February 8, 2006

Angel's eyes were shut as he lounged lazily beneath Buffy, his fingers on one hand trailing patterns on her back as the other hand caressed over her to term belly.

Buffy nuzzled in closer to him, her body still humming from their recent lovemaking.

He was half-way to sleep when he realized something felt different about Buffy, her scent was changing, her body too. He frowned and opened his eyes, looking down at his half-asleep wife. It took him a few seconds to realize he recognized this scent she was unconsciously radiating.

"You're going into labor." He stated bluntly to her, after a moment, a smirk sneaked across his lips.

"Huh?" Buffy replied, voice heavy with drowsiness. "I'm what now?"

"Going into labor." He repeated now she was more awake.

"And how would you know that?" She questioned, finding it absurd that he would know that before her.

"You're body is changing…I can…sense it…it's the same as when you went into labor with Katie" He clarified.

She frowned, "You smell something don't you…you know I hate when you smell me."

"You smell amazing." He whispered into her ear.

"Gross invasion of privacy." She countered, "Not to mention I probably just smell like you and sex…"

Angel just grinned lecherously.

She rolled her eyes.

"We might want to think about leaving soon." He said after a moment.

"You're serious aren't you? I'm in labor?" She asked.

"Well you didn't notice until late stage before…" He suggested.

"Well I was panicking after knocking you out cold...still…it feels like I should…feel something." She argued.

Just then Liam began kicking wildly.

"Ok, feeling that." She said sitting up.

…

Ten minutes later they were in the SUV, bags pre-packed and heading to Angel Investigations.

They were both thankful Katie hadn't woken as Angel tucked her into the car seat, that would have made the late night trip far more hectic.

As they drove, Buffy began to feel her body preparing for labor. Unlike normal girls, there wasn't a 15+ hour process, it seemed to happen for Slayers all at once.

Luckily they arrived at the medical wing of the company with plenty of time before the real contractions started, unlike with Katie and their barley making it before she decided to greet the world.

…

Twenty-five minutes after Angel first noticed the change in his wife, they sat together on the narrow hospital bed as Dr. Cassidy examined Buffy.

"Yup, you are defiantly dilating at a freaky fast pace." The doctor agreed as she sat up and looked up at the two sets of anxious eyes. "I'd give you another ten minutes…maybe less if you factor in your last delivery speed, which I will never forgive you for by the way."

Dr. Cassidy had been very miffed indeed when her patient decided to deliver the one night she wasn't on call and to deliver so fast she couldn't have arrive before the birth.

"Wasn't really an option." Buffy mouthed, beginning to feel the contractions.

Angel held her hand, squeezing when he felt her muscles twitch from pain.

"I'm just going to grab my catcher's mitt." Doc Cass joked and snuck out to prepare.

Angel scooted closer, drawing his wife against him and doing anything possible to help ease her pain, mostly talking. "Well this shouldn't be as terrifying as the first time…you're a seasoned mother now."

"You make me sound like a French fry…and once doesn't make me a veteran." She countered.

"Ok…well then just don't break my hand again and I'll be quiet." He offered.

She shook her head, "I didn't do it on purpose!" She alarmed back, successfully forgetting about the pain for a second. "You should have said I was squeezing too tight, or just not of held it to begin with…" she ranted, still feeling bad after all this time.

He smirked and kissed her brow, "I want to hold it." He said as her ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Good, because I want you to."

…

When the painful contractions really started, Doctor Cassidy was in place and Angel just held Buffy tightly, whispering words of encouragement into her ear as she pushed to her doctor's commands.

Cassidy set up a mirror at the end of the bed so Buffy and Angel could see what was going on from Cassidy's viewpoint.

At first the reflection made Angel partly nauseous, seeing his wife's normally petite form stretching and…oozing various fluids. He swallowed bile more than once. However, towards the end, when he could watch his son's head cresting…he saw the beauty in it, the wonders of the female body and how it adapted for childbirth.

He and Buffy both watched in silent awe as Liam made his entrance into the world.

A moment later, a shrill sound echoed off the walls of the room. Liam's first cries bring tears to his parent's eyes.

Angel proudly cut the cord and watched eagerly as the nurse weighed and measured him.

"8 pounds, 4 ounces. 21 inches long. He's normal height and weight. Lungs sound clear, has all his digits..." She said, putting him into a diaper, a little blue onesie, then swaddling him in a matching receiving blanket and hat. "All yours daddy." She said, handing Angel his son.

With an impossibly wide grin, Angel rushed back to Buffy with their precious cargo.

"He looks nothing like me." He joked as she slipped the blond baby to his mother.

Buffy instant ignored everything Doctor Cassidy had been telling her as her son appeared in her arms. "Oh my god, he's so cute…he has my nose…look, that's my nose." She fawned.

"He's perfect." Angel agreed, kissing his wife's temple.

February 10, 2006 - First night home with Liam

Buffy was panicking. "We need to go back to the hospital!" she practically yelled at Angel as he walked into the house.

'A short two hour patrol seemed like a good idea at the time, guess I was wrong.'He thought dejected.

"What? Why? Did something happen?" he asked quickly in fear for his young children.

"Liam isn't nursing. He hasn't eaten since we got home! I can't get him to drink. He's been crying for hours…and Katie's crying…and I can't get them to stop…" She was in tears herself by then.

Angel quickly wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her forehead, "Shh Buffy, It's going to be alright. I'll take Liam, I'll try a bottle. Go take a nice hot bath, you need to relax, ok love?"

He took the newborn from her and she nodded. As much as she loved her son, holding a crying baby for hours does tend to wear on the nerves. She went upstairs to take the much needed break from the kids.

Angel went into the kitchen and took one of the breast milk bottles from the refrigerator and popped it into the microwave.

"Hey champ, dinner's almost ready. Shh, now. No more fussing." He talked to the infant, rocking him and trying to sooth him into silence.

The microwave beeped it was ready and Angel grabbed the bottle, shook it, then tested the temperature by squeezing a few drops onto his wrist. "Alright, here you go." He said as he held the nipple to his son's mouth.

The two day old simply refused.

Angel could hear Katie crying upstairs, while trying to feed the baby he went to get her.

When he entered her bedroom, Katie was standing in her crib, face red from crying. "Hey honey, what's with the waterworks?"

She looked at the baby he was holding and cried harder.

"Not so happy to have a little brother are you?" He put the bottle down since Liam wasn't accepting it and shifted the baby against his shoulder so he could grab Katie from her crib with his other hand.

She put her arms up and he wrapped a big hand around her waist and lifted her, "Want to meet your brother sweetie?"

He sat Indian style on the floor, Katie sitting between his legs, and held Liam out in front of her so she could see him.

He un-swaddled the newborn from his blanket so he could hold Liam's tiny hand against Katie's.

"See honey, he's just like you. But he's smaller."

She looked fascinated at the baby, she looked up at her father and pointed to Liam, "Dis?"

"His name's Liam, can you say Liam?"

She looked at him a moment, then tried, "Eeum"

He smiled, "Yeah, Liam."

She touched her brother's hand again and squealed when he squeezed her finger.

"Dada…bubba?" she said a few minutes later, toddler attention span at a maximum.

"You hungry sweetie?" he asked.

She nodded. "Ok, let go get you some dinner"

He swaddled Liam back up in his blanket, tucked the infant bottle into his pocket, and picked Katie up in his other arm.

...

When he got to the kitchen he buckled Katie into her highchair and grabbed a bigger formula bottle from the fridge and popped it into the microwave.

She fussed a bit in annoyance about have to wait.

"Ok, ok, it's coming" he said as he got the bottle from the microwave and tested the temperature. He held the bottle up to her mouth and she latched on, then snatched the bottle from his hand and held it herself.

He smiled, "That's my girl. Little miss independent."

Liam was still crying against his shoulder, so as Katie drank her bottle he tried again to get his son to drink.

He didn't have much luck...or any actually.

Ten minutes later, Katie was finished her bottle and she started rubbing her eyes with her hands.

Angel gently brushed her brown bangs back from her face and asked her, "Tired honey?"

She nodded and yawned.

He pulled the tabletop off the highchair and lifted his daughter into the crook of his arm.

He walked back up the stairs to the nursery, laid Liam in his crib for a minute while he changed Katie's diaper and put her in clean pjs. He brought Katie into her room and laid her down in her crib. "Goodnight sweetheart" he said and kissed her forehead and tucked her in, she was already asleep.

He went back to the nursery and changed Liam's diaper too, 'Why not' he thought, even though the boy hadn't eaten.

Buffy walked into the nursery as he finished redressing Liam.

"Did he accept the bottle?" she asked hopeful.

Angel shook his head, "No, Katie did. She's sleeping now at least."

Buffy walked over and leaned her head on Angel's arm, "I don't get it, he was nursing fine at the hospital. What am I doing wrong?" She huffed, still frustrated and worried about her son.

"Come on" he said, wrapping his free arm around her and leading her into the bedroom.

He sat on the bed, back against the headboard and had her sit down against him, resting her back against his chest. He put Liam in her arms and told her to try again, if he didn't drink, they would bring him to the hospital.

...

"He's not nursing" she said frustrated after a few minutes.

"Hey, it's alright Love, just relax. I think it's because you're so tense" He kissed her head and pulled her back against him, he wrapped one arm around her, helping support the baby, and with the other hand he brushed her hair back from her face and ran his fingers down her cheek. "Just relax Buffy. Everything will be fine."

She snuggled against him, drawing strength from him. "It's hard." She said, referring to having a ten month old and a newborn.

"I know. I'm sorry." He apologized for putting her in this situation.

"No" she sighed, "It's not your fault, you were actually trying to sleep that night, I was the frisky one."

He grinned, "I could have said no."

She sent him a look that said 'yeah right.'

He laughed quietly, "Ok, yeah, so no chance of that happening."

She smiled, knowing the power she still had over him, soul/demon merger or not.

A minute later she felt Liam finally latch on and begin to nurse.

She smiled, "Finally" she breathed as relief washed over her. She watched the little bundle in her arms for a while, "He's going to look just like me, my blond hair, my hazel green eyes, my nose." She whispered to Angel.

"Yeah, I think your right." After a beat, "Let's hope he doesn't have your height."

She sent him a glare that would have dusted a vampire.

He simply chuckled.

After a while she felt her eyelids grow heavy, "Uhh, so tired." She said while she yawned.

"Then sleep" he whispered into her ear.

"Ahh, kinda busy here." She nodded towards the baby in her arms.

He grinned, "You don't actually need to be awake, he knows what he's doing. Besides, I'm holding you. Sleep, I'll watch him."

She leaned her head back against his shoulder, "I guess, but only for a minute." She whispered back. As soon as her eyes shut, she was sound asleep, the last few days of excitement, her worry and the wear of labor finally draining her batteries.

When Liam finished nursing, Angel gently lifted Buffy off of himself and laid her more comfortably onto the bed, he then gently took Liam from her embrace.

He tossed a spit rag over his shoulder then proceeded to burp the fussing infant. After a few minutes, he burped and Angel laid him into the bassinet by the bed.

"Night champ" he said as he tucked him in and kissed him goodnight.

Angel yawned himself and climbed back into bed.

He adjusted Buffy's nursing bra, covering her back up, then he curled up next to her.

He shut the lights and fell fast asleep.

...