CHAPTER 7 – BUMP IN THE ROAD

I was sitting in front of the fireplace watching the flames when I felt Buffy wrap her arms around my neck.

"Uh-oh. I know that look. You're brooding."

Buffy moved to sit in my lap and gave me a worried look. "What's wrong?"

"Buffy, what's my purpose?"

"Your…purpose?"

"Yeah."

A smile spread across her face. "Well, to make me happy for one."

I smiled back at her. "That's a given. But I mean…what's my purpose in life? I feel like I should be, I don't know, doing something. Something meaningful. Ever since I became human, I've felt so…lost. Like I just don't know what direction I'm supposed to take next. When I was a vampire, it was easy to know my purpose. It was redemption. I had to atone for all of the pain and torment I had caused. And when I became human, it was like my reward, like I had finally accomplished that goal. And now…I just don't know what I should do."

"Your purpose can still be to help people. You still have Angel Investigations."

"Yeah, I know. But somehow, it just doesn't seem like enough. I feel like I should be doing something more."

Buffy pondered my quandary for a moment, then smiled. "I know what you need."

"What's that?"

"You need a job."

"I have a job. We just discussed that."

"No, I mean a day job. You moonlight as a paranormal detective, but you need a day job. Like all the other humans."

"What kind of job could I have?"

Buffy thought about it, and then her expression lit up as she had an idea. "I know the perfect job for you!"

"Oh yeah?"

"You could open up a gym and teach everyone your mad martial art skills."

"Hmm, that sounds interesting. Tell me more."

"Well…you could teach little kids karate. And they could show up with their cute little white outfits and colored belts? And you could teach self-defense classes to women. You know, show them some jui-jitsu moves? And also, you could offer private lessons as well."

"Private lessons?"

Buffy smiled. "Like, you know? Teaching your girlfriend a little tai chi? We haven't done that in a while."

"We'll have to remedy that then."

"And you know what else?"

"What?"

"I could be your assistant. When you're teaching women self-defense, I could play the part of your victim."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You'd kick my ass."

"I know! That's the whole point, right? It's all about empowering women and giving them confidence! And if they see you, as big as you are, fall flat on your ass, all the better!"

"Okay, but you couldn't use your slayer strength in that situation. Not everyone's a slayer and it wouldn't exactly be fair."

"Okay, I guess you're right," she said with a little pout. "But you know what? I could still kick your ass."

I laughed. "I have no doubt about that."

I know what my purpose is now.

Not exactly what I had envisioned, but more or less, the same goal in mind.

The five men from Roman's hunting group stand before me in the basement, all brought here on the premise that two of them were injured. Staring at the men before me, I realize my job is cut out for me. Two of them men look as if they've recently lost a lot of weight, while one is overweight. Only two of them, three including Roman, seem fit enough.

"So…do any of you know anything about fighting?"

The group of men are quiet for a moment, but the man I recognize as Walker raises his hand. "I know how to use a crossbow."

"That's good. But what about hand to hand combat?"

Another one of the men raises his hand. "I'm very skilled with a knife."

"Okay, that's also good. But what if you didn't have any weapons?"

The group is quiet again, and Roman moves to my side. "Angel, I'm afraid our people are not skilled in combat fighting. Our magic was always our weapon of choice. Without that, we have nothing."

"Alright then, we need to change that. Is there a gym that you go to regularly?"

"We have a gym in town, yes," Roman replies.

"Then I suggest if you don't go regularly, start. You'll need to start weight training exercises to build up your strength. In addition to that, a little cardio would be good too. In order to be prepared to fight, you must be in good health."

"A little hard to be in good health when we can barely put food on the table," says one of the smaller looking men.

I glance at Roman. If these are the best men he could bring me, then we're in serious trouble.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Willow gushes as she stares at the glossy, grainy images from the ultrasound.

Xander glances at the photos and smiles. "Yep, there's definitely a head. I can't make out much more than that though."

Anya reaches across the counter and takes one of the photos. "Oh I can. Definitely all boy, that's for sure. I see its little baby penis." Anya hands the pictures back to me.

"So whatcha going to name him, Buff?" Xander asks.

I don't want to tell them yet. If I do, I'll have to tell them how I came up with the name, and then I'll just burst into tears as my emotions have been all over the place. And maybe I just want it to be a secret for a little while, so I just shrug and smile. "Still thinking on it."

Later when Will goes to class and Xander heads to work, I sneak off to my training room to do some light exercise, though what I actually end up doing is curling up on the bench, staring at my ultrasound pictures for about the hundredth time.

Then, I reach into my pocket, pulling out the picture of Angel I carry around with me. I hold the picture next to the clearest ultrasound image, wondering if I can make out any resemblance.

"I miss you so much, Angel," I say to his picture, running my finger along his face.

The hardest part of my pregnancy has not been the morning sickness, or the hormones, or even trying to find decent maternity clothes. The hardest part has been the fact that Angel is missing it all.

I've felt the baby move a few more times, and every time, I wish Angel was here so that I could grab his hand and place it on my belly. I wish he could feel our son kicking inside me, see his face light up in amazement.

I wish Angel could have seen the ultrasound with me, holding my hand, watching as that little grainy image of a baby sucked on his thumb. But he's not here. And I know I won't give up, but how can I do this? How can I do this without Angel here?

The tears sting my eyes, and I wipe them away with my finger. Looks like despite my resolve not to let my emotions get to me, I'm going to cry anyway.

"How was the training?" Althea asks once the men pack up and leave.

"It's going to be a lot more difficult than I thought. Not impossible. Just…a challenge."

"We've always been a very peaceful group of people. And when you don't experience much evil in the world, it's difficult to know how to combat it. I'm sure with some practice, they'll improve. They're all very skilled hunters."

"That's right. Actually, you just gave me a really good idea."

"Let's hear it," Roman says as he walks into the room, having heard our conversation.

"Well, training in the basement is fine for now, but eventually, it might raise some suspicion. We need a new location."

"I can't think of any other place," Roman says.

"I can. The forest."

Roman frowns. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Well you go into the forest anyway to hunt."

"Yes, but that's out of necessity. We try to limit our time there. The forest is dangerous."

"Exactly, and if I'm going to train an army, they've got to be prepared for anything. Look, I spent four months out there, and know the place pretty well. I've gone up against wolves, dragons, and some other creatures out there I don't even know what to call. Yeah, it's dangerous. But sometimes, you see what a man is really made of when he comes face to face with something that might kill him."

Althea looks to her husband. "He's right. Training a few men in the basement will only work for so long before the Watchmen get wind. And the Invaders won't enter the forest. They have no reason to."

Roman nods. "Well, there are a lot of caves there. For which we can hide out if necessary."

"And believe me, I know where every one of them is."

"Alright. You've convinced me. Tomorrow we will gather a hunting group and prepare for training."

The morning sun brightens the living room as I sit on the couch and sketch. Buffy's smiling face stares back at me as I put the finishing touches on her lips.

I feel someone sit next to me on the couch, and Andromeda leans against me and glances at the sketch I'm working on. "Is that your girlfriend you're drawing?" she asks.

"Yes."

"She's pretty. What's her name?"

"Her name is Buffy." Reaching into my pocket, I pull out Buffy's wallet-sized photograph for her to see.

Andromeda takes the picture and compares it to the sketch. "Wow! You're a really good artist! It looks just like her!"

"Thank you."

She hands the photograph back to me and I tuck it safely back into my wallet.

"You must miss her a lot."

"Yes, I do. Every second of every day."

"You'll get to see her again. Papa says that once magic is restored in our world, you'll get to go home."

"I just hope that's soon." I give her a smile. "Not to say that I haven't appreciated your family's hospitality."

She looks down at the sketch again. "How did you meet Buffy?"

"That's a long story."

Andromeda's eyes brighten. "Oh that's okay! I love a good long story! Especially a romantic one!"

I raise an eyebrow at her. "How old are you?"

"Old enough to hear a love story!" she says with a smile.

"Well, to understand how we met, I should tell you about Buffy first. She's a slayer."

Andromeda gives me a confused look. "What's a slayer?"

"It's like a warrior. In my world, there's a chosen one, one girl in all the world who fights the forces of evil. She has superior strength and quick reflexes, and Buffy was chosen to be that girl."

"How do you get chosen?"

"It's random, really. But whenever one slayer dies, another one takes her place. Now, this is where the story gets a little interesting. I was the enemy."

Andromeda frowns. "But you're a good person. You can't be an enemy."

"At one time, though, I was. Do you know what a vampire is?"

"I've heard of vampires before, but vampires don't exist."

"Actually, they do, at least they do in our world, and I was one."

Her eyes grow wide. "But…that can't be. You're human. I thought once a human became a vampire, they were dead."

"Most of the time, yes, but I was the exception."

"So you became human again and fell in love with Buffy?"

"I became human, yes, but I fell in love with Buffy long before. You see, I had spent many years tormenting people because of what I was. But one day, I was cursed with a soul. Before I had a soul, I didn't care who I hurt. But after, all I felt was the guilt for everyone I had caused pain. And after that, I decided that I would do some good in the world. So instead of being bad, I started to help the good guys."

"Like Buffy?"

I smile at her. She catches on quick. "Yes, like Buffy. When she first became a slayer, she was a girl just a few years older than you. I decided to help her. And one thing led to another."

Andromeda was grinning ear to ear. "You fell in loooove?"

"Yes."

"So wait, you were still a vampire then. A good vampire. How did you become human?"

"I was exposed to a demon's blood during a fight one day. It's blood had regenerating properties and well, it sort of regenerated me."

"That's such a wonderful story! I'm so sorry your 'happily ever after' hit a bump in the road though."

"Well, to be honest, I'm sort of used to it now. Buffy and I didn't always have it easy. We had our ups and downs, mostly because she was human and I, well, wasn't. But in the end, we were stronger than ever. I was even going to ask her to marry me except that I ended up here before I had a chance to."

"Oh, that's so sad."

"Yes, but I'll get back home to her someday, just like you said."

"Promise me something?"

"Of course."

"Whenever you get back home, invite me to the wedding?"

I smile at her, and nod. "I'll invite you and your whole family. Well, I better get ready to go." I put the sketch pad on the table and see Andromeda frowning.

"Go? Where are you going?"

"With me," Roman answers as he walks into the room and kisses his daughter on the cheek.

"Papa, you have your sword. Are you hunting again?"

"Yes, dear. We have a lot of hungry people to feed. Now go get dressed or you will be late for school."

Andromeda sighs as she stands up. "Okay. Goodbye, Angel. Thanks for the story. Bye, Papa."

I wave as Andromeda skips out of the room.

"I feel it best not to worry the children about circumstances."

I nod. "I understand. Well, is everyone ready?"

"We're ready when you are."

I'm in the middle of having some strange dream about a tentacled demon who only eats eggs when a shake on my arm jars me awake. As I pick my head up from the table, an unflattering string of drool dribbles out of the corner of my mouth. I wipe it away and look up to see Giles looming over me.

"Thank god you're alright. Your mother's been worried sick since she realized you didn't come home last night."

I glance around the magic shop, realizing that it's morning and that I must have fallen asleep. The book I was reading last night still lies open on the table. And sure enough, I see I had several missed calls on my phone. I left it in silent mode.

"I'm sorry. I guess I just dozed off. I used the key you gave me. I thought I would research for a while. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind. You're always welcome. I'll let your mother know you're here."

As Giles heads behind the counter, I slip into the bathroom to freshen up. When I head back into the shop, Giles is on the phone with my mother.

He glances at me as I walk back to the table. "Yes, Joyce, she's just fine. Merely fell asleep at the shop is all."

I close the open book on the table and began to put all of the books in a neat stack.

"Yes, I'll tell her. Goodbye, Joyce."

Giles hangs up the phone and walks back over to me. "Your mother says she has something she wants to show you when you get home."

"Okay."

"Are you alright?"

"Will I ever be alright?"

Giles gives me a sympathetic look, but is saved from saying anything else when the doorbell jingles and Willow rushes in.

"Oh good, you're here! Your mom called me freaking out."

"I know. I heard."

"Well, I suppose I will get the shop ready for business," Giles announces as he heads back to the counter.

Willow sits down at the table beside me. "Were you here all night?"

"Yeah. Just researching."

"Angel?"

I nod, moving the stack of books aside. "What else?"

Willow reaches for the top book and glances at the title. She then looks at me, cocking an eyebrow. "This is really advanced magic, Buffy. Maybe even advanced for me."

"Well it's not like I know how to do any of it. I just wanted to see if I could find anything that could help me."

"Did you find anything?"

"No. Well, there was a spell about bringing back a loved one, but somehow I don't think that's exactly what I'm looking for."

"No, that's not what you're looking for."

"Willow, I've been thinking. Maybe we could try that spell again."

"But it didn't work, Buffy."

"I know, but maybe we could try it again."

"Buffy, we've tried that spell like three times."

"Well then let's try something different this time. There has to be a spell to bring him back, Will."

Willow doesn't say anything for a few moments, and I can tell she's getting tired of me asking her to do this. But finally, she relents. "Okay, Buffy. We'll try another spell."

"Thanks, Will."

Moving our training to the forest proved to be a good move. Not only is there more room to move, but I've had a chance to assess their hunting skills and know where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

We stop our training exercises to feast on a boris Walker had captured for lunch. Walker, despite his small size, wasn't lying when he said he was skilled with a crossbow.

Carter, like myself, prefers an axe.

Roman and Hornsby are both proficient with a sword, even giving show to an impromptu sparring match.

Brutus, though not fast, excels in strength. His large size, as it turns out, is his advantage.

While Grayer can throw a knife into a tree, hitting the target spot on.

Though I'd like to teach them all how to fight without weapons, I can definitely see how their skills can work to our advantage.

When I get home, I hear Mom shuffling around in the guest bedroom. I go down the hall to investigate.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Buffy! Good, you're home!"

I look around the room, seeing that mom has moved some furniture around. "I'm sorry I worried you this morning. I fell asleep and—you bought a crib?" Sitting against the wall, a crib lies where the desk used to be.

"A lady I work with at the gallery was looking to sale her daughter's old crib that she doesn't use anymore, and when she found out I was expecting a grandchild, she offered me a really good deal on it." She glances around the room, a pensive look on her face. "We can probably move some of this stuff to the basement. I know it's just a crib for now but we'll need to make room for the rest of the furniture we'll need in here. I think this room will set up rather nicely for a nursery. What do you think?"

It must have taken me too long to respond because Mom gives me a funny look.

"You don't like the crib, do you?"

"What? No, Mom, I love it! Honest. It's just that I was sort of thinking the baby could sleep in my room. At least for a little while. You know, that way I could keep a close eye on him."

A smile comes across her face as she crosses the room to stand beside me. "Honey, that's just fine. We can do whatever you want."

She sits down on the bed, and I sit down beside her.

"You know, when you were a baby, when your father and I first brought you home from the hospital, you slept in this tiny bassinet at the foot of our bed. And you never slept through the night. You woke up every two hours, like clockwork. But I never minded those two a.m. feedings. In fact, I loved it. It was like our special time together. I would get out of bed and feed or change or rock you. Your father never lifted a finger, of course. That should have been my first clue about him.

"But by four a.m., I'd be tired, so sometimes I'd just bring you into the bed with me. I loved nothing more than to have you cuddle up next to me. But then, you started sleeping through the night, and your father said it was time for you to sleep in your own room from now on. And that was the end of that."

"I'm sorry." I don't know why I feel like I have to apologize for something I couldn't have possibly controlled, but I do.

"Oh, honey, you don't have apologize. And anyway, your father was right about one thing. I couldn't keep you a baby forever, no matter how hard I tried." Mom reaches for my hand and gives it a little squeeze. "I can't believe my baby is having a baby now."

"Mom, I really love the crib. Thank you. I haven't even thought of what I might need yet. I'm glad you're here to help me."

Mom smiles and kisses my forehead. "You're welcome." She then stands up, wiping the dust from her hands on her pants. "Well, I think moving around all this furniture has made me work up an appetite. Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Why don't I go fix us something to eat?"

"Okay."

Mom heads downstairs, and I stand up and walk over to the crib. I run my hand along the smooth wood, and already, I can picture my baby sleeping in this crib.

It's dark when our group begins to head home. I feel more confident than I did before, especially now that the men are getting the hang of the moves I'm trying to show them.

As we follow the trail that leads out of the woods, I hear a sound. Roman must hear it too, for he stops and holds his hand out in a halting gesture. He pulls his sword out of the holster and scans the forest behind us. "Gentlemen, I think we have company."

I look toward the woods and nod. "Wolves. I hear them too."

The other men follow our gaze, all pulling out their weapon of choice. Now they hear the sound too. Twigs snapping. A low growl.

Three pairs of yellow eyes appear from behind the bushes, watching our every movement. One then lets out a howl, and the three wolves charge at us.

I stand back and observe the group in action. I could help, and I will if necessary, but I want to see for myself what they can do.

Roman and Hornsby go toe to toe with two of them, fighting the snarling wolves off with their swords, while Walker I notice is climbing a tree. I think at first he's trying to escape, but then notice his crossbow and Walker ready to take aim.

Carter charges toward the other wolf with his axe, while Brutus grabs a boulder that looks almost as big as him and throws it at the wolf, crushing his head. The wolf yelps in pain as he collapses to the ground.

Another wolf falls down. Bright red blood pours from the slit in his neck from Roman's sword, as well as the arrow from Walker's crossbow in his side.

One wolf remains, snapping at Hornsby despite the bloody marks over its body. The wolf moves to stand on his hindquarters and actually towers over him for a moment. The wolf, however, yelps, and I notice Grayer's knife stuck in his back. While distracted from the pain behind him, Hornsby puts the creature out of his misery and slits his jugular.

I walked toward the men, all catching their breath after their near brush with death. "Wow, that was impressive. Good teamwork."

Roman smiles. "With wolves as big as they are, we have no other choice but to work together."

"And on the positive side, we have meat to eat!" Grayer says.

The men cheer as they gather the wolf carcasses, and I stride out of the woods with a smile on my face. If they can fight like that against a trio of wolves, then maybe there is hope for them after all.

And if that's the case, I just might be able to go home soon.

We wave to the night guard at the tower, and a few moments later, he gives us the all clear to go through. The gate to the fence opens, and we walk through with our kills in tow. A bonus despite the fact that we hadn't even meant to hunt today.

We've only gone a few yards though when Roman halts us. "Stop for a moment. We have more trouble."

I follow Roman's gaze to find a group of demons on horseback, and they're heading in our direction.

"Looks like we've got a fight on our hands," I mutter, wielding my axe a little tighter.

Roman looks to me, alarmed. "Absolutely not! We're not going to fight them. Keep calm, everyone. It's Cronus."

I'm confused by Roman's refusal to fight until I realize he's afraid. They all are.

As the demons approach us, I can see now that they are the Invaders, though from Roman's reaction, I had no doubt of that. None of them look particularly happy, and all are heavily armed. They stop a few feet in front of us and eye us suspiciously.

"Good evening, gentlemen," one of them says.

"Good evening, Cronus," Roman replies.

The demon, Cronus, seemingly the leader of this little group, gets down from his horse and moves closer to us. "Roman, I see you've been hunting again. My, my, it looks like you and your group had a marvelous hunt!"

"Yes, sir."

"Wonderful. We're starved. Aren't we?" Cronus glances behind him, and they all nod with greedy smiles.

When he turns around, he turns his gaze toward me. "Who are you?"

"The name's Angel."

"You're not from this world. How did you get here?"

"I uh…took a wrong turn at Pylea." I give the man a slight smile, but he does not seem amused.

"How long have you been here? I've never seen you before."

"Almost five months. I've been in the forest for most of that time. I got a little lost."

He continues to stare at me, still suspicious of me I'm sure. "What is your business with these men?"

"He's an old friend of mine," Roman answers. "He came for a visit. He'll be staying with me for a while."

Cronus grunts, then nods to his men. "Get the wolves."

The others dismount and walk over to us, stealing the dead animals without trouble. As they load up the carcasses, Cronus gets back on his horse and nods toward us. "Thank you for dinner, gentlemen. We should do this again sometime."

With that, he orders his horse to move and begins to ride away, his men following behind.

"Okay, what the hell just happened?" I ask, looking to Roman for answers.

"That's not the first time that's happened."

"And you just stood there and let them take our food?"

"We don't have a choice, Angel," Hornsby says.

"You always have a choice! You can fight back!"

"Against Cronus?" Grayer scoffs. "No one crosses paths with Cronus unless they have a death wish!"

And here I had been so hopeful. Apparently I've got my work cut out for me here.

The candlelight illuminates Willow's face as she closes her eyes, deep in concentration. She chants in words I don't understand and reaches across the table for my hands. I place my hands in hers and close my eyes, thinking of the baby, thinking of Angel, thinking about where in the universe he could possibly be right now.

I want him to come home so bad, and I want this to work. I feel as if my need for him is so strong that my will alone could make this spell work. The universe has been against us so many times, but our love survived. This is just another obstacle for us to face.

Willow stops chanting, and I open my eyes just in time to see the candle between us extinguish on its own.

But looking around the shop, there's still nobody here but us. No Angel. Not even a feeling that he's nearby.

It didn't work.