Chapter 25: Conclusion Buffy opened her eyes and stretched on the bed. She yawned and slowly turned to her side, burrowing her face back to the pillow. “Good, you're awake”, Angel said and climbed into bed next to her. She opened one eye and tried to glare at him. “No, I'm not”, she muttered and closed it again. He chuckled and laid down to the bed. “Do you want to shower before we go to Caritas?” he asked and again she opened her eyes, this time both of them. “Yeah. What time is it?” “We still have an hour”, he answered. “Can I take another nap?” she asked and looked at him like a child asking for candy. She patted her eyelashes at him with a grin and he let out a long sigh. “Fine, I'll wake you up in half an hour”, he conceded, then turned to look at her more sternly. “But we have to be there in an hour to meet the midwife. Wesley will drive you.” “I still can't believe you're letting him drive the Angel-mobile”, Buffy grinned. “It's not like I can drive it there and you're not going to be walking around in the sewers”, he said. “Well, walking in the sewers really isn't my opinion of fun either”, she answered sardonically, every time she went to the sewers something bad happened, like a demon trying to drown her and the biggest catastrophe of her life, when Angel broke up with her. Angel could see what she was thinking from the sad look in her eyes and quickly he pulled her into his arms, smoothing his hand over her hair and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “I love you”, he whispered and a soft smile rose to her lips. She turned her head to look at him. “I know. And I love you too”, she answered and lowered her head to his shoulder. Her fingers were making small patterns on his chest that unfortunately was covered by his shirt. Suddenly she didn't feel like napping anymore but she did want to hold on to the moment, stay in his safe arms and reassure herself he was with her and not going away. xxx By the time Buffy and Wesley arrived to the Caritas, Angel was already there. Cordelia had stayed in the Hyperion in case a client called while Gunn was checking a lead. Lorne was leaning against the bar with a seabreeze in hand when Buffy and Wesley walked down the stairs. His eyes turned to the door and a welcoming smile rose to his lips. “Look at you”, he said and quickly crossed the distance between him and Buffy. “Honey bun, you're practically glowing”, he stated, placing his hands to her shoulders and looked at her. “And I mean that figuratively”, he quickly added. “Thanks. I think”, Buffy said and a thoughtful frown formed to her face. “I meant it as a compliment”, Lorne clarified and guided her to the table, pulling out a chair for her. She looked around herself but didn't see the midwife, only Angel and Wesley talking while Angel watched her from the corner of his eye. “Maria should be here any minute now”, Lorne said and as soon as the words left his mouth, he let out a startled yell and jumped in his seat. “Maria, you promised to stop doing that”, he chastised. Buffy turned in her seat and found the midwife standing behind her. “Sorry, Lorne but I was running late”, she explained, then turned her gaze to Buffy. “Nice to see you again”, she said to her and in a blink of an eye she was gone. “And you too”, came her voice from Angel's side. Lorne turned to look at her and got up from the table. “I figure this is a family pow wow so I'll go talk to the scruffy and scrumptious over there”, he said and Buffy turned to look at him with questioning eyes. With a smile he signed to where Wesley was sitting. “Scrumptious?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, lately Wesley had started to look a little scruffy instead of stuffy but he still wasn't someone she would call scrumptious, for her that would be Angel. Her eyes turned to the said vampire that was walking towards the table with the midwife. He sat next to her and placed a soft kiss to her forehead, his hand going down to her stomach. “Since the baby is coming in few weeks, I'd like to have our next meeting at the Hyperion to see where the birth is going to take place, get a feel of the surroundings and such”, Maria went straight to the point, she never had been one to beat around the bush. “Yeah, sure”, Buffy said with a nod. But Angel looked worried, he had a deep frown on his face and he was watching Buffy from the corner of his eye. “Are you sure you want to have the baby at the hotel?” he asked turning to look at her. “Angel, we've been through this already. I couldn't really think about pushing when I'm panicking from just being in a hospital”, she sighed. “I know, I know. I just... I worry”, he said shaking his head. Maria smiled gently at the soon to be father. “Home birth does have its risks but giving birth always has its risks, even in a hospital. But if something goes wrong I can get you into the hospital in a blink of an eye. And I mean that literally”, she assured, looking at Buffy but Angel didn't look convinced, he was now wearing even deeper frown. He knew technology and medical treatments had changed since his time but he could still clearly remember how women he knew had died in childbirth and just the possibility he might loose Buffy made his insides turn cold. No matter how much it would hurt, he could live with the thought of her living a normal life with someone else as long as she was alive but the thought of existing in a world without her. He couldn't even finish the thought. Buffy saw that he was not in a pleasant place with his thoughts and she took his hand into hers, giving it a soft squeeze. He lifted his gaze to her, looking at her with such raw emotion that she wanted to weep. “I'm sensing your fears but you don't need to worry, I've been helping children into this world for over 300 hundred years so I can say I know what I'm doing”, Maria assured but she could see Angel was still not convinced, actually now he was looking at her more speculatively. “Didn't Lorne mention I'm an empath. I'm sure I mentioned it last time we met.” “No, it didn't come up”, Buffy answered, she was more worried about Angel than the conversation they were having. It appeared Angel was more worried about giving birth than she was. “Well, now it did. That's another advantage at my job since I can feel if the baby or the mother is in distress”, Maria said with a careless wave of a hand. “Don't worry boys and girls, Maria knows what she's doing. She just helped a Spix demon deliver fifteen pups so I think she can handle one”, Lorne said as he approached the table. He had left Wesley sitting to the bar after he had given the man a drink, he sure looked like he needed one. He was radiating a blinding amount of nervousness and he didn't need to sing for Lorne to know that it was because of the baby. “It appears that Angel-face is going to be the designated driver”, he stated and nodded towards the bar. He glanced at Angel, then turned his gaze back to Buffy. “I'm sensing more nervousness from the big guy than you, I'd offer him a drink but since he's driving no can do. Of course I can't say nothing for sure unless you lovebirds sing me a duet.” “I don't think you have to be afraid of that”, Buffy stated and patted the back of his hand comfortingly. xxx Cordelia was flipping through the latest gossip magazine but nothing seemed to be catching her interest. She was bored. For nearly an hour she had waited for the telephone to ring because she had an eye on a pair of new shoes but not the money to buy them, a rich client would solve that problem. Those shoes were the bulletproof way to win that shampoo commercial, she was sure of that. With a sigh she closed the magazine, just a week earlier it had said Angelina Jolie was pregnant and now it was saying she had anorexia, couldn't they just make up their mind. She looked through the stack of magazines and news papers, she wasn't interested in the magazines that belonged to Wesley or in Gunn's sports magazines. She rolled her eyes at them, she was sure it wasn't the cars that drew his intention to them. She pulled out a news paper and for a long while she contemplated if she was bored enough to read it and she came to the conclusion it might actually help find some clients. She spread the paper on the counter and leaned against it, placing her elbows to the surface and resting her chin on her other hand. Slowly she flipped through the pages trying to find something that would catch her eye but all it did was depress her. Why did the news have to be so depressing? She heard the door open and close and footsteps nearing. She lifted her eyes from the paper, ready to plaster a wide smile to her face but the intention died when she recognized who the arrival was. “Leave. You're not welcome here”, she said with a cool voice and her famous Queen C glare. She didn't even bother to walk around the desk. “I don't think you have any say in that. I'm here to see Buffy”, Riley said, the woman didn't scare her. “Well tough, she isn't here”, Cordelia answered and started flipping through the news paper as if he wasn't there. “Where is she?” Riley asked with a polite but demanding voice. “None of your business”, Cordelia answered and raised her eyes from the paper. “Buffy may forgive what shit you've pulled with the excuse that you're a wackjob and now you're all better cause you're popping pills but let me tell you, mister, I'm not buying it. You kidnapped her, tried to kill Angel, held her mother hostage and most of all, her and Angel's baby might have gotten hurt because of you so I'm not telling you squat. So why don't you go back to Kansas or where ever you crawled out of cause this is really pathetic. Do you really think she'd settle for someone like you when she can have the man she loves?” Soon she noticed she had gone too far when Riley's face darkened dangerously. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to taunt a crazy person? She let out a startled yelp as he pounced and grabbed her arm with a iron grip. “Listen to me, you bitch”, he growled, grinding his teeth together in anger. “You're going to tell me where Buffy is. Right now!” he nearly yelled, shaking her. He was quickly loosing his patience and Cordelia could feel his finger digging into her skin, his grip tightening around her arm. She was sure she was going to be black and blue the next day. “Let me go, psycho!” she yelled and tried to pull her arm away from him without any success. She remembered Buffy or Angel once mentioning that he was taking some Initiative drugs and now she was certain Riley didn't get his strength from working out in a gym. “Tell me where she is!” he repeated and roughly threw her against the counter, twisting her arm back making her feel like he was trying to rip it off. She tried to struggle but it was pointless, only causing her more pain. “Dream on!” Cordelia yelled back to him and stomped on his toes with the heel of her stiletto's, making him yelp in pain and loosen his grip in her arm. She spun around and struck him to the nose with the palm of her hand, just like Buffy had taught her. There was a sickening scrunch as her hand came to contact with his nose. He fell to the ground from the unexpected force of the hit, crying out in pain and cupping his nose that was pouring blood to his palm. Cordelia didn't stay to wait for him to get up, she grabbed her purse from the counter and ran towards the door. But Riley had gotten up from the door and tackled her to the ground, making her fall to the ground with a force that pushed the air out of her lungs. She struggled to breathe, turning to her back. “You broke my nose, bitch!” he practically screamed and hit her in the face, splitting her lip. She glared at him with cold eyes and blocked his second strike before kneeing him hard to the groin. She pushed him off of her and scrambled up to her feet, running out of the door. She kept on running while digging into the purse till she found her cellphone. She pressed a number on speed dial to Angel's number. “Angel, it's Cordy. Don't leave the Caritas! Keep Buffy there. -- Riley went crazy and attacked me, he demanded to see Buffy. -- I'm okay. I broke his nose and kneed him hard. -- I'm gonna call Gunn to pick me up. -- Bye”, she said to the phone and hung up before pushing Gunn's speed dial number. Oh how she missed having her own car! xxx Angel hung up the phone with a deep scowl marring his beautiful face. Buffy was watching him and it couldn't have been good news. “What is it?” she asked, concern evident in her voice. He turned to look at her and his eyes drifted down to her stomach before returning to look at her face with a conflicted expression, he didn't want to worry her but there was no way not to, he had to tell her what had happened. “Riley attacked Cordelia.” Buffy's eyes widened in alarm. “Oh God! Is she alright?” she breathed out in shock. She thought Riley was better and now Cordelia was attacked. She and her former high school nemesis had become good friends and it was her fault Riley had hurt Cordelia, she shouldn't have believed him so easily. Wesley stepped away from the bar and came to the couple. “Cordelia was attacked?! Is she alright?” he questioned, his voice showing his concern. Lorne too turned to them, ready to ask the same thing. “Yes, she's alright”, Angel said to everyone, then turned his attention to Buffy. “She managed to escape him”, he assured her, he was worried about his friend too but he didn't want to cause Buffy any more stress than was necessary. “We need to stay here, she said Riley is after you.” He wanted to hunt down Riley and torture him with hot pokers but that would mean he'd have to leave Buffy alone and he wasn't willing to do that. She was too vulnerable while nearly nine months pregnant, some months ago she still could fight but not anymore and despite the protection spell on the Caritas he wasn't willing to take any chances. “So what are we gonna do? Just sit on our hands till he goes away?” Buffy asked, she didn't want to face Riley in the fear of what might happen to the baby but she also couldn't just wait for something to happen. “No, I just don't want to put you in any danger”, he answered and pulled her into his arms, placing a soft kiss to the top of her head. His hand wandered down to her stomach, rubbing it gently. “I agree with the big guy, you're more safe here because of the sanctuary spell”, Lorne said and Angel gave him a appreciative nod. Wesley cleared his throat, drawing the others attention to himself. “Maybe we should phone Gunn? There is certain safety in numbers and if Riley truly has gone mad, there is no guarantee's of what he might do”, he suggested. “The phone is over there”, Lorne told him and signed behind the bar. “I can't believe it's happening again. He sounded so sincere when he said he was better”, Buffy said still not believing what was happening. “Try not to worry. We'll get through this”, Angel assured her. She raised her eyes to his, looking deep into them and she already felt more calm knowing he was there with her. A low growl sounded deep in his chest. “Get away from him”, came Riley's voice from the doorway. Everyone spun around to look at him. Angel guided Buffy to stand behind him and glared at the man. If looks could kill, Riley would have been dead on the ground. He let out a menacing growl, warning Riley to stay away and as Buffy tried to step around him to talk to Riley, he moved with her, keeping her behind his large frame. “I suggest you leave now, Finn”, Angel ground out, trying to keep his demon in control. All he wanted to do was leap at the man and beat him into a bloody pulp but there was no way he would leave Buffy unattended and because of the sanctuary spell it would be pointless to even try. “Not without Buffy”, Riley answered, then his gaze drifted to Wesley who was at the phone behind the bar. “Put the phone down”, he ordered. “I suggest you hurry, he is already here”, Wesley said quietly to the phone. “I told you to put the phone down!” Riley yelled angrily and pulled out a gun, firing twice. Wesley ducked down to the ground and covered his head as the bullets broke the mirror, showering the ground with pieces of it. Riley turned back to Angel and Buffy, pointing the gun at the vampire. “Now. I suggest you let Buffy come to me and no one gets hurt”, he said with a eerily calm voice. “You're not touching her”, Angel growled. Buffy stepped around him, pushing his hand away as he tried to stop her. “Riley. Please don't do this”, she said pleadingly. “Buffy, come to me. I can save you, I'll take you with me and you don't have to see him again”, Riley said and reached out his free hand. He obviously was still living in his delusional world. “Riley, I don't need rescuing. I don't want to be away from Angel. Please, you need help”, she tried but he shook his head. “No, I already got help from Lilah. Everything is clear. You're just saying that because you're afraid of him”, he said and spat the last word with contempt. “Lilah? Lilah Morgan from Wolfram & Hart?” Angel questioned and tried to tuck Buffy back behind him to cover but she didn't let him. She didn't let go of his hand, taking courage and strength from him but she also wouldn't go back to cower behind him, she needed to try to get through to Riley and that wasn't possible without eye-contact. “They were very helpful”, Riley just stated. “I bet they were”, Buffy muttered, then raised her eyes back to Riley's talking with deepest sincerity, “Riley, you can't trust them. They were just using you to get to Angel. You need to seek real help, from someone that isn't an evil lawfirm or the Initiative.” “You're wrong! I don't need any help! I'm better now!” Riley yelled and started waving the gun in his hand, running his fingers through his hair repeatedly. Buffy jumped and this time let Angel guide him back behind him. “When I say 'now', duck behind the bar desk”, Angel whispered to her quiet enough that only she could hear. “Angel...” she started to protest but he interrupted her. “Just do it.” He moved closer to the bar, keeping her blocked from sight with his body. “What did you say to her?! Stop moving!” Riley yelled, he was loosing control and coming undone. His mannerism was showing his nervousness and Angel was starting to be afraid in Buffy's behalf. The opportunity he had been waiting for came when there was a sound of the front door opening and footsteps coming down the stairs. “Now!” Angel whispered to Buffy and she quickly moved behind the bar as he attacked Riley who had turned to point the gun at the doorway. The gun went off as Angel tackled Riley to the ground and hit him hard to the face. Riley tried to reach for the gun but it only slid farther, disappearing under a cabinet. Riley turned to his back and kicked Angel off of him before jumping to his feet, grabbing a baton from his vest and snapping it into full length. He attacked Angel, trying to gain a hit but the vampire ducked his every move. Gunn ran to help his boss but Riley spun around and hit him with the baton, making him fall to the ground. “Gunn!” Buffy cried out and resisted the urge to run to the seemingly unconscious man. Angel could smell blood in the air, his face changed into vampire visage and with a furious growl he attacked Riley, sending them both crashing into the middle of the tables and chairs. He hit the mad man with great force that sent Riley flying to a table that broke under the force of his landing. Gingerly he got up from the wreck, grabbing a piece of broken table and he lunged at Angel. Angel easily sidestepped him and kicked him to the lower back, sending him sliding across the floor. Riley threw a broken chair at him but Angel ducked it and attacked Riley. They traded punches and as Riley kicked him, Angel dropped down to the ground and swept his foot from under him. Riley fell heavily against the door, falling to another room with a grunt of pain. He crawled across the room to where the baton had rolled to but Angel kicked it away and grabbed the labels of his vest, hoisting him up to his feet. He managed to hit Angel hard in the face, making him stagger back but like a boomerang Angel returned the favor with vengeance. He dived at Riley and they crashed against the wall, making a deep dent into it. He aimed a hit to Riley's face but he ducked at the last moment causing Angel's fist to sink deep into the wall. Riley grabbed the metal baton from the ground and slashed Angel to the ribs with it. He let out a angry growl, ignoring the pain. As Riley aimed another hit, he grabbed the baton and kneed him in the stomach before smashing him back against the wall, making another dent to it. “Do they have to destroy my bedroom?” Lorne questioned looking up to the ceiling. “Would you like them to destroy the bar instead?” Buffy asked and wiped the blood from Gunn's face. As soon as the fighting men had moved to the bedroom, Lorne and Wesley had fetched Gunn from the doorway and brought him into relative safety behind the bar. He was still unconscious but he was breathing steadily and Buffy could see the wound wasn't fatal. She removed her jacket and folded it under his head before turning her attention back to the bedroom door. The sounds of the fight had quieted and it only made her more scared. She jumped as there was a loud crash coming from outside the building. She turned to Lorne and Wesley before slowly getting up to her feet and starting to head towards the door. “Sweetie, I don't think it's safe”, Lorne said hurrying after her. Wesley did the same and grabbed Buffy's arm, stopping her. She turned to look at him. “I can't just hide behind the bar and wish for the best”, she said and after a while, Wesley nodded slowly. “I do understand. But just wait for a moment”, he said and went to the cabinet in the corner. He dropped to the ground and reached under it, pulling out Riley's gun. “Alright, just stay behind me”, Wesley said and slowly walked into the room with Buffy and Lorne following. The room was completely trashed but there was no one in. “You have really feeble walls, you know”, Buffy said as she saw the gaping hole in the bedroom wall. “It's an old loading dock. It looks like the fight has gone outside”, Lorne stated. They could hear the sounds of rain and fighting coming from outside. Buffy neared the hole but as she crossed the room, she stepped on the baton and fell to her back with a cry of pain. Lorne ran to the hole in the wall and yelled Angel's name through it as Wesley kneeled next to Buffy. “Don't move”, he instructed. “I'm... I'm okay”, Buffy whispered but didn't try to move. “Angel! Buffy's hurt!” Lorne yelled and as soon as Angel heard it, he let out a mad growl and hit already tiring Riley with fury, sending him flying across the alley against the wall. Riley fell down to the wet ground unconscious but Angel didn't spare him more than a glance as he hurried back inside. He jumped in through the hole and dropped down to his knees next to Buffy. If his heart had been beating, it would have stopped then. “Buffy?” he whispered and ran his hand over her cheek. “It's okay. I just slipped and fell. It hurts but I'm okay”, she said looking into his eyes to let him know she wasn't lying to ease his fears. Angel stared into her eyes, he was afraid but he couldn't smell any blood so it eased his fears a little. “Could someone help me up cause this floor is really hard?” Buffy questioned and Angel turned his eyes to Wesley, asking if it was alright. Wesley nodded and slowly Angel helped Buffy to her feet. She hissed in pain and rubbed her back but otherwise she seemed fine. “We should take you to a doctor”, Angel stated and this time Buffy didn't protest despite her fear of hospitals, she just nodded. “What about Riley?” she asked. “I knocked him unconscious”, Angel stated, then turned to Lorne. “Do you have any chains around?” “Yeah, under the bed”, Lorne answered and Buffy gave her a strange look. “Don't wanna know”, she muttered. “It's a handy place to keep them. I really don't have any room for them in my closet 'cause of my wardrobe”, Lorne defended himself giving her a chastising look. “You go ahead to the hospital. Lorne and I can chain Riley and we'll join you later”, Wesley said and took the chains from under the bed. Angel just nodded and gently lifted Buffy into his arms before leaving. xxx Buffy's doctor confirmed that the baby was alright but she was taken into observation over the night. Angel was sitting by her bed, holding her hand and gently rubbing her stomach with his other hand as there was a knock on the door. They both turned to look at the door and a moment later Wesley stepped inside. “I stopped at the gift shop”, he stated and waved the box of chocolates in his hand. “Thanks, Wes”, Buffy said with a small smile. “What happened with Riley?” Angel asked. Wesley shifted on his feet, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “There was no sign of him”, he answered. “What? What you mean there was no sign of him?” Buffy questioned, voicing the question before Angel had the chance. “When we went to the alley, Riley was not there”, Wesley clarified. “There is no way he could have recovered from the hit that quickly”, Angel stated with a deep frown. “Yes, I believe he was taken from the alley”, Wesley agreed and Angel turned to look at him sharply. “Wolfram & Hart?” “That is a possibility. He did mention them”, Wesley said. “What would they want with Riley?” Buffy asked with a similar frown to Angel's. “I don't know. I don't see any use for him now that he has been discovered”, Wesley answered shaking his head. He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before putting them back on, he just needed something to busy himself with. “Whether or not they're going to use him, I think we should keep our eyes more open now”, Angel said, his eyes drifting to Buffy's stomach. “They used him to get to you, to get to our baby. Lindsey said they were coming after our baby and I think Riley was part of the plan but it just didn't work out as they wanted since... you know... he's delusional. And by the way, why didn't the sanctuary spell work in Caritas tonight?” Buffy asked turning her attention to Wesley as her hand covered Angel's on her stomach. It had been bothering her for few hours, while in Caritas she had been too scared and too worried about Angel to think about it but now that she had calmed down, why didn't the spell work? As if reading her mind, Wesley stepped in. “Lorne explained it to me. If I understood correctly, it had something to do with the fact that Riley is human and the wirings in the wall behind the mirror he shot. I really should look more throughly into the matter but casting spells has never been my strongest point.” “So it doesn't stop humans from being as violent as they want. That's a little unfair”, she stated causing Angel to chuckle. He threaded his fingers with hers and turned to look at her with a small curve to his lips but with him it was a smile. xxx Lilah walked into her office and set down her briefcase. There was a knock on the door. “Come in”, she said and turned to face the door with her arms folded in front of her. Thankfully it wasn't Gavin but she knew he wouldn't have bothered to knock before walking in. “It is done?” she asked as the man in commando gear stepped into the office. “Yes. Mr Finn has been placed into containment”, the man answered and a satisfied smile rose to Lilah's lips. The man shifted in the balls of his feet and Lilah let out a irritated sigh. “What is it?” “Miss Morgan, I know it isn't my business but isn't it a little cruel and unusual punishment to put him into the containment. He's already crazy”, he said nervously, Lilah gave him the chills. “He annoyed the hell out of me”, Lilah stated, not giving any other explanation. “You can go”, she added dismissively as she noticed he was waiting for a permission to leave. The man left with a nod and as the door closed, Lilah leaned back in her office chair, relaxing against the plush leather. She was disappointed that Riley hadn't turned out to be as useful as she had hoped but it was fine this way too. With a cold but satisfied smile she started to plan her next move. To be continued... A/N: Actually originally I wasn't planning on Riley to go crazy, it just happened. But since now he's been a Wolfram & Hart's pawn, I couldn't just get him cured. Honestly I hadn't thought about making him more than a stalker-ish ex-boyfriend but then he just went cuckoo.

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