I know... one more. This story is being co-written with Scribes1015! I had a short introduction just sitting around waiting to be gotten back to and she has breathed all sorts of new life into this story so I have been so excited to work on it as well.

Unable to sleep - yet again - Buffy sat up back with a sigh. She reached over to her nightstand and turned the lamp on and grabbed up her phone to check the time, and sighed again. She hated sleeping alone - or, well, being unable to sleep while alone in this case. 'You better get used to it,' her brain screamed at her before she forced herself to get up and she began heading toward the kitchen. She turned the television on as she passed through the living room, kept her hold on the remote and continued her walk toward the kitchen and began grabbing ingredients and pans to make a quick egg sandwich all the while starting to browse around Netflix for some good background noise.

Settling on starting one of the shows she'd had on her to-watch list for years now, Buffy finished her late night snack, grabbed a glass of apple juice and sat down to eat all the while trying to keep her mind off the mess that had become her life.

Her sandwich was gone in a flash and at the end of two episodes of the show she still didn't feel much better. The house was still too quiet, it was still too empty.

Before trying to crawl back into bed, Buffy traded her apple juice for some wine, took a short but very bubbly and hot bath and sent Willow a text message that had been weighing on her mind so much lately. "It's time," was all it said. Willow would understand though.

Her heart broke a little, but somehow a bit of relief fell over her as well. She needed something to give. One way or the other.

OoOoO

Buffy had two weeks of debating how she was going to pass along the decision she'd made but nothing really popped out as the right way to go about it. Not even as the moment she sat down to make that phone call came.

"Hello, Lindsey McDonald here."

Buffy swallowed and faked a smile to her empty kitchen as she heard the southern voice on the other end of the line. "Hi, Lindsey," she barely managed to get out. "It's Buffy."

There was a brief pause, then he cleared his throat. "Buffy, hello... uh, what a surprise," he said, all in a way to signal to her that Angel was listening, or at the very least near. "H-how are you?"

"He's there, isn't he?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Yes," was his quick response. "That would be correct."

Buffy closed her eyes for a second. "I'm really sorry to bother you, Lindsey," she started off, "I don't want to feel like you are involved in or dragged into anything, I promise... I just... I don't know how to get in touch with him really, he changed his number… refuses to speak to me or anyone who even remotely knows me..."

"It's okay, Buffy," he cut in. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I-I'm moving out," she told him. "Out... out of the house and I thought about just passing that along with the lawyers and everything but it felt... I don't know. It didn't feel right. Plus, I mean the rest of his things are here and... I didn't want the house to just sit here not being looked after in case something happened I guess so I just... I thought he should know."

"Understandable. Don't worry about it, I will let him know."

"Thank you, Lindsey. Truly."

"You're welcome, Buffy. Is there anything else?"

Buffy had a million things she wished she could say, that she could beg him to pass along but there wasn't any use. She heard Lindsey call out her name again and she told him that would be all.

"Okay. Well, have a nice evening," he said but she could hear the lingering now in his voice.

"I'm doing okay," she told him, trying to sound a little extra chipper. "I promise."

"Okay," he said after a moment. "I'll let you go then."

"Sounds good, thank you again. Bye Linds." Buffy let out a very large breath as she ended the phone call, feeling her fingers shaking slightly.

That made it official. More than having found a new place, more than having already started packing, more than the rest of the moving plans already in place... No, telling Angel - even if through a third party - made it settled in the universe.

OoOoO

She had been stuck in her new apartment unpacking for what felt like an eternity, when in reality the movers had only delivered her things yesterday evening. She would be lying if she didn't say that it hurt to finally walk out of that house, their home, but she had more to think about than just herself now. She'd known she was pregnant for a while, ironically she had actually found out the day she was blind sided by divorce papers being handed to her on their front door.

It wasn't as though she hadn't seen it coming, they'd been on a path of destruction that neither of them knew how to escape. Her mother had warned her that they were too young, that he was too career driven, but like all young girls in love she had let everything go in one ear and out the other.

Things hadn't always been bad, they had met right after college, he was in Law school with Lindsey, and she had just begun her first year teaching. They really were in love once upon a time, they were that couple everyone just assumed would make it... boy were they wrong.

She'd spent more time than she cared to admit analyzing every moment of their relationship, their downward spiral all started with her Mother's sudden death. Here she was suddenly responsible for funeral arrangements, picking casket colors, the notification of all their family and friends… where was Angel you ask?

In a meeting.

He was always in some type of damn meeting. He was in a meeting when her mother took her last breath, he was in a meeting when his ex girlfriend showed up on their doorstep with his brand new seven year old son, he was in a meeting when she was served fucking divorce papers. Like mothers often are, hers had been right, work was and would always be his first priority. Which was exactly how she'd finally found the courage to bow out.

He wanted a divorce so badly, he could have one. She wasn't even contesting it, she didn't want his money, or the house, she didn't care about spousal support or any of that nonsense. She would never be able to maintain the lifestyle he afforded her on a teacher's salary, but she could survive and that was all she really needed.

He wasn't even aware that she was pregnant and hopefully she would be able to keep it that way. They didn't exactly run in the same circles, save for Lindsey they didn't even have any friends in common. Due to Bro Code or whatever Linds seemed to be far more on team Angel, than hers… not that there were teams but unfortunately divorces were a messy process.

No one knew about her pregnancy, not even Willow, not yet. Her hope was that their divorce proceedings would be expedited due to the fact that Angel knew basically everyone that was anyone in this city, they could go there separate ways, and she could blame the baby on a one night stand or whatever.

Unfortunately, this was one case he seemed to be dragging his ass on and she didn't understand why. One of his buddies had "taken" him on as a client, she doubted he would even be out of pocket once all was said and done. It didn't matter though, all that mattered now was that her baby wouldn't have to grow up with a father that didn't want her, didn't love her… no if she would do anything as a mother, she would spare her own child the heartache she'd been forced to live with growing up.

It wasn't as if he would even care if she did tell him, she repeated to herself. He never wanted children, and he was already stuck with one. He hadn't had the best childhood and that was one thing he made clear before they even officially started dating. At the time she was young and hadn't really cared either way, not many were planning babies straight out of college. So before they took their vows, they agreed he would have a vasectomy… who knew they weren't full proof.

She certainly hadn't, but here she was living, breathing proof that nothing is truly one hundred percent effective. He wouldn't have believed her, he would have accused her of sleeping with Xander, or that weird dude Riley that sometimes tagged along with Willow when they went out for drinks.

He would have wanted her to get an abortion. Which in all honesty, she had seriously considered the option herself, then one day as she was researching different places that performed them, the thought hit her that she was still doing exactly what he would want.

Somewhere in their years together she'd lost Buffy Summers, and at that moment she was bound and determined to find her again. So she'd closed out all the tabs of abortion clinics and started researching Obgyn's instead. Luckily she'd found the most amazing doctor, who had listened to her story without judgment and carefully went through all of her options. An hour later she'd walked out of that office with her hands full of different pamphlets about parenthood, a prescription for prenatal vitamins, and a tiny snapshot of what looked like a jelly bean. That was the same day she'd hired a lawyer, and that was the last day she'd allowed herself to cried.

She never expected her life to end up here, alone, pregnant, divorced… but there was no point in dwelling on the past. No matter how badly she missed him, no matter how many times she had to quell her desire to storm his office demanding answers, she had to focus on the future, the one where he didnt exist.

She took as little from their house as she could manage, not wanting or needing reminders of their life constantly scattered about. She hadn't even taken their bed, there were far too many memories tied to that object, instead she had opted for the smaller queen they had set up in the guest room. She took her mother's table, and a few other odds and ends. Other than that she had walked out of that house with nothing more than her clothes and other personal belongings, she hadn't even taken any of their pictures. He could deal with all of those haunting smiles of their past...after all this was what he wanted.

She glanced at her ringing phone, hitting the ignore button one more time, she didn't have it in here to talk to Lindsey right now, especially when she didn't know if he was around or not. Her and Lindsey had known each other since elementary school, he was her very best friend.. well until he went to Law School and met Angel.

They hit it off and suddenly the two of them were nearly inseparable. Angel started showing up to their weekly bowling meetups, that was how they met, under the black lights and neon lights of Frank's Bowl and Glow.

Fast forward a few years, and they were going into practice together. For a while her and Lindsey were able to remain as they always had, but somewhere along the way something had certainly shifted in their dynamic. They of course remained great friends through the years since that scale had tipped but he had certainly gotten closer to Angel the more time went on. She supposed it hadn't really mattered as much while she and Angel were together since they were all still friends and heavily involved in one another's lives... but when all the shit began hitting the fan between her and Angel, she couldn't help but feel that sting and realize how different things really had become. Lindsey seemed to be siding with Angel more often than her, and he barely even spoke to her since the night Angel had packed a bag and moved out.

The fact that he had let Angel crash at his place until he'd found some apartment no doubt a lot to do with the lack of communication, but all around everything still sucked.

She tried not to be too upset over it and just take it too personally. He was still her friend, he was there if she truly needed him... But most days she didn't even bother trying to reach out to him unless she felt it was incredibly important. She had let him know she was moving out and they had passed a few text one sentence long messages since then but that was pretty much the extent of them speaking as of late.

In her heart she wished she could just pour everything out to him, lean on him as she'd done countless other times through her life, after all he was the person who knew her best, she wished she could have him be the person she confided in about the baby... but that just wasn't in the cards.

"Call me when you get a chance. Please," came through in a text a few moments later. Buffy glanced at the notification before setting her phone back down, then she did her best to gather some motivation to return to the task of cleaning and working to organize this new home of hers.

She may have only taken a few things from the house, but she had gotten various items from her friends, picking items up from a few stores, getting some delivered, just working on it all as she went. It felt like a big project but it would help keep her distracted so she couldn't complain too much.

OoOoO

As he made his way through the eerily quiet house, Angel did his best to not let the surge of panic get the best of him. It was a panic he was becoming all too familiar with these days... the one that had him questioning every choice he had made and still had to make in the days to come to the point of insanity. The one that made him want to do anything under the sun to fix things before it was too late, yet made him want to bury himself in a hole and let it just be what it was all at the same time.

Ever since Buffy had moved out, he'd found himself back within these walls almost daily. Usually he found himself swinging by after work to just walk through and let his mind wander, then once he had enough of the self induced torture he would drive across town to his apartment for the rest of the evening... unable to bare the idea of moving back in just yet.

If ever.

Buffy had made it clear via a meeting with the lawyers that she didn't want the house, she wasn't going to fight him for it, that he could have the house and anything she'd left behind in it if he so chose. They'd once upon a time poured their hearts into making this house their home, having worked with an amazing team to design and construct every inch of it to their hearts desire... and the thought of selling it made his blood run cold. Worse, however, was the thought of moving back in here alone, haunted by memories.

He was angry as hell that she even moved out to begin with, it would have been easier to have let the tables stayed turned at her and just let her stay and keep the damn property than deal with any of this shit. It would have been easier to avoid ever having to come back through that front door again like he was avoiding the plague than daring to come back after she was gone.

Sitting down on a step near the halfway mark of the staircase leading to the upper level, Angel sighed, putting his head into one of his large hands. She had left with very little belongings but the house felt empty everywhere he looked. It was too clean, it was too quiet. And he couldn't stand it.

Angel didn't know how long he remained like this, but when he finally decided to stand his leg sure hurt from sitting like that too long. He groaned, turning so he could walk upstairs and grab a few extra items of clothing and random books and items to throw in a bag he grabbed from the bottom of the closet and take back with him to the apartment he'd been calling home.

OoOoO

It'd been dark when he locked the house up and started back out. Stopping to check his mail, he flipped through the first few envelopes and groaned at the large white package at the bottom. Not bothering to even open it right now, he tossed it on the couch once inside. He was sure it was just another endless amount of forms from the firm, a billion more copies of this, that and the other dealing with the divorce, probably more adjustments to what they thought they could get out of the divorce for him... none of which he cared a damn thing about.

It didn't matter anyway. Buffy signed off on any and everything they put in front of her, refusing to contest a single thing thus far. At this point it felt redundant passing this shit back and forth between them.

As far as he could tell, she just wanted it done and over with.

That was how he went into this whole fucking situation, too, so he couldn't say much. When he'd gone and petitioned for divorce in the first place he'd hoped that it all wouldn't be dragged out for months to even years... but he hadn't expected it to be this easy to end things officially between them, either. He expected a fight. He hadn't expected her to go on acting as though she didn't even care.

And he wasn't sure how to take that.

When he had first left she had tried so hard to talk to him, to fight with him to work all of this out, but he couldn't deal so he just shut down while shutting her out. Apparently it worked because she'd stopped along the way. She gave up trying to see him or getting him to contact her, she moved out, accepted each step of the divorce proceedings without a single groan of protest. Sometimes, her complacency left him wondering if she had ever really cared at all.

Since she hadn't put up a fight, for anything in regards to their divorce, they hadn't even been required to attend mediation together. All of their correspondence had been through lawyers, or Lindsey, who tried the best he could stay out of the whole mess.

Just out of curiosity he'd unblocked her number a month ago, he wasn't even sure why, maybe a small part of him hoped she would call, maybe that same small part of him regretted everything about this entire situation… but it was far too late for any of those types of thoughts, her actions making it clear that this was exactly what she wanted.

OoOoO

Buffy stood in front of the mirror smoothing a hand over the small curve of her stomach. Sighing, she stripped the t-shirt off, adding it to the pile of clothes that simply wouldn't work. She'd finally returned Lindsey's call one night after he sent her a series of no less than fifty-seven memes about how he missed his quote un-quote best friend.

Somehow he'd been able to convince her to join him for dinner at his place, he had always been an amazing cook. Ever since they were old enough to reach the stove, he was always coming up with new recipes, some nights even going as far as to prepare dinner for both their families. She'd hesitantly agreed, only after making him swear on his life that Angel would in no way be making any sort of surprise appearances.

"I'd never do that to you Buff, I know this situation is far from ideal, but at the end of the day you're still my friend… one of my best friends."

She wanted to trust him, and he was right no matter what they would always be friends… still she had to be careful. The last thing she needed was Lindsey figuring out she was pregnant, especially before the divorce was finalized. Even she knew adding a kid to the mix would stretch things out even further. Not to mention the mess that would cause, one she still hoped could be avoided.

Which was exactly why she had to find the perfect outfit, she was nearing the halfway point in her pregnancy, luckily she hadn't blown up like a blimp, well not yet anyways… but if she was wearing something too restrictive, then her pregnancy became blatantly obvious.

Finally settling on a pair of leggings, and an oversized sweater, she made sure to turn in front of her full length mirror, checking from every angle to ensure that her bump was disguised.

"Well here goes nothing," she whispered, checking herself over in the mirror one last time, before grabbing her purse, making her way to the door.

OoOoO

They sat curled up on Lindsey's oversized leather sofa, as she had expected dinner had been absolutely delectable, and as he promised there had been no sign of her ex. She had to admit that she was glad she came, things between them had been strained for so long, it was nice to spend some time with him away from the drama of her life.

Lindsey hadn't even done so much as utter Angel's name, which she was thankful for, she definitely didn't want to discuss that aspect of her life tonight… still she would be lying if she said she wasn't the slightest bit curious about how he was.

He may have moved out weeks ago, but she couldn't help but notice a few small things of his strewn about the house. Such as the bottle of his aftershave that he must have forgotten in the guest bathroom. When she first noticed it, she'd had to fight the urge to unscrew the top, just to smell it, smell him. It was pathetic, and pointless, and she was stronger than that damnt… at least that's what she told herself as she dried her hands and walked back out of the bathroom.

"Knocked up?"

"Huh," she asked startled, her eyes flying wide.

Luckily he was too involved in the channel guide to notice the panic on her face. "You know, that movie with what's her face. The hot alien chick."

"You mean Katherine Heigl," she asked laughing, she really had missed him. "And uh no, I've seen it. Wasn't that great." She was totally lying, but right now considering her circumstances, nothing about that movie sounded like a good idea. "Let's watch a scary movie, like we used too."

Sighing, Lindsey switched over from the comedy to the horror section. He hated scary movies, maybe it was the lawyer in him, but they were always so fuckin obvious. "You pick," he told her, tossing the remote to her end of the couch.

Scrolling through their options, she quickly decided on some new movie about a haunted house.

"Original."

Picking up one the small throw pillows next to her, she chunked it right at him. "Shut up, you just don't like horror movies because they scare you… Don't forget I know your secrets McDonald."

"Not all Summers," he told her with a wink as he shifted to get more comfortable on the sectional, tossing Buffy one of the blankets he had flung across the back of the couch.

Catching it, she just stuck her tongue out at him in response, as she too turned to get comfortable on the sofa, snuggling under the blanket he'd thrown her.