Chapter Eleven

An eerie calm seemed to fall upon the house. Such a house that was use to the comings and goings of people, this period of non-movement seemed marked with an ominous undertone. Tension seemed to fill the air, so think that it could be cut with a knife. Although the day had seemed to end perfectly, that the night had turned out well enough, it never does, in her life, there was never such a thing as a happy ending. The wind caused the branches of the trees just outside the window to rattle and shake. That should have been enough to tell her that something was wrong, it was never windy like this in September, no, it was a sign that danger was near, or at least, on its way.

"MOMMY!" The voice shrieked, breaking the silence and jolting the inhabitants back into reality, a reality in which they would realize the false calm that had taken over. The scream was different; although danger was not around, it was one that seemed to make her believe that the little boy knew that something was coming, and she knew that she had to figure it out, put the pieces together quickly before it was too late.

She shot up out of the bed, taking only a moment to comprehend that she had only moments before been held tightly in Angel's arms. With the scream, she had been pulled from his protective embrace, from his warm body and into the cold, harsh world that she lived in. What she tried hard to suppress was her brief admission in her mind that it had been the best sleep that she had received in five years. She stole a quick glance down at him, his eyes opening slowly. In her haste, she must have woken him from his sleep and she watched as he sat up, his hand now resting on her back as he looked at her with concern.

"MOMMY!" Liam's voice called out again, she could hear the panic in his voice that she had not yet made it to his room. This hadn't been the first time that he had woken up terrified like this, yet every time she asked him about the dream, he could never remember any details. It was almost as though someone were toying with her, taunting her, telling her that they were coming but refusing to give her any of the details she needed. She supposed it was a strategic plot, and had she been on their side, she probably would have thought it was a genius idea, but as it was happening to her, it was hard, it was wrong. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt a child like these people seemingly wanted to do.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked as he watched her slip out from under the covers and stand up, her face wincing as her bare feet touched the cool hardwood floor.

"He's been having nightmares. I'll be back." She responded before exiting the room, not remembering to close to the door, giving him a direct view into the room.

He watched as she sat down on the bed and pulled the boy into her arms, cradling him as he cried onto her shoulder. His heart seemed to be filled with something that he had never experienced before as he watched the exchange between the love of his life and their son. In that moment she seemed both vulnerable and wise beyond her years. It was a strange, and he felt somewhat of an intruder and yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from them. More than anything however, he felt a strong pull to go into the room, to take them both in his arms and protect them. After all, he was almost positive that the reason he survived was so he could come back to be with her, to protect her. It was a task that he had failed to do and now he was being given a second chance and it was all he wanted.

Although he was afraid she would object, that she wouldn't want him there, he pushed that thought from his mind. He slid out from under the covers and stood up, making his way to her bedroom door. He just stood there for a few moments, gathering up the courage to go into the room. His heart raced in his chest, the possibilities of how she might react playing over and over again in his mind. She looked up at him for a moment, their eyes meeting and she did not protest his being there.

He grew bolder, moving from her room, into the hall and finally into Liam's room. He looked around the darkened room, in his investigation into Buffy's life he had come into the room but he had not taken in the decorations, the size, and the feel of the room. Even in the dark he could tell that the boy had a love of superhero's, the room even had a Batman theme. He smiled slightly, remembering when he had met the boy. "My dad drives a car like yours, that's what my mom says anyways. She showed me a picture once. He's a superhero and gone helping people all the time which is why I haven't met him. Are you a superhero too?"

His eyes shifted to the dresser, sitting there were a few pictures, immediately he recognized one of them to be a picture of him and Buffy, taken shortly after he had returned from Los Angeles. It had been one of their good days, one of the days in which he had allowed himself to push back the memories of his fight with the partners and just enjoy her company. They had spent the day at the beach, enjoying the warm summer weather and each other. At the end of the day, Willow had snapped the candid photo of them, Buffy wrapped up in his arms as they looked at each other, just before he was going to lean down and kiss her. The sunset behind them caused her hair to glow and although they had spent the day frolicking in the surf, her windswept hair, fresh, makeup free face, and the soft tan that she had developed that day, made him believe that she had never looked more beautiful.

His mind seemed muddled, had the boy recognized him that day at the car? Had he known all along who he was but was too scared to say anything? Had that been why he had lingered at the car? He shook his head, and instead walked to the bed and put his hand on Buffy's shoulder, watching as she looked up at him and smiled softly. His body warmed all over, not expecting the reaction that he was getting but still careful not to think too much into it, he knew she was stressed, that things were not exactly ideal right now. He had to take her actions with a grain of salt for now, at least, until he was certain that she was ready to let him back into her life.

Liam was still crying into her shoulder when he sat down on the bed, causing the boy to look up, and their eyes to meet. If he had thought his heart was racing before entering into the room, nothing seemed to feel the way it did as he sat there looking into the eyes of his son. He could see his resemblance, in fact, had he still possessed the portraits of himself as a child, the boy would have been a spitting image of him, everything but his eyes, no, his eyes seemed to have been a perfect mixture of his dark and Buffy's green eyes. He watched as Liam wiped a few tears from his cheeks before addressing him.

"You're the man from the park." He said softly, as Angel nodded at him. "What are you doing here?"

Angel shrugged, not sure how to respond to the question, not sure if Buffy wanted him to reveal that information. It was a decision that they would have to make together, not something that he could just say. "I heard you had a bad dream." The boy nodded before he continued. "My mom use to sing me to sleep after I had a nightmare. Do you want to hear it?" Liam didn't respond, instead, he pulled himself from him mothers embrace and situated himself under the covers. Buffy moved down the bed, allowing Angel to move closer to the boy, handing him his teddy bear in the process before putting one hand on each side of the boy and leaning over him.

"Over in Killarney many years ago me mither sang a song to me in tones so sweet and low. Just a simple little ditty, in her good ould Irish way, and I'd give the world if she could sing that song to me this day. Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry! Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby." His sung softly to the boy, noticing that as he did, his Irish accent seemed to come over him. It was a song that stirred up so many different feelings, a song that he remembered from his childhood, a song that his mother had often sung to both him and his sister. He kept his eyes on the boy, watching as his eyes slowly closed as he drifted off to sleep to the sound of his voice. "Oft in dreams I wander to that cot again, I feel her arms a-huggin' me as when she held me then. And I hear her voice a -hummin' to me as in days of yore, when she used to rock me fast asleep outside the cabin door. Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry! Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby."

He stood up, allowing Buffy to kiss her son one more time before they exited the room. He knew for now that he would cherish that moment, not knowing when he would be given the chance to have that again. It was in those few minutes that he had a glimpse into what a life they could have, how great it felt to be a father to the boy. He thought briefly to Connor, the son that he had to give up. He wondered what he was doing, where he went to college, if he ever thought about him. He was reminded for a moment about his desires, what he had looked forward to, things that he never was able to have with Connor. "I know it's a little bit too early to be thinking about stuff like this, but I -I can't wait to watch him, you know, grow up. For him to lose his first tooth. Learn how to ride a bike. Ha. I want to help him pick out a tux for his senior prom. I just can't wait to see who he's gonna to be. I know it's mushy, but it's just... He makes me so happy." He wondered then if he would be able to do this for Liam, he wondered if Buffy would let him.

He stood in the hall, his eyes glued to his son who was sleeping peacefully now. Buffy lingered at the bed for a while, her hand resting on Liam's head as if she was afraid that as soon as she left the nightmares would start up again. He knew that he shouldn't continue to stand there but just as he had been drawn to the scene in the first place, he couldn't leave. He felt like the protective father, making sure wife and child were safe and sound. Granted, she wasn't his wife, not yet anyways, and well, he wasn't even sure Liam knew who he was, but again, that was something that he hoped too would change in the near future.

"Are you okay?" He asked as she met him at the door. She wanted to fall into his arms, to let him hold her but she refrained, still unsure as to how she wanted to proceed with the relationship. She was certain however, that after tonight she would have to introduce her son to Angel, granted, she knew that Liam recognized him, and she was surprised by how quickly Liam was comforted by his presence. She should have expected it however, after going so long without a father, without his father. What she hadn't expected was Angel's natural ability with the boy, how gently he spoke to him, and lovingly he sung to him. He had, in her own opinion, gone above and beyond her own expectations.

"I think so." She finally responded, unable to meet his eyes and she cast her gaze down to the floor, her eyes falling briefly on his hands, watching as he reached out and cupped her face in his palm, his hand bringing her eyes up to his own. She began to cry and before she could react, she fell into his chest with his gentle pull. "I just… I want something else for him. I don't want him to have this freak show of a life like the one that I had. It's not fair." Her words were muffled by her sobs but he heard every one of them.

"It's going to be okay." He said softly, running his fingers through her hair with one hand, letting the other softly rub her back. He could feel her body melt against his own, a good sign he thought, a sign that she was becoming more comfortable with him again. It was a small victory, but it was a victory nevertheless. He leaned down and picked her up, feeling her arms tighten around his neck as he carried her from the hall and into the bedroom before lightly setting her down on the bed and pulling the covers up over her.

"He's been having these nightmares consistently for the past month. Each time he wakes up, he can't remember a thing. Someone has to be doing this to him; thankfully, they messed up a little this time. He said that some man tried to take him away. Although he has no idea who the man is, or what he looked like, which doesn't make this process any easier." She said as he walked to the other side of the bed and got into it next to her. He thought about wrapping her up in his arms but he didn't know if she would want that, instead he decided to wait and see what she was going to do.

"They are only nightmares right now. Things will be okay." He said, turning to face her. They were inches away from each other now, both struggling with their inner desire to reach out and hold one another. Before his mind caught up with his hands, he was brushing a few strands of hair off her eyes, waiting for her reply.

"Things will be okay because I'm getting him out of here." She responded matter-of-factly, her eyes meeting his own. "Pike is in town. Giles contacted him and told him to urge me to leave San Diego. Now, more than ever I realize that we can't stay here because whoever is after Liam knows where we are. I need to run to gain a little more time."

"You never run from a fight Buffy." He replied, his mind thinking through all the possibilities, wondering if she even wanted him to come along with them.

"That was before Angel. Having a kid, it changes everything; you of all people should know and understand that. You aren't just living for yourself, the decisions you make affect your child and when push comes to shove, he is the most important thing in my life and making sure he is okay, well that's all I can do for him right now. When I have more information I will gladly step up and fight whatever this is, but right now, I need more time." He winced at the reference to Connor, but he understood where she was coming from, he knew that she had to do the right thing and right now, he knew that they didn't have enough information to accomplish anything, running really was the only option.

"Where will you go?" He questioned, waiting to see if she would ask him to come along. He would have given up everything in a heartbeat, would have packed the entire house up that night if it meant he would be with them.

"North, probably to San Jose. San Francisco is too large, they would expect me to go there. I've found a house, it's just a matter of getting everything packed up." She could tell that he was searching for more information; the look on his face gave that away. She wanted to badly to ask him to come but she hadn't put enough thought into it, hadn't really figured out if it was the right thing to do. And now, she was exhausted, unable to comprehend what was actually happening, only earlier in the day they had been fighting and now, she was in the same bed with him, she had watched him sing their son to sleep, to say she was confused would have been an understatement. "Dawn goes to school in Berkeley so I'll be closer to her… It's for the best really. I'm hoping to be out of here by the end of the week, the sooner the better."

He watched as she closed her eyes, waiting for her to say more, waiting to hear the question that he hoped she would ask. But he watched as her breathing slowed, the tell tale sign that she was now asleep. Had it been anyone else he would have woken her up but he knew how tired she was, it was obvious just looking at her. The stress caused by his return, mixed with this situation that Liam was in, it was enough to drive a person crazy. He watched as she shifted herself closer to him, her head just beside his shoulder. He smiled slightly and wrapped her up in his arms, holding her once again as she slept, hoping that the next day would provide him the answers to his questions.

Authors Note (Brighteyes):

Wow! Thanks to everyone who is reading this story! I'm getting a great deal of support from all of you and I appreciate it so much! Just want to say a quick thank you to all you who have left comments, added the story to your alerts and/or favorites! On another note! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, I'm trying to work on finding more time to write so I can get chapters out to you quicker! This week has definitely been productive in terms of writing and since I couldn't sleep again tonight I figured that I would try and get a new chapter to you! Anyways, please continue to let me know what you think of the story! It really helps me figure out what I'm going to do next!