Disclaimer: Just a fan who is trying to ease my pain about the future of BtVS and ANGEL by writing a feel-good-fantasy-future-fic . I mean no bad in writing this, and I KNOW that most of the characters are NOT mine. Though I'd like to say that Camila, Karoline and Liam are figments of my imagination, though if Joss & Co. wants them I'd be happy to share!
Dedication: This is for my long long lost Brazilian sister Camila and long long lost English brother Richie. Thank you for being the best siblings one could dream of. This one is for you and also I promised Mila that she would get a character named after her in one of my fics since she haven't had a character on either shows sharing her name – so there you have it Sis! Hope you approve.
Peas In A Pod
We are 3 siblings, Camila, Karoline and Liam. I'm the middle child, the sandwich kid, not that I mind at all. I've got the worlds greatest siblings and we're really close both in age and in 'being close' as in really good friends. My sister Camila is a year and a half older than me and my brother Liam Angel Jr. is a year and a half younger. This means we've been able to go through life pretty much together. This also means that my parents, over the years, have had their work cut out for them. Like the time when Mila and I decided that dating a couple of college guys was the best EVER idea. Boy my dad didn't like that ONE bit!
"YOU WHAT!?!?!?" Angel was out of his mind! He couldn't believe what he had just over heard his baby girls saying. "DADDY!" both the girls whined when they heard their father's out burst. "You know" Camila said "I thought there was a rule about no snooping in this house. Or is that just when it's you and Mom?" Her glare rivalled that of her father's and when Angel turned his eyes to his youngest daughter he saw a matching expression on her face. "Don't you try and sneak yourself out of this! You must be dreaming if you think for a moment that I'm letting you go on a double date with two college boys!"
Just at that moment Buffy walked in. "Hi Sweetie" She walked over and placed a peck on her husband's cheek when she saw the murder written in his eyes she turned to her daughters and saw the same determined look "Ok, you all look like you're out to kill some one. Care to fill me in?"
"Well" Angel started. "Your daughters think that they are going on dates with a couple of college guys."
"Really?" Buffy said while she sat down on one of the stools by the kitchen table "So how cute are they?"
"BUFFY!?!?!?" Angel couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Don't tell me you'll let the girls go out with a couple of older boys!"
"Honey… Remember the boyfriend I had in high school? He was what? 224 years older than me…"
"But that isn't the point!"
"Ok, then what is? Is the point that you don't trust our girls to show as good judgement as I did?"
Angel had a feeling this was a loose/loose situation. "I trust Mila and Karo but not the boys."
"But we will be together all the time Daddy!" Karoline really wanted this date and she knew that if there was ever going to be a time for her to go on a date like this it would be with Mila. "Yeah Dad, I won't leave her out of my sight for one second. And anyways if they try anything we can handle ourselves. We know about 50 different ways to kill a human or none-human." Mila looked at her Dad, she was just about to pull the pout out when Liam walked in
"Ok ask me if I just had the BEST DAY EVER!?!?!" All 3 children had their Dad's looks. Tall, dark and really good looking. Which was also the reason the Summers siblings were really popular. Even if their father had a reputation of being really strict, with his daughters that is. Liam was like a spitting image of Angel at 16 and with his mom's take on life 'we only live once so we better have some fun' he was a sure hit with the girls. The girls were more of a mix between their parents at times they took part in the fun, but other times they were just as serious and broody as their Dad. Which meant that they had friends that were both fun loving and brainy. All in all the Summers siblings were loved or lusted after by most of the students at their high school, and now, that Camila had started college, it seemed the love had spread to the frats as well.
Liam noticed the tense atmosphere in the kitchen when he sat down next to his mother with the soda can he had just gotten out of the fridge. "So who wants to hear about my day? And the fact that I have a date with the cutest freshman EVER!"
"She said yes?" Mila was very happy for her brother, he had been chasing after this girl since well since he'd first laid eyes on her. "Yes Alyson and I have a date on Friday."
Angel looked at his son. He wanted soo MUCH to celebrate his date, but he knew that would get him in SO much trouble with his daughters and wife. "There's no way I'm going to win this is there?"
Never let it be said that Angel, the former vampire with a soul and champion of good, didn't know when he was beat. "Ok you can go." The girls got up and headed towards their dad to hug him "We promise we won't do anything you or mom wouldn't have done when you were our age!"
"Well since you say that…" Buffy looked up at her daughters and husband. "Mom!!!!"
"I'm joking! You have fun, but I want the guys to pick you up here so that we can meet them before the date."
Mila and Karo looked at each other "Only if Daddy promise not to go all psycho-Dad on them!"
"And you!" Angel turned to Liam, "better remember what I told you about being a gentleman!"
That was good fun. You should have seen my Dad's face when our dates showed up. He was very not pleased. For one they were hot! And they belonged to a notorious Frat-house. But like we'd promised our parents we behaved ourselves. Well not that we didn't make out with them all night, but we got home in one piece and on time. We might be able to kill both human and non-human in more than 50 ways but there's no way we want to get Dad on our backs because of a couple of frat-boys.
Now when Mila met Joshua… well lets just say that if Dad had ever found out what we did he would have locked us in our rooms 'till we were 50.
"So he said that he really wanted to take me to his parents beach house this weekend, but I just know there's no way Dad will ever let me go." She was so in love that she was all but floating above ground. Karoline and she were in Karoline's room pretending to be studying for classes.
"So how should we do this then?" Karoline had never seen her sister like this. Sure there had been infatuations in the past but nothing like this. Joshua had swept her otherwise calm and collected older sister completely off her feet and it was nothing short of a miracle that they hadn't eloped to Vegas yet. Oh Angel would LOVE that!
"I mean, you're right when you say that Dad won't let you go. And neither will Mom no matter how cool and rebellious she was at our age. Or the fact that your old enough to vote."
"I know!" Camila buried her face in the pillow she had been hugging since she first told her sister about her and Joshua's plans.
Just then Liam walked in. There had never been any secrets between the siblings and even though they'd had separate bedrooms all their lives they had never really had any rules for going back and forth between the rooms. "So if I want to buy a girl flowers are there any I need to stay away from?" Both the girls looked up from what they were looking at and said in unison: "Anything you'd steal from a front lawn!"
Liam sat down on the corner of the bed "Well that I knew, trust me getting them thrown back in my face once was enough."
"Well, if you steal them from the front lawn of the date's house, then that's bound to happen." Karoline still couldn't get over the fact that her otherwise cool brother had done something like that.
"So what are you two doing?" Liam had from the second he walked in noticed the look on his oldest sister's face. "Don't tell me Joshua didn't show up for your lunch date!"
"No, if only that was it. He's asked me to come with him to his parents' beach house this weekend."
"Oh there's NO WAY Dad is gonna let you go!"
All tree of them sat down on the floor with their backs turned to the bed. "Well how bout?"
"No." Liam said "There's no way Dad won't check up on you if she says she's going to Alyson's place. You know he'll call her!" Camila rubbed her temples.
"But couldn't she just"
"Ask me?" Buffy walked in the room with a laundry basket filled with clean clothes for the girls. "I mean, you know as well as me that whatever tricks you want to play on him you're more likely to succeed in if you have me on your side."
All 3 of the children looked at their mother.
"Mom, are you for real?" Liam couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Yeah Mom, what's going on?" Camila like Liam was having trouble believing this was for real.
"Sweetheart." Buffy said sitting down right on the middle of the bed, "I might be your mother, but I do remember what it's like to be your age and in love with a boy who your parent doesn't like." Sometimes Buffy was still amazed that this was all hers. That it wasn't all just some great dream.
"So what was it that you wanted to do Mila?"
"Josh asked me to go to his parents' beach house for the weekend."
"So we need a way to get her out of the house." Liam stretched out on the floor next to the bed looking like a spitting, if a bit younger, image of his father on that night so many years ago.
"So what if I said that I bet Aunt Willow would love to help you? She needs a sitter for the weekend…"
The girls looked at each other and then at their mother. "I would love to help her, but I'd hate to drive all that way on my own. Maybe Karo should go with me."
It took Liam a few seconds to work out what was going on. "But what about Josh? Oh right I see, well I haven't seen Adia in awhile either so I think I'll go with the girls and then you and Dad –"
"Could spend some time alone without thinking or obsessing, er… I mean worrying about us for the weekend" Karoline finished.
Buffy smirked at her children. "Now why didn't I think about that?"
Just then they could hear Angel walking up the stairs. "Oh, there you are." He said when he walked in the room. "I was starting to worry if you'd all run away from home."
"No Honey, I was just talking to the kids about how Willow needs a sitter next weekend and they all agreed that they'd drive there together."
"Really? All 3 of you?" Angel couldn't remember the last time they'd had the house for themselves. Or wait he could… that was the night where Liam was conceived. No that couldn't be true, there had to have be some time in between. But that was beside the point. They'd have the weekend for themselves.
So,
we made our way up to Aunt Willow's house. That
is, Liam and I did, right after we'd
dropped off Mila at Josh's place.
Liam
and I had a fun-packed weekend with Aunt Willow's darling daughter
Adia, but from the look on Mila's face, when we picked her up on
Sunday, her weekend had been even
better. Josh is such a nice guy. He's an art major and he plays the
guitar. Most importantly he's head over heals in love with my dear
sister. This is a REALLY good thing 'cause if he ever hurt her, Liam
and I would have to hurt him right back. Yeah we're scary like that
when it comes down to our family.
Speaking of family members who are sorter scary at times... When Joshua, a few years later, finally asked Mila to marry him, he didn't do it before he'd asked our father for permission. That turned out to be yet another interesting moment. Oh well, Daddy didn't take it that badly...
Joshua was so
anxious he was climbing the walls. (He'd
met some intimidating people in his life, but
the man he hoped would be his future father-in-law
was by far the scariest.
"Honey,
you coming?" Camila had been ready to go to her parents' house
for almost an hour while Joshua... well let's just say, you'd think
he was the female of the couple from all the times he'd changed the
outfit he was going to wear.
"Yes
I'm coming! I just have to find my shoes."
"They
are by the door, where you left them
after you'd shinned them" Camila shook her head. It was kind of
cute how Joshua was still all nervous about going to her parents'.
They had been seeing each other for forever.
You'd think he'd gotten used to her father by now. On the other hand
she would maybe have to have a talk with her Daddy. He should really
lighten up.
Joshua and Camila arrived last at the family's house. It was their tradition to have these family dinners once a month. The girls had both moved out of the house and Liam was well on his way to do so as well. So now they went back home once every month. More often than not they would find their way back home on all times of the month.
"Hello!
Anybody here!?" Camila walked in through the back door like she
always did. She was surprised to find that there were none of her
family members in the kitchen, but she wasn't alarmed because she
could hear them in the living room.
"So
this has to be the first time I've been here when Liam hasn't got his
head inside the fridge." Joshua looked at his girlfriend who
cracked at huge smile. "Yeah, well, he's a growing boy - still,
I guess." The two of them walked into the living room.
"So
there we were late for the party and Liam decides that now is the
best time ever to draw dragons on his bedroom wall with my lipstick"
Buffy was sitting on Angel's lap in the middle of the group of people
holding one of the family's photo albums. "Awww you look so cute
all concentrated and everything." Liam's girlfriend Hannah said
when she saw the picture Buffy had pointed out to her in the album.
"Yeah,
well, back then my art wasn't really that appreciated,
I guess" Liam said sending a mock glare at
his parents.
"Sure
we loved it, Shorty" Camila said
when she walked in, "It's just that we love the art work you do
on paper even more."
"Shorty!?
Who are you calling Shorty?" Liam got up and went over to hug
his sister. He had been taller than both his sisters for years now
but a nickname will stick with you that way.
"I
think that would be you." Karoline said "after all,
for many years you were the one who talked us into helping you
reach the cookie jar." The siblings shared a group hug
"I
never did anything like that!"
All
the people, Liam including, burst out laughing. "I guess it's
time for dinner then!" Buffy said as she placed the photo album
on the coffee table.
Once
the family was set around the table, Camila
noticed how Joshua kept staring at his napkin and hardly eating ate
anything. "Sweetheart, are you ok?"
"Huh?"
Joshua had been so far gone in how he was going to approach his
hopefully-soon-to-be father-in-law.
"I
asked if you were ok?"
"Erm...
Yeah, sure... I... Would you excuse me?"
Joshua got up
from the table and walked out into the kitchen, where he stood by the
sink looking out of the window into the
garden when a voice behind him said; "So I'm guessing that
either you don't like my wife's cooking, which has never happened
before, or you want to ask me
something."
Joshua
literally jumped when Angel started talking. "God! I didn't hear
you come in."
"I
know." Angel said and smirked, which Joshua thought made him
look even more intimidating.
"I...
er... I want to ask you something."
"Figured
as much too."
"I,
I want to ask you for permission to ask your daughter to marry me."
Angel took a
couple of steps closer so that he was
standing right in front of the very nervous
young man. "That's why you walked away from my dear
wife's wonderful dinner and left her and the rest of my family
wondering what on earth would be wrong with you?"
"Yes,
s-sir." Joshua stuttered while he tried not to look
too much like a scared little boy.
"You
do realize that I love my daughter very much,
don't you?"
"Yes,
sir, I do, and I will never do
anything to harm her."
"You
know what I told my wife when Camila was born?"
"No,
sir" Joshua was starting to wonder if perhaps this had
been a terrible idea, he should just have asked her first instead of
doing 'the right thing'.
"I
told her that if she were ever to marry anyone I would not accept it
-"
"But
sir I love your daughter very much and there is nothing I wouldn't do
for her. And to deny her ever marrying would just be unfair to the
world, because we need more of her
kind…"
"Would
you let me finish?" Angel had a look on his face which to the
casual bystander would look a lot like the look of a man about to
snap with anger but, to anyone who knew
him, it meant 'I'm messing with you so
much and you don't even know it'.
"Sorry,
sir, I didn't mean to interrupt"
"What
I was going to say, was that I would never accept her getting married
if the man wanting to marry her didn't ask me for permission first."
Joshua
couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You mean?"
"I
mean that I'd be more than happy to accept your wish to marry my
daughter."
"Thank
you, sir!" All the colour returned
to Joshua's face when the reality of what Angel was saying settled
in.
"So
what do you say we return to dinner and let my wife know that it
wasn't because of her cooking that you left the table like that."
"Are you
kidding… Dad? I'm starving!"
"Don't push it…"
The wedding was so beautiful, Mila was so happy
and so was Joshua. I think even my Daddy shed a few tears when he saw
them dancing together for the first time. I know my mom did. She has
always been such a sap, though she'd probably deny it.
About
a year after the wedding Mila and Josh had the most wonderful news to
share with us. They were expecting their first child, a baby
which turned out to be two beautiful little girls,
who they named Anne and Angelica after our parents.
A
few months after Anne and Angelica's first birthday, I and my fiancé
Aidan were the ones who had some news to share with the family.
Karoline
looked at the square piece of paper in her hand for the millionth
time that hour. She couldn't believe this was real. She couldn't
believe either that Aidan hadn't been freaked when she had first told
him.
It had
been 3 months now. Three months where they hadn't told a soul about
what was going on. Three months where she had been covering up the
fact that she had been sick every morning from her sister and
brother, to whom she normally told everything.
Today
it would all change, though. They were
heading over to her parents' house, and they would get there an hour
earlier than the rest of her family to have a talk with her parents.
Aidan looked over at the young woman by his side. Now that the morning sickness had let up, she was absolutely radiant. It was true what they said about how pregnant women glow. He was so happy that this time it was for real. Nobody knew it, but 6 months earlier they'd had a false alarm. Karoline's period had suddenly been late - something which never happened. For a while they had thought that maybe she'd been pregnant, but when she took the test it was negative. When it had been negative they had both felt a little disappointed. But now it was for real. They hadn't wanted to tell anybody about it 'till after they'd finished the first trimester.
"I hope they likes the present we have for them"
"When have your parents not liked any present you guys have gotten them for their anniversary?" Liam who had inherited his father's artistic skills had drawn a beautiful portrait of the 3 children and their mates.
"True…" Karoline once again looked at the print of the ultrasound she had had done yesterday. It was placed in a frame and then placed the frame back into the gift box. "And don't worry about telling them about this either." Aidan looked at Karoline after he'd driven the car into the drive way.
Karoline closed the box, tired the ribbon and looked at Aidan "Yeah I know, just nerves I guess. In a short time this will be out in the world and not just our little secret anymore."
Aidan leaned over and kissed her on the forehead "Yeah, but think about it. We've got the best ever anniversary present for them."
"You're right. I don't know what I was thinking."
"You are silly sometimes do you know that?"
"But that's why you love me isn't it?"
"I could never fool you." Aidan placed one more kiss on her forehead before placing his hand lovingly on her belly.
Karoline and Aidan found Buffy and Angel in the living room looking at old baby pictures and looking like two lovesick teenagers. "Ohhh look at that!" Buffy said and looked at her husband "This is my favourite photo of all times. My four angels all asleep in the same armchair."
"And what a chair it is! Remember the trouble we had getting in the house. It was so large we could hardly fit it through the front door."
"Never get rid of that chair! I've never slept better in my life than in that chair."
"Hi Baby, I didn't see you there."
Angel got up from where he was sitting in the chair in question and hugged his youngest daughter
"You two are early." Buffy also got up and hugged the both of them
"Yeah… well… we have something we'd like to tell you." Aidan was holding Karoline's hand
"Really?" Angel led the way into the kitchen. The room which seemed to be where, all the important events of the family took place. Buffy and Angel were standing on one side of the counter and Karoline and Aidan on the other side.
"The reason why we came here a little early is because of this…" Karoline placed the gift on the counter and once again grasped Aidan's hand as she sat down on the stole next to her.
"What's this Sweetie?" Buffy was looking at her daughter, it wasn't like her to be this nervous around her parents.
"You'll never know if you don't open it Dear" Angel was strangely calm, when you consider that he had also picked up on the weird vibe coming off the younger couple.
Buffy untied the bow and opened the box and took out the frame. Both Buffy and Angel immediately recognized what is was and looked at the two young people standing in front of them. "Is this real?" Angel was having a hard time making his brain understand that his baby was having a baby.
"Yes Daddy, it's very much real." Karoline looked at her father and then her mother and what she saw were both shock and happiness
"What's real?" Liam burst through the backdoor followed closely by Hannah, Camila, Joshua and the twins.
"Erm…" Before either Karoline or Aidan had a chance to answer Camila had picked up the picture frame and was looking at Karoline. "I knew it! You have been WAY too pale lately!"
"So you are saying…." Liam was looking at the ultrasound picture
"Yes, we're having a baby." Karoline's eyes were starting to fill with tears. "Darling that's amazing!" Buffy rushed around the table to hug her daughter. "Don't you think Angel?"
"30 years ago I didn't think I'd ever have a family and now I've got grandchildren!" Tears of happiness were flowing down Angel's cheeks.
And here we are now. Three years down the road at Liam and Hannah's wedding. Anne and Angelica were the flower girls and Kieran Angel, that's mine and Aidan's 2½ year old son, was the ring bearer. For a moment I was afraid he was going to topple over when he walked up to them with the rings, but he did amazingly and looked so cute. Oh dear I'm doing the 'mommy thing' again aren't I?
I'm sitting a little away from the centre of the celebration When I look around the party I see an amazing family. All the members are really close and happy to be around each other. Right now my Dad is dancing with both of the twins and my mom is dancing with Kieran. I know for a fact that never in the history of the world has any grandchildren been as loved and spoiled as the 3 youngest members of this family.
The age is starting to show in my parents. My dad's hair now has a few silver streaks in it and my mom is starting to show wrinkles around the eyes. But those are good wrinkles – they are there because she has been smiling a lot during her life. Despite they are starting to look a little older they still at times act like kids half their age. Also it's like Anne, Angelica and Kieran has given them a second wind. You should see my mom in the kitchen making cupcakes with them or my dad outside in the garden chasing them around with the garden hose.
"Oh there you are!" Liam and Camila walked over to where Karoline was sitting looking at the party.
"Yeah I was taking a break from all the dancing. I knew I should have listened to mom and have worn these shoes around the house before the wedding."
"Oh you too huh?" Camila pulled the hem of her long dress and revealed her bare feet. Both of the young women started laughing.
"Well we can't all get married on the beach now can we?"
"Why do you think we had it there? You know how I hate wearing shoes"
"I bet that wasn't the reason you gave Aidan" Liam looked at Karoline
"No Shorty, she dragged him down there at sunset and told him how she loved the view."
"Also you have to remember I was 6 months pregnant and I did NOT want to be wearing heels."
"Speaking of …" Liam looked at his sisters "Hannah just told me yesterday that we're… having a… er…baby."
The girls couldn't believe what their baby-brother had just said.
"It's funny that you should mention it, Joshua and I…"
"Well Aidan and I just found of for sure…"
All 3 of the Summers siblings looked at each other and started laughing "So do you think we will get a group discount?" Liam said in a fit of laughter.
FIN
