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Chapter 6: Faithful followers Riley was sitting by the window, holding a folder in his hands and leafing through the pages with a small smile playing on his lips. The pages were full of pictures of Buffy in different situations, all close-up taken from a distance. He stopped at a picture where she was smiling brightly, the sun shining in her hair as it did on her smile. He traced her features with his finger and smiled. But his smile faltered as he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He lifted his head and turned to watch what was happening through the video camera. His features hardened as he watched Buffy and Angel walk into the bedroom, kissing and talking. His fists clenched and unclenched as they started shedding their clothes off but what send him over the edge was when they went to the bathroom and closed the door. “How dare he!” Riley screamed in rage and threw the folder to the wall sending the sheets flying. He jumped to his feet and paced the room, gripping his hair and shaking his head. He stopped as he stepped on one of the pictures, he fell to his knees and gently took the photo into his hands. He looked at the picture with tenderness and traced her face with his knuckles. “I will save you”, he promised and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “I'm fat”, Buffy stated frowning and placed both of her hands on her swelling belly. “You're not fat”, Angel said back and wrapped his arms around her from behind, covering her hands with his and placing his chin on her shoulder. “You're having a baby”, he added and pressed a kiss to her neck. He looked into the mirror, only Buffy could be seen but then again, he hadn't expected anything else. “Do you know what I want?” she asked nearly in a whisper, a small smile rising to her lips. “What? Again?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, an arrogant smirk planted on his lips. “Cookie dough fudge mint chip ice cream”, she answered and giggled cause she knew it wasn't what he had been thinking of. “Well, you better get dressed then cause you're not going down there like this”, he said looking down at her nude body, making her giggle again. “I doubt Cordelia would appreciate it.” “It's not Cordelia I'm thinking about”, he answered scowling and earned a playful slap from her. She turned to look at him and laughed. “Get a grip, Angel. Even if it was just the two of us, I wouldn't go running around in my birthday suit”, she chastised and slapped him again. He wrapped a towel around her before doing the same and following her into the bedroom. “I know I have been...” “Overly jealous and growly?” Buffy assisted innocently while digging the closet for clothes. “...protective lately”, he finished his sentence. “Says the guy who gets jealous when I get a letter from a nine years old boy”, she said looking at him pointedly and he just tried to look innocent. “I don't get jealous because of Liam”, he defended himself and added mumbling: “Anymore.” “You know I think you're cute when you're jealous but get over it. I love you, we're together and we're having a baby. So get over it”, she said and pulled on a pair of pants and a t-shirt before laying down on the bed. “When am I meeting Christian?” he asked casually while dressing. She sighed deeply. “I'm not getting growly, as you put it. It's just that you have a new friend and I'd like to meet him”, he explained, he really wasn't jealous of him, well, maybe a little. “I have been trying to arrange that, but he's a musician, he only has time during the day and it would be a little tough to explain why my boyfriend runs into the meeting with a blanket over his head. But I'm working on it, I'm sure you will like him. And it's nice to have a almost normal friend.” Angel looked away and Buffy could read his thoughts, 'like I'm not'. She got off the bed and stood in front of him, grabbing hold of his chin and forcing him to look at her. “I thought we've been though this already, don't go to the brood-land over this. I don't want a normal breathing boyfriend, I don't want picnics in the sun and the children-excuse doesn't apply anymore since I'm pregnant despite the fact that you're a vampire. I just meant that it's refreshing to know someone that doesn't know I'm a slayer.” Angel gave her a small smile before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “How 'bout that ice cream?” he reminded her and placed his hand on the small bump. “It's not like I forgot it, I was just waiting you to get dressed, cause I would get growly if you wandered around in your birthday suit in front of Cordy.”
Buffy looked around the bedroom, she was having a eerie feeling, like when Angelus had been stalking her but without the slight tingly feeling. Her gaze fixed on the window, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary but she could feel it, like someone was watching her, she went to stand in front of the window, her eyes searching the shadows of the street before she pulled the drapes. She jumped as she felt arms wrap around her but immediately relaxed against the hard chest behind her. “What were you thinking about?” Angel asked with a hint of concern in his voice. “Just had this feeling... like someone was watching, like Rear window-watching”, she answered and turned in his arms, looking into his face. “Hitchcock”, he stated, proving that he wasn't completely clueless in all her preferences, and earned a crooked smile from her. “It's probably just my hormones making my slayer senses go all wonky”, she played it off and yawned. “You're tired”, he stated and guided her to the bed. They laid down on the bed on top of the bedspread and Angel pulled her securely into his arms. He kept looking at the window, sometimes he too had the feeling of someone watching but he had put it down as paranoia but now he wasn't so sure. “Are you all set for tomorrow?” she asked, her voice a mumble against his chest. “Yes, I've got my blanket”, he answered smiling, it was a silly question. “Are you sure you want to come with?” she asked closing her eyes and starting to drift into sleep. “I'm sure, I want to be there with you”, he answered pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. It was the first time he was going into a check-up with her, all her appointments had been during the day and she didn't want to risk Angel catching the sun, but tomorrow was going to be cloudy so he was willing to take the risk. Buffy mumbled something against his chest but he couldn't make out the words and only few short moments later she was asleep. He looked at the window again, something was happening and he wanted to know what it was, there was no chance in hell he was going to let anything happen to her or the baby. His face furrowed into a frown, he was going to have to ask around, check out the neighborhood more thoroughly. And soon he was in a full brood-mode, the only time he could do that these days was when she was sleeping. He lowered his gaze back to the sleeping blonde in his arms and he swore in his mind that he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, he would protect her even if it would cost his life.
Riley scrubbed his body nearly raw in the shower, he only used products without any fragrance in them and pulled on clothes that too had been washed with odorless products. He started packing a bag full of different gadgets and threw it on the bed before he glanced at the video camera, the bedroom was empty. He pulled the curtains back and saw that the man he had identified as Wesley Wyndham-Price was going to the car, Riley checked his watch and cursed under his breath, he was late. He grabbed the bag and pulled his cap securely on to his head before running out the door. At the front door of his apartment building, he stopped, took a deep calming breath and walked out to his car. He waited for some minutes, watching as Wesley drove the car to the front of Hyperion, as close to the door as he could. His hands gripped tightly at the steering wheel as he saw a dark figure running to the car, a gray blanket wrapped around him. What was that fiend doing? Not long after he had disappeared inside the car, Buffy walked out the door, going to the car after him. As the car started moving, Riley trailed after it all the way to the hospital underground parking hall. “What has the vampire done to her?!” he yelled to himself. He had seen the crib in the corner of Buffy's bedroom and he noticed that she had put on weight but he always managed to convince himself that it wasn't the obvious answer, maybe the tall brunette was pregnant, or one of the two men had a child, maybe one of her relatives was expecting a baby or the most infuriating thought, that she was going to adopt with the murderer she was living with. He did everything he could to avoid the thought that she was going to have a baby of her own, he had seen the man she was spending time, he hadn't managed to catch more than a name, Christian, but to his comfort, Buffy and Christian were always on public when they met. He watched as the group made their way to the elevators and after they were out of sight, he started his car and drove back to the Hyperion. Putting his army training into good use, he sneaked inside the hotel and into the bedroom without the man or the nosy brunette seeing him. He looked around the room, he had a urge to destroy every object that reminded of the bloodsucking monster that lived there too but he managed to suppress the urge, no one was going to know he had been there. He installed a microphone chip into the room and glanced at his watch, he still had time. He looked around the room, lazily walking around the room, looking at the things that he knew were hers and fiddling with some of them, feeling the connection to her through them. He stopped in front of a drawer, he just stood there for a good while before opening the top one and looking through it. He picked up a piece of light pink panties and a smile rose to his lips, his imagination starting to make images. But his muses were interrupted by a sound of pair of high heels clicking towards the room door. He pushed the piece of fabric into his pocket, grabbed his bag and hid into the bathroom just in time before Cordelia walked into the room. She made her way to the closet and pulled out a black v-neck blouse. She started towards the door but a small sound caught her attention and she stopped, looking around the room. She cautiously went to the bathroom door and looked inside. As she didn't see anyone, she let out a sigh of relief and walked out mumbling to herself about spending too much time with slayers and vampires.
Angel was wringing his hands in nervousness, he looked around himself at the waiting room and then fixed his eyes on the woman next to her. She was squeezing his thigh with her fingers digging into his flesh but he didn't feel any pain. He smiled slightly and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. Buffy turned to look at him in puzzlement, he wasn't usually comfortable showing affection in public but then she noticed that he must be as anxious as she was. “Don't worry so much, it's just a check-up, they take some blood, do some tests and we go home with a abstract picture of the baby so we can try to guess what is the leg and what is just a spot”, she said trying to form a smile to her lips but hospitals always made her jumpy, she was just glad that Angel was with her, it had been a torture to visit her appointments before. “Sorry, I didn't mean to be a nervous wreck, I know how much you dislike hospitals”, he said and wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her against him. She leaned her head against him and sighed. “Dislike isn't strong enough word”, she said and let his presence calm her own nerves. Only few minutes later, the nurse stepped into the waiting room and guided Buffy and Angel to the doctor's office. Dr Lang got up from behind her desk and came to greet her patient. “Hello Buffy”, she said and shook her hand before glancing at the young man next to her. “Hello, Dr. Lang”, Buffy greeted back and noticed that the doctor was waiting for her to introduce her companion. “And this is Angel”, she added. “Ah, the father. I am very glad you decided to come and join us”, Dr Lang said with a smile, she had noticed that Buffy was much more relaxed at his presence. They went to sit and Dr Lang asked about the pregnancy before she took a blood sample and they moved to the ultrasound. Buffy climbed to the table and lifted her shirt up. “It's gonna be cold but you already knew that”, Dr Lang said before she squirted the liquid and spread it around her stomach. As the picture formed on the tv screen, Angel couldn't help but look at awe. He grabbed Buffy's hand into his own and planted a kiss to her knuckles, not letting his eyes wander off the screen. “Is this your first baby, mister...?” Dr Lang asked, realizing she hadn't caught the last name. “Just Angel. And yes, this is our first child”, Angel answered and shifted his eyes back to Buffy, a small smile rising to his lips as he looked at the mother of his child.
“What did I tell you, exercise and light lifting isn't going to hurt me or the baby, Dr Lang even encouraged the exercise”, Buffy said smugly to Angel as they walked towards the office after Angel had made a dash inside. “You're just going to gloat on her backing you up, aren't you?” Angel asked her and she nodded her head enthusiastically. “Oh, you bet I am”, she answered with a smirk. Angel opened the office door for her but she shook her head. “I need to take a shower, I think I still have some of that goo on”, she said frowning. “Want to wash my back?” she asked a mischievous smirk rising to her lips. “Oh come on, you two!” Cordelia wailed from behind them, rolling her eyes at the couple. They turned to look at the brunette, both a little embarrassed that she had caught them. “Hey Cordy”, Buffy greeted. “So, how was the check-up? I see the happy father isn't small enough to fit into a ashtray”, Cordelia asked in her usual manner. “Just fine”, Buffy answered and pulled out the ultrasound-picture, handing it to Cordelia. “What am I supposed to see here?” she asked looking at the picture like it was a different life form. “That's the baby”, Buffy said and glided her finger on the lines. “Okay, if you say so”, Cordelia dismissed it flippantly. Buffy glanced at the clock and frowned. “I gotta go take that shower, I'm having that coffee with Christian”, she said regretfully and at Angels scowl, continued: “But maybe I could swing him by here so you could meet him.” Angel just nodded and Cordelia rolled her eyes. “So, you told me he's good looking, but does he have any money?” Cordelia asked ignoring the deepening frown on Angels face. “I don't think so, at least not in the way you mean. He's a musician.” Cordelia waved her hand in dismissal. “So I don't need to be here to watch the interrogation, although it could be entertaining. But I still have a life and I'm going to a audition.” “You've got a audition? Need any help?” Buffy asked raising a concerned eyebrow. “No need, if this director tries anything, I'm gonna kick him where it hurts”, she said and walked out of the office. Buffy and Angel watched her go before going back to their earlier conversation. “So, maybe we should avoid the monster-y things laying around, in case Christian does come here.” “I'll try to do that, I'm looking forward in meeting him”, he said and Buffy gave him a skeptical look. “You're not going to team up with Gunn and scare him off, are you?” she asked with a hint of amusement. “I promise not to scare him off... badly”, he answered, adding the latter part with a smirk. “That's nice of you”, she stated with a smile tucking her lips, she tried to be serious but it just wasn't working. “Come on, funny guy, you can wash my back”, she said, grabbing hold of his sleeve and dragging him with her to upstairs. Buffy and Christian were sitting in a quiet café and they had been just talking for the last hour. Once again Buffy was bothered by the feeling that she had seen him before they had met at the dark road from Sunnydale. She looked intently at his eyes before letting her eyes drift down to his hand. “I'm sorry if I'm stepping out of line, but... what happened to your hand?” she asked somewhat awkwardly, not sure if it was appropriate to ask. Christian's eyes dropped to his other hand and unconsciously he stretched his fingers. “An accident at a work place. I was working at a lumber mill back home and... well, you can see what happened. Fortunately the company had a insurance policy and that's how I got my new hand, latest technology and I can still play my guitar.” “I'm sorry”, she whispered but he just shook it off and gave her a subdued smile. “Don't worry about it, wasn't your fault.” “By the way, Angel would like to meet you”, Buffy changed the subject. Christian glanced at the clock on the wall and turned back to Buffy. “And I'd like to meet the guy who stole your heart before I could but I can't now, I've got a meeting with a producer in fifteen minutes.” “Okay, I'll let you go to your meeting. But we'll need to work on that meeting between you and Angel”, she said and he nodded in conformation. They got up and said a quick goodbye before Christian left the café, on his way to his car, he saw Cordelia make her way to the café, he knew she saw him but he didn't pay any attention to her. Cordelia walked into the café and sat down to Buffy's table, she was picking at her salad and trying to drink her tea, she had limited her coffee to one cup a day since she was pregnant. “Hey. So where's your friend?” Cordelia asked while sitting down. “You just missed him. He had a appointment with some producer”, Buffy explained and grimaced at the tea, setting it down and pushing it away from her. “So there could be a possible recording contract, maybe you should introduce me to him”, she smirked but Buffy could tell she wasn't completely serious, maybe few years ago she would have been, but not anymore. “Sure. So how was your audition? Any bodily harm done to a groping director?” Buffy asked and Cordelia shook her head with a wide smile. “I'm going out with him tomorrow night. The part went to one of those homely looking mousey girls but then he asked ME out. I guess that's better, since I'm really not a frustrated housewife type that was required for the commercial.” “I'm sorry about the part but happy about the date. So what's he like?” “Oo... He's handsome, sophisticated, has this nice, thick brown hair, no balding issues there and piercing blue eyes, and he doesn't have to wear the glasses unless he wants to see where he's going but hey, on a bad hair day, you can just hide his glasses and he won't be any wiser. And did I mention the British accent?” Cordelia said with catching enthusiasm and Buffy couldn't help but smile. “Well, he sounds perfect, although I like the tall, dark and broody type that lost his Irish accent a hundred years ago”, she stated. Buffy waited for an hour before grabbing her stake, storing another one into her jacket and hiding a dagger to her boot. The slayer in her was screaming for the hunt and she had no choice but to answer it. She had been sneaking out for some time, been careful and taking out newly risen vampires, nothing she couldn't handle. She knew Angel would probably chain her to the bed if he knew, although she was wondering why he hadn't noticed yet. She went to the nearest cemetery and did a quick sweep, finding only one new grave. She recognized the name, she had a habbit of reading the obituaries and about death's that seemed like vamp doings, since LA was a big city and she didn't have the time to just wait on every new grave. She sat on the tombstone and waited till she could feel she wasn't alone. She turned enough to look behind her and she nearly fell to the ground when she saw Riley. “Riley!?” she yelped in surprise and stepped down from the stone. “What are you doing here?” she asked defensively, she remembered all too well that Riley had been breaking into her apartment back in Sunnydale and just looking at him made her feel uneasy. “I just wanted to see you, to talk to you”, he answered and walked closer to her, making her take steps back. “We don't have anything to talk about. How did you even know I was here?” she asked, her voice rising as well as her unease. “It was fate”, he answered and the look in his eyes made her want to flee. “It wasn't fate. You broke into my home back in Sunnydale, there is nothing I want to speak with you. I don't want to see you ever again because you did to me something that I can't forgive”, she said and turned around, stomping towards the exit. “Buffy, darling, that vampire has done something to you. Please let me help you, let me take you away from here, somewhere safe, we can stay at my parents farm till I find us a place of our own”, Riley said desperately, running after her and grabbing a hold of her arm. She spun around sharply and gave him one of her slayer looks before yanking her arm free. “Riley, I don't want to move into your parents farm with you, I am not under any influence and I never want to see you again. Am I making my self clear?!” she asked and in the corner of her eye, saw the vampire rising. She went back to the grave, grabbed the vampire by his shirt collar and struck the stake into his heart. She turned to look at Riley. “Stay away from me!” she commanded and ran away from the cemetery. She didn't stop until she reached the Hyperion and couldn't stop the tears forming in her eyes. She felt like a coward but still she knew she had done the right thing, she was pretty sure Riley wouldn't hurt her but still, she was frightened by the look in his eyes. She was going to have a baby and she wasn't going to do anything to endanger him or her, she'd rather run away than face Riley, she wasn't taking any unnecessary risks. She composed herself before going inside and straight into the bedroom. She was just hoping she wouldn't run into anybody, like Gunn who had moved into one of the room or especially Cordelia who also practically lived in the hotel, she only went to her apartment to sleep, sometimes not even that. To her luck she managed to make her way to her room without being detected but Angel was already home, the shower was running and there was a pair of sweats laid on the bed. She went to the mirror and tried to salvage her make up, wipe off the running mascara. “Buffy? Are you alright?” Angel asked from behind her, startling her since she couldn't see him through the mirror and had been too distracted to hear him come out of the bathroom. She spun around and buried her face into his now warm chest. She was tired of always being strong, with Angel she could stop fighting and find comfort in him. She let the tears fall and immediately calmed down as Angels arms circled her body. After a few moments she pulled back, wiping away the tears from his chest and lifting her gaze to his face. “I ran into Riley”, she whispered and his face furrowed into a angry frown that she knew wasn't directed at her. “What did he do?” Angel bit out, trying to keep the anger away from his voice not to scare her. “He didn't do anything. He just... the way he talked... Well I didn't let him talk much before I ran like a sissy but the look in his eyes... and the whole 'I will rescue you and we will move to my parents farm' speech really shook me”, she tried to get the words out of her mouth. Angel pulled her more tightly into his arms and hushed against her ear, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before guiding her to sit with him on the bed. “You didn't run like a sissy, you did the right thing, you thought of the baby, we don't know what he was thinking and what he might have done, you did the right thing in leaving before anything could happen”, he assured her and pressed another kiss to her cheek. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek and he caught it with his thumb, wiping it away. “Shhh... It's alright, you're safe”, he assured her and she turned to look at him with big sad eyes. “I went out to hunt, you know”, she started uncertainly and he nodded. “I know.” “You must be really disappointed in me”, she whispered before placing her head on his shoulder and looking away. “I'm not disappointed, I'm just... not pleased. I know you're the slayer, it is against your nature to stop hunting. But what I don't like is that you went out alone. I know I probably would have said no if you'd asked to come with me on a patrol but...” he said without knowing how to finish. “If it makes you feel any better, I only took on the newly risen vamps, I didn't go out looking for anyone experienced”, she said like a little child and despite the morose mood, he smiled. “What am I going to do with you”, he said to himself, shaking his head. “Love me?” she suggested with a small voice and he placed his fingers under her chin, lifting her head so she could look at him. “I already love you”, he answered and placed a tender kiss to her lips. “I love you too”, she whispered back with a tearful smile. “Just promise you'll not patrol alone”, he said looking into her eyes, showing he was serious. “I promise.”
Lindsay sat in a meeting, waiting for the two other men to say something as they were finishing reading the files in front of them. Almost like coordinated, they put down the files and turned to look at him. “We are very pleased that you have managed to get a close contact to the target but we haven't seen anything useful happen yet”, one of the men said sternly. “Gentlemen, she is the perfect way to get to Angel, she is his weakness. In those files are also her medical records and as you can see, she is pregnant. And by knowing her, there is no doubt that the baby is the vampire's, which should be impossible. But just by her being a slayer, the child will be a great asset to us, there are only few recorded slayers that have had a child after they have been called, I have no doubt that the kid will be powerful, something that Wolfram & Hart would like to have in their hands. I have already put the research department looking for a prophecy concerning the souled vampire.” “Good job, Mr McDonald, but what about this character that has been following her and you, this Riley Finn?” “He doesn't know who I am and he seems to be delusional and unstable but he still can be help to us, we can use him”, Lindsay answered, all he wanted to do was get the annoying shadow off his way but he couldn't do that since it seemed that the deranged soldier could be useful. “Well, you better get results quick, Mr McDonald, Wolfram and Hart is not paying you to have lunches with the slayer”, the man said and got up from his chair as did the other, leaving the room without saying anything else. “Hello Christian”, Lilah said mockingly, slinking inside the office only few minutes after the men had left. “Hello, Lilah”, Lindsay answered coolly. “So the little slayer is pregnant, you didn't knock her up, did you?” she continued with a self-satisfied smile and sat down in one of the chairs. “It appears that our souled vampire did that”, Lindsay answered, making Lilah laugh. “You do still remember that vampires can't have children. Blondie probably just messed around with the watcher, or the street kid”, Lilah said dismissing the idea of vampire managing to have a child. “I don't think so, Lilah. The research is already digging into the books and I am sure they'll find something, this is the sure thing.” “Like the spell to release Angelus by making the slayer jump Angels bones was a sure thing?” Lilah taunted him. Lindsay just send a glare at her way, he was still relieved that Buffy hadn't recognized him, but then again, she had been drunk at the time and hadn't paid any attention to him, and that brought back the memory of Angelus squeezing his neck, he still didn't know why he had let him live. He shivered, still remembering the look in his eyes. Shaking the unwanted feeling off, he lifted his gaze to Lilah and gave her one of his charming smiles.
“I assure you, this one will work. Buffy is the way to get to him.”
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