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Chapter 7: Listening Buffy shifted to her right side and sighed in relief, her back had been acting up lately, her delicate frame didn't like the new weight on the front. “Everything alright?” Angel asked as he padded from the bathroom and pulled his wifebeater on. “Just a little backache”, Buffy answered and felt the bed dip behind her. “Sit up”, he whispered to her ear as he nuzzled to the nape of her neck and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder. Cordelia strolled into the office, swinging her long hair back, she leaned over the desk to dig into the drawers. “God! It's like a morgue in here”, she said to herself as she looked at her surroundings, Gunn was off to fight some demon and Wesley had his nose in the books, so she was practically all by herself. Her eyes drew to the radio, maybe some music would help her mood. She started going through the channels till she found something else than static, the hotel was like a bunker, not all the signals could be heard depending on where in the hotel the radio was. “Hmm... Don't stop that... Right there”, Buffy moaned and Cordelia shrieked loudly before pushing the radio down to the floor. It broke into pieces and to Cordelia's relief, went silent. After hearing the crash, Wesley abandoned his books and ran to the office. “What happened? Are you alright?” Wesley questioned worriedly. Cordelia pointed at the broken radio on the floor and Wesley lifted his gaze to her face, looking at her in question, she seemed to be alright but startled. “Buffy... Angel... in the radio... doing IT”, she stammered and Wesley's confusion just increased. “What? Cordelia, what are you talking about?” Cordelia just pointed at the radio in frustration. “I heard Angel and Buffy, but it came through the radio.” “Umm... If that is correct, we should inform them about this incident”, Wesley said awkwardly and started to go upstairs, Cordelia trailing behind him. “Are you nuts!? They're doing IT in there! I'm not going to walk in there! My trauma level with them is high enough” she yammered after him but when they reached the bedroom door, she just stayed there glaring at him. For a moment they listened to the voices till he got the courage to knock. “Yeah!” Buffy's voice called out. “Can we come in?” Wesley asked and the door opened, to both Wesley's and Cordelia's relief, both occupants of the room were fully dressed. Angel stepped back, letting the two walk in. “What were you two doing in the middle of the day?” Cordelia asked accusingly and both Buffy and Angel looked at her in confusion. “What? Angel was just massaging my back”, Buffy said still clueless what brought this on. “Oh”, Cordelia sighed at the realization. “So he was massaging your back... Wesley here thought...” she started and Wesley sent her a glare. “There seems to be a situation you two should know about. But I believe we should discuss it in some other place”, he said interrupting Cordelia but was still sending dirty looks at her. “Wes, have you been taking cryptic lessons on your free-time?” Buffy asked but got up from the bed anyway. “Well... No...” Wesley started awkwardly but then realized it had been just a joke and he looked away embarrassed. They went to the office but first they had to leap over the remains of the radio. “Was that radio misbehaving? You know Cordy, if they're playing a terrible song, all you have to do is to pull the plug, you don't have to kill it”, Buffy said to Cordelia in a fake-chiding manner. “Very funny”, she responded with a sarcastic look, her eyes narrowing. “Well, you didn't have to hear you moaning in it, I'm traumatized enough by you two!” “What?” Buffy gasped, both her and Angel doing their best deer-caught-in-headlights impression. “Well, it appears that Cordelia heard your... discussion in the radio as she turned it on. I believe that there might be some kind of listening devise in your bedroom... and that the radio accidentally caught the signal”, Wesley explained. “So what you're saying is, that this place is bugged? Who would do such a thing”, she started but quieted as the possibility hit her. “Riley”, she sighed and turned to look at Angel. “He wouldn't do that, would he?” she tried to deny it but even Angel's sad look confirmed that he too believed it was Riley. “I think it's a strong possibility”, he answered. “But why? Why would he do something like that?” she asked shaking her head, wanting to believe that he wouldn't go so far but she was failing miserably at convincing herself, she could all too vividly remember the feeling she had when he had broken into her apartment and the conversation at the graveyard. She shivered at the memories, what could she do, he was human and that fact made it even worse. “He's obsessed”, Angel stated, his face shifting into full brood mode. “So Buffy has a stalker? What is it with you that attracts psychos? Do all you ex's stalk you after the break-up, first Angelus, now Captain Cardboard?” Cordelia questioned in her usual blunt manner. “Captain Cardboard?” Buffy asked her, lifting an eyebrow. “I heard you and Spike talking on the phone once, it kinda stuck. You have to admit he's just as stiff and boring”, Cordelia explained shrugging her shoulder dismissively. Wesley cleared his throat. “If the situation truly is that far, I know a chap who works with electronics, I could give him a ring and he could look if there is any microphones in the building and if there are, determine how far the signal will reach”, Wesley suggested. “Good, you do that, Wesley”, Angel said absently, his whole attention was drawn to Buffy, his hand automatically going to cover the bump. “I'll call him instantly”, Wesley promised and earned a grateful nod from Angel. On his way out of the door, he stopped and turned back to face the others. “Should I inform Gunn as well?” “No, he'll be back in couple of hours. He's doing more good in Anne's shelter than he'd be doing here”, Angel answered. Gunn had taken the day off to help out Anne at the shelter, repairing the old building and just lending a helping hand. “Yes, you are quite right”, Wesley stated and left the room. “Do you want to move into another room?” Angel asked, turning to Buffy and smoothing her hair back. “I don't think we should”, she answered. “You're right, we should try to act normal and not let him notice that we know about the bugs”, Angel nodded and pressed a comforting kiss to the crown of her head. Cordelia figured that they wanted a moment alone to discuss things. “I'm gonna go and call Preston, I've let him squirm long enough”, she said and signed to the door. The couple nodded and she left. “Who's Preston?” Angel asked and Buffy tried to look as innocent as possible. “A guy Cordelia's been seeing”, Buffy answered somewhat coyly, looking like a little kid who didn't want to reveal a secret and all that was missing was the shuffling of her feet. “Cordy has a boyfriend? Why didn't I know about it? She doesn't tell me anything these days”, Angel said with a frown and what dangerously looked like a pout. “Maybe because you're a guy, and because you would have scared him off with your overly-protective-father impression. If the baby is a girl, just wait till our daughter starts to date”, she said with a smirk and he looked at her like she had just said something horrible. “Our daughter will not date”, he stated like it was a fact that couldn't be contradicted. Buffy giggled at his expression and gently patted his cheek. “You're so naive, my love”, she said mockingly, making him growl. He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her flush against him. “I'm anything but naive. But I know that men are evil”, he said nippling at her ear. “Honey, you forget that you're a man”, she whispered breathlessly. “Oh, I haven't forgotten, that's why I have first class information on the matter”, he said huskily and pressed against her, letting her feel his need for her before backing her to the desk. His lips traveled down her throat, paying extra attention on his mark as his hands slid down her sides. “Okay, break it up, people! What have I told you about getting too acquainted in public places, soon I can't touch any surface in this building!” Cordelia yelled at them from the door, waving the phone in her hand. “What she doesn't know, won't hurt her”, Angel whispered into Buffy's ear and earned a playful slap from her. Gently, Buffy pushed Angel away from her and straightened her clothes. “Sorry, Cordy. Angel was just telling me that all men are evil”, she said with a smirk. “Like we didn't know that already”, Cordelia huffed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Buffy is coming with me, I need a dress for tonight”, she declared, not leaving room for any protests. “You have a date?” Angel asked, trying to sound casual. “Yeah, I've got a date. Some of us are still single, you know.” “Maybe you should ask him to pick you up from here, introduce us”, Angel suggested but Cordelia just rolled her eyes at his subtle try. “As if. You'd scare him away!” She sent him a half-glare and grabbed a hold of Buffy's hand, dragging her towards the door. “I'll return her to you in few hours”, she promised.
Buffy and Cordelia returned from their shopping trip four hours later, Wesley's friend had already arrived some time earlier and had already searched the rooms downstairs. “Buffy, this is Mike. Mike, this is miss Summers”, Wesley introduced them and Buffy gave him a curt nod, her slayer senses were high strung and from his violet eyes, she could see he wasn't entirely human. After the introductions, they moved to the second floor, starting from the bedroom. Mike looked around himself, tilting his head to the side and grabbed some kind of electric devise. After a while, he nodded towards the door and everyone went back to the hallway. “There is only one microphone in this house, you were right, it is in the bedroom. The receiver is somewhere in the mile radius”, he told the others. “So there's only one bug”, Buffy clarified. “Yes.” Wesley took Mike back downstairs but Buffy and Angel stayed in the hallway. “I think I'd like to visit Sunnydale, everyone's been asking when I come there and it would be nice to be somewhere where my every word isn't listened to”, she suggested hugging herself as she looked at the bedroom door. Angel wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed his chin on her shoulder. “I understand, but what about the agency, what if Cordelia has a vision?” he asked and Buffy turned in his arms. “It's been quiet lately and the guys can handle themselves, it would only be for few days. And if Cordy has a vision, there is the thing called telephone, Sunnydale is only two hours away.” ”Well, it's not like I'd let you go there alone. And the stress isn't good for the baby”, Angel conceded, trying to sound casual. Buffy smiled and placed a soft kiss to his lips. Suddenly she froze and just stared at him. “What? Buffy?” he asked quickly getting scared and not even the amazed smile forming to her lips managed to ease his racing thoughts. “I think the baby just kicked”, she whispered and it was Angel's turn to stare. Once he came to his senses, his eyes lowered to her stomach and he placed a hand over the bump. “I know he... or she has been moving for some time now, but that definitely was a kick”, she told him in amazement, her smile widening. The baby shifted inside her but didn't grant another kick. “We should go to the others. I managed to convince Cordy to show her date, as long as you behave yourself”, she said with a smirk. He just looked at her innocently. “Of course I'll behave myself.” “Right”, she drawled, giving him a skeptical look and a smile.
Cordelia strolled to the lobby, wearing a beautiful black dress with thin straps that crossed behind her back. “Yo mama”, Gunn commented with a low whistle. “Cause you're a friend, I'm going to ignore that and not hit you with my purse. Also my favorite lipstick is in it and I don't want to break it with your thick head”, Cordelia shot back. “Cordelia, you look lovely”, Wesley said and earned a smile from Cordelia. “Thanks.” “So when is this gentleman of yours coming to pick you up?” he asked. Cordelia glanced at the clock. “About in five minutes.” Buffy and Angel walked into the lobby. “You look nice, Cordelia”, Angel complimented. “Just nice, I got a lovely from Wesley and a lewd whistle from Gunn”, she huffed. Only moments later, there was a knock on the front door and a man walked inside. “Hello”, he said awkwardly as he noticed the group of people. He made his way to Cordelia and took a hold of her other hand,lifting it to his lips and brushing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. “I hope I'm not too early”, he said with a wide smile, showing off a line of white teeth. “Not at all”, she downplayed it with a wave of her hand. Buffy just stared at the man, all she could do was fight against the reflex of dropping her jaw to the floor, the guy was like another Wesley, only more muscular with broader shoulders, lighter colored hair and more expensive clothes. “Cordelia, you look amazing”, the guy stated and looked at his date up and down. “Thank you”, Cordelia said almost coyly and gave him a wide smile before turning to the others. “Guys, this is Preston. Preston these are the people I work with, Wesley, Gunn, Angel and Buffy”, she introduced and pointed at everyone as she said their name. “Okay, we're going now”, she said and tried to pull Preston with her to the door but was stopped when Angel spoke. “So, how did you two meet?” Cordelia growled under her breath, her narrow eyes sending death signals towards Angel. But Preston didn't seem to mind the question. “I was directing a commercial that Cordelia was auditioning for”, he answered after turning back to the people in the room. “So is it your hab...” Angel started to ask but when Buffy covered his mouth with her hand, the rest of the words came out as a mumble. “Have a nice night”, she said with a smile and sending her a grateful look, Cordelia lead her date away. As soon as the door closed, Buffy released Angel's mouth and gave him a chiding look. “Why did you do that for?” he asked. “Because I know what you were going to ask him and you promised to behave”, she answered tapping her foot to the floor. “You don't know what I was going to say”, he tried to defend himself. “You were going to say if he has a habbit of asking out the girls that audition for him thus using their need for job to his advantage”, she answered looking at him pointedly, not softening a bit. “Or maybe you do”, he stated sheepishly. “Well, I for one believe he was a very nice fellow”, Wesley joined in. “That's because he has the same accent as you, English”, Gunn shot at him. Buffy rolled her eyes and took a hold of Angel's arm, dragging him up the stairs with her. “I need a shower and someone has to wash my back”, she said, causing Angel to pick her up in his arms and carry her to the bedroom. She giggled and gave a halfhearted slap to the chest. “Put me down before you strain your back”, she chastised laughing. “Light as a feather”, he stated and to prove his point, lifted her higher. “Seriously, put me down.” “Give me a kiss and I will”, he bargained. “You really have started charging people you save”, she joked. “You're the only one with this fee.” “Well, I better be”, she said deadpanned and leaned down to give him the kiss. She intended it to be just a brief one but he refused to let her pull away and soon the kiss deepened. Slowly he lowered her to the bed and gave her a self-satisfied smirk. “You are such a guy sometimes”, she said rolling her eyes and started to make her way to the bathroom. With a smile he watched her go before getting up from the bed and following her.
The next evening Angel and Buffy drove to Sunnydale, only making a stop at the mansion before heading out to Giles' apartment. She knocked at the door before just walking in, she knew she was expected since she had made some calls before leaving. “Hey!” she said waving her hand as the group turned to look at the door, the whole gang had gathered at the apartment. “Holy...! You're huge!” Xander yelped as the first one to speak. Angel scowled and Buffy sent a glare at Xander. “Well, thanks Xander, I didn't know that before you pointed it out”, she said dryly. “But just look at it. I mean, how many little vamps are you having?” he tried to correct himself. “The baby is human”, Angel said tersely. “But...” Xander started to explain his words but was interrupted by Willow. “Why don't you leave it at that before you dig a deeper grave for yourself”, she suggested with a soft voice, thinking that Buffy and Angel wouldn't hear but they could. “Well, it is great to see you two. I see you are advancing well”, Giles said, pulling the attention away from Xander. “Yeah, doctor Lang said everything is going as it's supposed to”, Buffy said with a smile, her gaze automatically drifting to the bump. Willow showed up to stand next to Giles and smiled widely, her full Willow-smile. “Can I hug you?” she asked and Buffy pulled her into a hug. Cautiously she wrapped her arms around the blond. “Do you have to ask?” Buffy asked with a raised eyebrow as she pulled back. “Well, I haven't hugged pregnant ladies all that much, I don't know if I will do something to the baby”, she said uncertainly. “Don't worry, doctor Lang explained all about the womb and water protecting the baby. Apparently the womb is like a big muscle, I know about my insides more than I would like. But I doubt you can squeeze me hard enough to hurt the baby”, Buffy answered with a comforting smile. “Oh, that's good”, Willow sighed. “Would you like some tea?” Giles asked as he guided the couple to the sofa before heading towards the kitchen. “Yeah, sure”, Buffy answered shrugging her shoulders. She and Angel sat to the couch, she was nearly sitting in his lap and his arm was wrapped around her, his hand resting on the bump. “Have you visited your mother already?” Giles asked from the kitchen door. “No, we came straight here”, Buffy answered, looking at Angel's hand before taking it to her own and twining their fingers together. “But Buffy, you must...” Giles started to say but Buffy interrupted him, sighing deeply. “I know, but I just can't deal with her right now.” “Is something wrong?” Willow asked concerned, her whole face crumbling into a frown. “It's nothing to worry about”, Buffy tried to dodge but Willow wouldn't let that happen. “Now tell me, if you don't, I'm bound to worry. I'll stay up all night, making all these different scenario's of what it might be”, Willow said all in one breath, her mind already picturing different things. “I can vouch for that”, Tara said from next to her. “It's just... We think Riley put a bug in our room”, Buffy confessed, her hold on Angel's hand getting firmer to get strength from his presence. “Why would Riley put an insect in your room?” Anya asked clearly baffled. “As in a microphone, Anya”, Willow clarified, then turned to Buffy with a frown. “Right?” Buffy nodded her head sadly. “Why would Riley bug your room?” Xander asked incredulously. That didn't sound like the Riley he knew. “He's obsessed with Buffy”, Angel answered shortly, as usual, he just tried to ignore the boy, Xander was one of Buffy's friends and that's why he didn't say anything but still, the boy could be a real pain in the ass with his childish behavior towards him. Giles walked into the room and set down the tray to the coffee table. “This could be truly serious. Have you informed the police? Because you know you can not do anything about him since he is human”, Giles asked as he poured the tea into cups. “And tell them what when they see the books on demons and the weapon arsenal, not to mention that Angel doesn't really have a PI license?”, Buffy returned the question. Giles looked away embarrassed, he took off his glasses and started wiping them clean with his handkerchief. “You're quite right”, he admitted and placed the glasses back to his head. “But the situation could become dangerous”, he added sounding very fatherly. “I know”, Buffy admitted and let out a tired sigh. “Could we please not talk about Riley, I'm on a Riley-free vacation”, she asked pleadingly. “Of course”, Giles said curtly. “So, have you two decided what you're gonna name the baby?” Willow asked excitedly and her enthusiasm finally brought a smile to Buffy's face. “Not really. We don't even know if the baby is a boy or a girl. But I'm thinking, something Irish. But Angel refuses the idea that if it's a boy that we'd name him after Angel, as in Liam”, Buffy answered and gave Angel a gentle slap like a revenge for the name. “Liam? I always thought your name was Angel”, Willow said little confused from the new information. “Well, my name was Liam before I was turned”, Angel answered, feeling a little uncomfortable of being the center of attention, he was perfectly happy just sitting on the side and listening other people talking. “Wow, you don't look like a Liam... you look like a Angel... You know not with the wings... but as in Buffy's Angel... Help?” Willow said awkwardly and turned to look at Tara for help. Angel gave her a comforting smile. “I think I understand what you mean”, he reassured her and she visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. “Okay, moving on. So, what about if it's a girl?” Willow asked trying to get over her embarrassment. “We don't know about the first name yet, but we agreed that the middle name would be Celia”, Buffy answered, fighting against the feelings that assaulted her from just saying the name. As if reading her thoughts, Angel gave her hand a small comforting squeeze. She turned her eyes to him and gave him a grateful smile. “After your cousin, that's so sweet”, Willow sighed not noticing the change in Buffy. But to Buffy's relief, the sad moment was interrupted when Faith just walked in through the door, she didn't bother to knock since no one else did either. “Yo, B! I thought I saw Angie's Angel mobile parked on front”, she said and strode to the others. Giles sighed and looked heavenwards before going to close the door behind the brunette. “Wow!” Faith commented after seeing Buffy's bump. She leaned forward and placed her hand on it. “Come on, little rascal, give auntie Faith a good kick.” “Don't encourage the baby, I'm sure I'll get plenty of roundhouse kicks at my ribs before she or he decides to come out”, Buffy chided sending Faith a halfhearted glare. “So, mama, how'bout joining me to a patrol, we have some catching up to do?” Faith suggested sitting lazily next to Buffy. Buffy glanced at the others and nodded. “Okay, you can fill me up with the Hellmouthy things”, she said and got up from the couch, as did the others. “But Buffy! The baby, you can't patrol”, Willow protested, Angel didn't look pleased either. “I'm not going patrolling, I'm just tagging along and letting the younger generation do all the hard work. Besides, the slayer side of me is going crazy without any action, you'd think it would go on a vacation till the baby is born.” “Um, actually there are only few mentions of a slayer getting pregnant, some slayers have had children before they were called but it is a rare occurrence that a slayer gives birth after she is active”, Giles stated. “That's because they didn't have any social life”, Buffy stated, leaving out the fact that they probably hadn't lived long enough. She had read up on pregnant slayers when she discovered she was having a baby and to her worry it turned out there had only been three slayers that gave birth after being called, one was born prematurely because of a demon attack and the other two were kidnapped right after birth when the mothers were still too weak to defend themselves. Buffy shook off the glum thoughts and grabbed her jacket, the standard stake flashing from the inside pocket as she pulled it on. She followed Faith to the door, turning to the other before stepping out. “I'll see you guys tomorrow. Espresso Pump at one?” she suggested and got a chorus of 'sure' from her friends. Outside, Angel turned to Buffy. “Want me to come along?” he asked hoping she would say yes. But she shook her head. “We've got some girly stuff to talk about for girls only”, she said with a small mischievous grin. “Okay, I'll check the cemeteries on the other side of town”, he conceded, looking at her suspiciously. “I'll wait for you in bed”, she whispered and before he could say anything, she left with Faith. He watched the two slayers walk away and he was about to leave also but Xander's voice stopped him. “And how can we be sure that the spawn is human, huh? Just because some demon says so? The father is Angel for crying out loud!” Angel growled angrily, he wanted to go back inside and wring the boy's neck. He knew afterwards he would feel guilty as hell and Buffy probably wouldn't like it but it would give him a moment of pleasure. “Now, now Xander. I trust Buffy's judgment on the matter, I know her motherly instincts might cloud her judgment but she has never let her personal feeling come before the safety of the world”, Giles said in his usual reasonable tone. “You forget about Angelus. She couldn't kill him, she let that bastard roam free just because it had the same face as her bloodsucking boyfriend. Not to mention hiding Angel after he was back”, Xander said and that was enough. Angel quickly stomped away before the urge to attack the boy would grow any deeper.
After the hateful words of Xander, Angel had been going through nests and possible hideouts to relieve the rage he was feeling. Finally he returned back to the mansion and made his way to the bedroom. To his surprise, Buffy was still awake, clearly waiting for him. “Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting”, he apologized, regretting the fact that he let Xander get to him so much. “It's okay, been catching up with my reading”, she answered and showed a book she had picked from his collection. He always took a stack of books with him so he would have something to keep him busy during the day hours. He shed his dusty clothes and climbed into bed. Gently he took the book from her hands and placed it on the night table before claiming her lips with a hungry kiss. He pulled her flush against his skin and deepened the kiss with desperation. Buffy could feel something was wrong cause he was clinging to her like she could disappear at any moment if he let her go. Before all coherent thought vanished from her mind, she decided to talk to him about it in the morning. When Buffy woke up the next morning, Angel was still asleep. It was a rare occurrence that she woke up before him or that he would sleep many hours in one take but he had been so emotionally drained that it was no wonder he was still sleeping. Buffy took a quick shower and pulled on some clothes, she was supposed to go to her mother's house in fifteen minutes. She glanced at Angel's still form before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to the side of his lips. She placed a note next to his pillow and sneaked out of the mansion. She started quickly walking towards her mother's house, she knew she was going to be late but there was nothing she could do about it now.
Suddenly she felt a little prick on her arm and the world started spinning immediately. Just as the world started to fade away and her legs give out, she felt a pair of arms circle her body.
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