen years. I have never accepted him in your life, he has done nothing but hurt you and now he has got you pregnant.” Buffy's face grumbled, this was harder than she had imagined and she could feel the tears threatening to fall. “I love him, mom. Why do you hate him so much? I don't understand what he's done to you? He has saved my life more times than I can count and he loves me for what I am, with all my faults. I don't understand why you can't accept him? You know I love him more than life itself and it has nothing to do with my age. He can't loose his soul anymore and apparently he can give me a child, I don't care if he can't take me into the sunlight cause most of my time I spend in the darkness, so what excuse is there left?” She let the tears fall, even though they were already in her voice. She quickly wiped them off her cheeks and looked at her mother almost with anger. “He is a vampire”, Joyce answered with a hard voice. “And I don't care”, Buffy shot back. “I know how many times you cried yourself to sleep because of him, how he robbed you of your innocence, how he tormented for all those months. One day you are going to wake up and find that you have lost all your life because you didn't let go of him. He is going to do nothing but hurt you”, Joyce said not wavering from her opinion, she wanted to give her an ultimatum to leave that man but she knew all too well how that would turn out, now that she was pregnant, it would end even worse than last time. “He isn't going to hurt me and you better start accepting that he will always be a big part of my life because I want my child to know her or his grandmother”, Buffy gave the ultimatum to Joyce's shock. xxx Buffy made her way back to her apartment, she was emotionally drained but happy that things had somehow worked out with her mother. Joyce had promised to stand Angel but she made it perfectly clear that she wasn't happy about it but Buffy figured that would change as soon as the baby was born. She stepped inside her apartment and saw Angel sitting with Faith, both holding coffee cups. “Yo B, Angie here is all cryptic with what you have to tell me”, Faith said while getting up. “Hey, Faith. You better sit down for this one”, Buffy said and Faith looked at her suspiciously but still sat down. “Here it comes, I'm pregnant and before you say anything, Angel is the father and we both know that vamps can't have little vamps but somehow it happened”, Buffy said all in one long thread and looked at Faith expectantly. For once, Faith was without words. “So the big guy knocked you up”, she finally said, then a smirk rose to her lips. “So does that make me a auntie Faith?” A smile rose to Buffy's face, the first one in the last couple of hours. “I guess it does.” “Wow, you have quite the little swimmers there, big guy, couple hundred years as a vamp and you still manage to put the bun in the oven. Wow”, Faith said to Angel, patting his shoulder with a wide smirk on her lips. “And because I'm out of the game for seven months, we're asking if you could watch the Hellmouth till the baby is born?” Buffy asked somewhat nervously. “Sure thing, I've been missing some real action, you'd never believe how boring the bad guys are in New York, most of them are human so that's a big let down. But you're going to make me the babes godmother for this”, Faith answered, her smirk not leaving its place. “Yeah, that's a deal. You need a place to crash?” Buffy asked, hoping she'd say she already got a place but she knew better. “When don't I. But you two better keep it down in the bedroom”, she said and then a wicked smile rose to her lips and her eyes lit with a mischievous twinkle. “Unless you want me to join in”, she added and earned a half-playful slap from Buffy. “Get your mind out of the gutter”, she chastised blushing bright red. “I'm sorry, mom”, Faith smirked and jumped to the couch, taking a relaxed pose. Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes. To be continued...

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