Chapter 8 part B

Bad News

ZZZ

But, It was as Bridget Jones once said: "The moment a part of your life starts fitting into place, another one falls colossally apart" Next day came hopefully bright as sunshine. Angel had woken up very late, taking breakfast in bed with his beloved, and he had managed to keep his proposal inside the loop on his time frame. All good so far.

The fishing had gone great. Fred had caught a huge moldy thing from the bottom of the lake that look like an eel, but, turned out to be just a bunch of algae. It was nothing eatable. At large, they had drank and partied in Angel's small sail boat for hours, coming back home a little sunburned and pleasantly tired, many, many hours later.

A great lunch of smoked salmon had followed, and once filled through the seams, the guests had gone to the veranda and sat down to take pleasure in the wind howling through the trees and the dogs running about, as they all enjoyed a cup of the finest brandy.

But all things great and perfect must come to an end.

ZZZ

A limousine arrived, forbearing nothing but darkness and gloomy news.

A little blonde figure in impossible heels stepped out of the vehicle loaded with gifts and bags, presumably ready to stay a few days.

"Angel, My darling! Come give me a hand."

Angel was shocked speechless, he didn't remember telling Darla where he lived, let alone he had a party planned.

"Darla!" Buffy stayed motionless on the doorstep. She had been inside the house looking for a sweater. Darla had obviously not seen her rival yet.

"I'm so glad to see you all! I'm so sorry I couldn't get here earlier, traffic and LAX where a hell to go through!"

"What are you doing here, Darla?" Angel wasn't pleased. She was seriously intruding his space.

"I came to spend the holidays with you, silly!"

"Are you insane? We got divorced last week. I appreciate your gesture, but I'd like you to leave my house …right now!" Buffy stepped out because one of the puppies was wailing for her.

"You! I know you! You are that whore from the hospital, the one who took Faith's heart!" Darla didn't remember Buffy's face from a single encounter years back. But, she did know from one of the nurses, that Angel had been running around with a patient before he left LA: a blonde skinny one.

"I don't think we should…" Buffy meant to say they shouldn't talk about something so private in company. But then it was too late.

"You took my best friend's heart! And then you took my husband! Are you blind, Angel? This is a Gold-digger who's trying to get inside your pockets as well as your pants. She's a whore, a thief, and a home wrecker too!"

"Darla, this isn't the time or the place…" said Angel coming closer to her.

"And she's an ugly bimbo too! Take a look at her, she's flat-chested, fake bottled blonde, and she even has a big ass too!" Buffy went livid. She wasn't a bimbo. Or any of those things either.

"Maybe we should all step inside, let you guys handle your business alone." Fred said as she ushered Buffy to get inside the house.

"That sounds like a good idea." Wesley and Gunn followed her.

"Come back here! You are not going anywhere, you piece of white trash!" Buffy stopped at the threshold when she heard that. She was itching to slap Darla hard in the face. But she had more class than that.

"Darla, that is quite enough. Shut your mouth now!" Angel grabbed Darla by the shoulders and pushed her towards her limousine.

"This is why you divorced me?! She isn't even prettier than me! At least your other sluts were models and actresses, this is just a wimp, you can't be serious about her! She's nothing!"

"I divorced you because we hate each other, because you cheated on me, and we fought all the time. We were miserable together. You know that! … Please stop this; you don't know what you're doing, or what you are saying. You have to leave now."

"Of course I know! You are going to marry this whore over me!"

"Shut up, Darla!" she went livid with that, screaming her fury at the top of her lungs.

"I'll not shut up! You bastard! I remember her now. This is the piece of shit who dumped you for Spike ten years ago! You can't be telling me you've moved here for her!"

"Darla, that's enough. Please get in the car. Don't make me call the cops on you! I had enough of you filthy mouth. Go now."

"You're going to call the cops on me? … Do it! I dare you!"

"Please just get in your car and go!" Angel took a deep breath and calmed down. Darla would not get him to set back all the progresses he had made all those months. She would not stir his famous temper back to life.

"You're an asshole! She'll use you and then dump you! She's a whore! Only in for your money. I'm here because I love you! Did you know I'm pregnant?! See how you've treated me!"

"Wait a second, Darla. What did you just said?"

"I'm pregnant! Isn't that what you always wanted?"

"We'll talk about this later."

"I'm leaving…" Buffy didn't wait for their explanation. She took her coat, and went for the car keys.

"Buffy, wait. Where are you going?" Angel blocked her exit with his body.

"Home. You two need to talk."

"I want you to listen to what she has to say," he spoke firmly, and looking at Buffy right into her eyes. He wasn't afraid of the things Darla would say.

"That's none of my business."

"Yes it is. You are mo bean. And we have a son. It's our business. We are together now." Darla didn't listen to the things Angel was murmuring to Buffy at the threshold. Mo bean meant my wife and my woman in Irish Gaelic. It was a very possessive endearment.

"I don't think its right, Angel."

"I don't care what you think… you are not running away, not now. You stay. You get angry. You shout. But, you do it here. Face-to-face. I don't want you imagining what she's saying to me."

"I don't mind if you stay. You'll not last much longer here after I say what I have to say, I'm sure." Said Darla, coming closer to them.

"Let's go to my studio. We can talk there." Angel grabbed Buffy by the hand and pulled her inside, clutching her hand between his. He would not let her go like that. She had to stay. And listen. So she didn't make a storm out of it later.

Gunn, Fred and Wesley, went back into the living room right behind them. They had gotten caught-up inside the tide of their storm.

ZZZ

"How far along are you?"

"Two months."

"It's not mine." Angel walked out the room and left Buffy and Darla together, dangerously so.

"Are you feeling alright, now? You seem very upset out there," Asked Buffy calmly. They heard Angel slamming the door to his bedroom on his way in. She would not reduce herself to being petty and callous to Darla. She was a therapist; she would be damn if she fell into their game.

"I'm great, just a little dizzy. You know, because of the baby. I'm sure you'll understand this situation is very uncomfortable, you barging in like that in our lives. Destroying everything…" Buffy and Darla had never actually met, personally speaking. Buffy had been at some parties where she also was, but, they had never been formally introduced to each other.

"I understand alright, but, if I remember right, you where the one who barged in on Angel and Me ten years ago. We were engaged then and you were…" Angel came back and tossed his medical equipment on the table. He had a portable sonogram machine attached to his laptop. He used it to get ECG of his patient's hearts.

"Darla. Kindly pull up your dress. I'm going to see if you are actually pregnant,"

"What!"

"I'm a doctor! You can fool me. I wanna see proof. I wanna see that baby with my own fucking eyes!" Angel plugged the machines to the power and cleared his desk, so Darla could sit there.

"Angel, I don't think you…"

"It's alright Buffy. I'm not going to hurt her; I'll just expose her…whatcha you waiting for! Want me to undress you? You never had problems to strip before!" Darla did as she was told pulling her dress up to bare her belly for Angel. All the other guests and servants where standing speechless at the door.

Angel covered the rod with gel and placed it on her belly. The image showed clear on the screen. She was pregnant. But it wasn't Angel's. They knew it was Lindsay's. Or even somebody else's. God only knew how many men Darla had been sleeping with lately.

"Darla, you don't have to say anything else…" Buffy's word's died on her mouth as she watched the laptop evidence the unborn life.

"I do. I need to probe Angel I'm not lying… and to you that we are still together!"

The hum came through the machine and the continuous beating of a little heart was heard through the room, fast and purring, like a beehive, buzzing with life. Buffy knew that sound perfectly. She had taken a million of those tests when she was pregnant with Patrick. The machine Angel had, was a Doppler sonogram machine, and it showed the heart in red, for it was pumping endlessly. It was a small baby. Six to eight weeks old, very hardly Angel's baby.

"Why didn't you say something before?" Angel took a picture and saved it on his computer. He would get an expert to take a look at that picture later.

"I didn't know."

"It's not mine, Darla. You know that."

"Of course it is!"

"No. The last time you and I had sex, was eight months ago. Unless you came to New York and raped on my sleep…I don't think this is possible, you know this baby isn't mine."

"Angel, please. You always said you wanted a baby. What does it matter if it isn't yours? Coming to think of it…I think you're barren. All these years and you never could …it will be ours. Let's raise it together. It will be like you always dreamed it!" If Buffy hadn't heard it from her mouth, she wouldn't have believed it.

"I'm sorry, Darla. You must tell the real father what's going on. I will not raise a baby that isn't mine, with a woman I don't love. I can help you with money. But, I will not be a father to your child. We are divorced and that's final." He never said he had a child with Buffy. One he couldn't deny. One he was positive it was his.

"Angel! I can't tell him that! He told me to get an abortion if I ever messed up."

"You're a grown woman, Darla. Make your own decision. Take responsibility of your actions for once in your life!"

"Angel …maybe you should…" Buffy tried to say something, but, nothing good came out.

"It's ok, Buffy. Lindsay will help her. If not, she won't be the first single mother on the world, come, let's get back to the party, Darla needs to be alone for a while."

"Angel, please! I love you!" Darla did cry then.

"It's over, Darla." Angel closed the door softly on his way out, leaving Darla alone in the studio. Buffy had walked ahead of Angel, unsure of what to say, or do.

ZZZ

"I was going to ask you to marry me later…but, I guess now you would never say yes."

"No, I wouldn't. Not with things like this."

"I imagined you'd said that, I can only tell you, that I bought this house and everything else thinking of you, of the things you told me you had dreamed about. I wanted us to get married and live here like a family. I guess I wish you could consider moving in with me at least. I'm awfully lonely without you. I miss you. Last night was how I want to spend every night of the rest of my life. I love you, only you. Nothing Darla said was true. I'm sorry she insulted you like that. You are beautiful and perfect just as you are. You are the love of my life, Buffy. My Lolerai Gilmore. I would never cheat on you like that. You must know that."

"Angel please! What about Patrick? What if Darla's baby is really yours? How could I just go on like nothing has happened? What could I tell Patrick you want me to move in with you?"

"You'll do it, Because you believe it's not mine, that I have been faithful to you, and because you trust me. Two months ago I was already here with you. I can't probe it now. But, I'm sure it isn't mine… I found her in bed with another guy. Truly in bed. Having intercourse in our house in LA. And you know I can't raise that baby with her now. I can't even bear been in the same room with her. I love you. I only wanna be with you. And with Patrick. Why don't you just tell him you fell in love with me. Tell him you want to start living your life again. Tell him I'll take care of you. I don't know what else to say, Buffy. You are the shrink; tell him something he can understand. Tell me something I can understand because this is all too bizarre for me, and I just don't know what to do anymore." Angel's eyes had gone shiny with unshed tears. He had truly endured too much stress those days.

"I don't know what to say, Angel."

"Ask him, ask yourself about it, I'm not going anywhere. I know I'm telling the truth. I will be here for you as long as you want me to, because I love you and only you… when that baby it's born, we'll get the paternity test, and you'll see it's not mine. You are the only woman I've ever loved in my whole life. Please believe me. Have some faith in me!"

"Angel! I love you! Of course I have faith in you! I'll think about it. I'll ask him, and we'll see what happens."

"Let's go upstairs then, it's getting cold in here."

"I'll not sleep with you tonight, and I'll not stay here with things like this, I want you to understand that." Angel was hurt. Darla had set back his plans years.

"It's alright. I was going to sleep in the couch anyway."

"What about the party, Angel?"

"What about it?"

"Is it still going-on?"

"Of course, Buffy! I planned it all for him. Nothing has changed, as far as I'm concerned." Angel had spent a great deal of money to make his son happy, he needed to make that party a success, even if Darla had ruined his proposal.

"Fine…I'm sorry for what happened today." Buffy didn't like that sort of complications, Darla was Angel's ex-wife, she knew how hard it could get between them, especially now with a baby on their way.

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."

"What will happen to Darla?"

"I don't know, Buffy. I honestly don't. She's not my responsibility anymore. Goodnight. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Angel closed the door to Buffy's bedroom, and went back to his own. The night would be long, and he had plenty of thinking to keep him up.

"Good night, Angel." Buffy didn't do much better. Tossing and turning through the night. Wondering why it seemed fate kept dealing them the worst cards ever.

First thing in the morning, Buffy left, it was the day before Patrick's b-day, so she still had a lot to do, she left before Angel could stop her, calling for a cab to take her to the nearest bus station. She didn't want to face him the morning after.

ZZZ Chapter 8 part C ZZZ

ZZZ

Chapter 8 part C

Assumptions

Sunday December 25th, Patrick Daniel has a birthday party

Christmas Eve had come and gone, Buffy and her friends had stayed home and eaten turkey. Angel had spent it with The Windams. And unfortunately, Darla had stayed in NY with them.

Angel had called Buffy's cell phone as soon as he realized Buffy had left, she was still pretty angry. Darla had stayed in the house, causing a great deal of tension between them. Buffy didn't want the three of them sharing the same space, so she pulled herself out of the equation.

But it was the holiday season after all, so in the spirit of that, she had allowed Angel to take his son to the parade, when he had suggested he wanted to, she had agreed wholeheartedly, it was an innocent date, and Buffy could understand how much Angel needed to get back on Buffy's and Patrick's good grace. What could go wrong there? Patrick loved parades, and he was pretty excited about his party, so he was probably going to behave.

"Hi, it's me, Angel." Angel was calling Buffy's cell phone, just to check if she was ready.

"Hi! How are you?"

"I'm good. A little tired still; we went to bed around three o'clock in the morning or something like that. What about you?"

"I'm fine. I just had a Redbull, so I'm all set. No hangover symptoms anymore. Fred, Wesley and me got drunk last nigh." It had been a rough weekend for everyone, but he forgot to mention Darla, rather too conveniently for Buffy.

"You wanna talk to Patrick?" Buffy wasn't going to comment on that.

"Yes, I'd love to say happy birthday." Buffy called him, he came to the phone.

"How you doing, old man?"

"Chilling."

"It's a happy birthday then?"

"I'd said that."

"I heard you like parades, wanna go to one today?"

"I'd love to. Let me ask my mom." Buffy said yes, of course, because Patrick was a sucker for balloons and martial bands but she had never liked agglomerations.

"What did she said?" Buffy had wanted Patrick to say that he wanted to go himself, to sort of empower him to say no in case he still felt funny about hanging out with Angel. Angel on the other side had been expecting Buffy to go along with them.

"She said yes, come pick me up then, I'll get ready."

"It's all set then. I'll see you two in half an hour." But Buffy wasn't going to go. It was early, crowded, and damn cold outside. Angel would have to take his son, all on his own.

ZZZ

"You are not dressed. I thought you were going." Buffy went to the car wearing her footy pajamas, and a heavy pink coat.

"No! God no! I hate parades. I'll stay. Do some homework. And maybe get some rest too…God its freezing out here!"

"Is Patrick going then?"

"Yeah, he'll be down in a second. Be careful with him. He's a weasel. You loose sight of him for a moment and he'll pop up miles from where you left him."

"Don't worry, I will."

"I'll see you in the afternoon then?"

"You bet, wear something warm, it's pretty cold there." Patrick came down then. So Buffy and Angel kissed on the lips hurriedly. Not wanting their son to be awry about them. It looked like it was going to snow soon.

"Remember what we talked about…" Buffy had told her son to be good, to obey, and not to try anything foolish. Least he would loose that gift he wanted so much. A Nokia sidekick phone, since Buffy showed up with the V3 he was going crazy for a cellphone he could brag about.

"Where's the birthday boy?" Buffy opened the door to the car, and Patrick jumped in.

"Hi, Angel!"

"Happy birthday, man!"

"Thanks!" they high-fived, it was becoming what you could call competitively friendly between them. Patrick was smiling, happy to be out of the house and going to a parade without his overbearing mommy, sometimes Buffy forgot he was just a kid.

"Alright, off with you two then! Love ya, bye!"

"Bye, Buffy. I'll see you later!" Angel started the car engine, and drove-on, leaving Buffy standing behind, a vision of pink fluffiness, on the grayness of the street. The parade would start in about an hour, which would give them plenty of time to find a good spot and take some pictures of the great 5th avenue.

ZZZ

"Are you happy we are going to live together?" asked Angel.

"Sure … I'm happy." He didn't sound happy at all, Patrick sounded dumbfounded, and surprised, because he didn't know his mother had decided to move in with the schmuck without asking him first.

"I love your mom very much; you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah sure, hey, watch that one!" a dirigible of Superman was going in front of them. Angel got distracted taking pictures, and when he turned around again, Patrick was nowhere to be found.

"Patrick!" He started calling for him at the top of his lungs. Over and over again, it was very crowded and a boy could get lost so easily.

"Patrick! Come back here! Patrick!" Patrick had run behind the mob, and into the streets. He was very angry because his mommy was going to leave him. He thought she hadn't told him the truth because she wasn't going to live with him anymore; many of his friends had divorced parents, and they always wind up living with one parent all the time, and seeing very little of the other.

He assumed Buffy would send him home with Spike. He loved his father. But, he paid no attention to him. As overbearing as his mommy was, he still adored her. Coming so close to loose her, he couldn't bear living with Spike, and never seeing her again.

Angel assumed Buffy had asked Patrick to live with them, and he had said yes. But, Buffy had never asked him in the first place.

ZZZ

"Buffy, I have to tell you something…"

"What is it, Angel?"

"Patrick got lost on Fifth Avenue two hours ago."

"Are you serious?"

"I would never play with something like this, of course I'm serious! …I called the cops, and we are still looking for him. He must still be in the parade, but, there are a lot of people, maybe he found someone he knows and went with them, have you heard from him?"

"My God! …Where are you?"

"In front of Tiffany's."

"I'll be there in a while, stay there!"

"What if he shows up at home? Does he have a key?"

"No, he doesn't. If he comes here, he'll probably ring the neighbors, is what he always does."

"Ok, I'll keep looking for him."

"You do that, let me know as soon as your hear something."

ZZZ

Five more hours went by, and no news where heard. Patrick had gone to Buffy's office, a relatively close distance to do on foot. But a location they haven't though he would go to, it was 30 blocks from where he had gotten loose on Angel.

His picture had showed on TV by then, and when somebody saw him walking without an adult, they called the police. He wasn't the kind of kid that passed through unnoticed.

Buffy and Angel arrived there at same time as the patrols, cornering the boy on the street. He was all alone. So, he had obviously not been kidnapped. He had been sitting on the stairway that lead to the building where his mom worked.

Buffy jumped out of the car, and ran to him.

"My baby! Thank God you are fine! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Did somebody take you?"

She was smothering him like any mother would; she was terribly concerned about the ordeal he could have gone through.

"I'm fine, mom. I got lost, so, I came here."

"What were you doing? Were you trying to kill me? I nearly had a heart attack! Don't ever do that again! I thought I'd lost you!"

"I'm sorry mom…I let go of Angel, he walked away, and I got lost…"

"Did he, then? Is that true Angel?"

"Of course not!"

"I can't believe you were so careless! I told you to keep a close eye on him!"

"I was right beside him! I took a picture, and when I turned around, and he was gone!"

"He's not superman! He didn't just fly away from you!"

"He's small, he slid between the people and I lost sight of him!"

"Exactly! You are so unreliable! I should've never let you take him!"

"I'm sorry, Buffy! I really am!"

"You know what, you are both to blame for this, so, the party is off, you'll stay home grounded …and you'll go home and think what could have happened today."

"Mom!"

"Buffy!"

"Don't you dare Mom me! You knew this could happen. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure you had something to do with it! ... and you? Well you are the adult, you should've known better!"

"But what about all my friends?"

"I'll call them, tell them you did something very stupid, and now you are grounded."

"Buffy, I think we should consider…" Angel had been trying no to intervene, not to undermine her authority in front of her son, but the party was something he had carefully planned for Patrick. He didn't agree to her punishment, though he would have done something equally harsh had he been the father he should've been. It was really irresponsible of his son to play a game like that on Buffy, and malicious of the boy to play him too. But was the cancellation of the party a good punishment?

"You were the responsible adult! How could I trust you when you can't even baby-sit your own son!" Patrick played like he hadn't heard that. He was too young to understand what that really meant. But the words got registered inside his head.

"Buffy please. This isn't the time or the place to talk about this."

"Madam, I'm sorry to interrupt but I need you to sign a statement." The cop interrupted Buffy and Angel's argument.

"Sure, give me that." She was stating Patrick had been found, that he was unharmed, and that he not been kidnapped, robbed or abused in any form.

"Go home, Angel. We had more than enough adventures for one day. See if you can call off the amusements you had prepared. Patrick is grounded, and he will stay that way for a long time…and you, well you know I'm fairly pissed with you!" Buffy's son was more important to her than anything else, had she lost him, she would've gone mad, and both Patrick and Angel had to understand that. Games like that could literally kill her.

"Fine. I'm sorry, Buffy. I never meant for this happen. Had I known, I would have never taken him in the first place." Now Buffy couldn't trust him to show judgment or be responsible with his son anymore, he had proven he wasn't capable of controlling him. Patrick had never gotten lost before in his life. And, Buffy suspected he had done it on purpose to get her and Angel to fight. He didn't like Angel in the fist place, and He didn't want him close to his mommy. He had said so.

"Goodbye, schmuck." Said Patrick, he had liked Angel until he heard he wanted to separate Buffy and him. He had gotten lost on purpose, just to frame Angel, make him look like an imbecile. And he had gotten it. Buffy was very angry with the both them then. She couldn't bear leaving in a constant war between her son and Angel.

"I'll talk to you about that thing later, I need to go home and clear my head." Said Buffy as she rubbed her temples, a pounding headache was starting to numb her.

"I understand that, let me drive you home." Angel didn't want her driving in that disrupted state.

"No thank you, I'll take a cab. Patrick is right you are a schmuck."

"I guess the party is really off."

"You bet! Goodbye, Angel." The party Angel had so carefully prepared got called off; Angel was left with all the settings ready: the food, the music, the cake, the amusements and all the presents. Things went back to complete zero with his plan, No Buffy, No Patrick, no nothing. He would never get Buffy to trust him again. Not with Patrick playing him like that, Darla casting a black shadow over him, and Buffy getting sick over it. Why was everyone to dead-set on separating them?

End of Chapter 8…

I must apologize again for the sheer length of this thing, but hopefully it was worth it! Let me know if you liked it! Please Review.

The mean kitten.