AUTHOR: Goddess Isa
EMAIL: goddessisa@aol.com
SUMMARY: Buffy is just contemplating dating Riley when the unexpected happens....
SPOILER: Pangs, IWRY - Doomed and Hush both took place before Christmas and the New Year and all. You'll see my explanation below.
DISTRIBUTION: Sandee, of course - My site - http://planetslaythis.homestead.com - Crystal and Butterfly if they want it - A Soul's Redemption - Anyone else - sure, just email me & lmk where it's going - I like seeing my name in print =)
RATING: TV-14 - for now
DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Poophead Joss. I didn't come up with that name for him, but it's *so* true. The song, 'No Matter What' is what the title is derived from and it's by Boyzone.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is for Ashley - thanks for the kickass challenge idea! And thank you again for sending me the story I was missing. You're the best.
AUTHOR'S NOTES2: Okie, these are the ones that explain the timeline, so you may want to read it to understand. Buffy visited Angel in Los Angeles on November 23rd. Something Blue, Hush and Doomed make up the weeks 'till Christmas, and Buffy *NEVER* kissed Riley. He asked her out but she didn't accept. And now we're at December seventeenth, when all the students are packing up to go home for the holidays.
//I can't deny what I believe
I can't be what I'm not
I know our love's forever
I know, no matter what\\
Buffy came back from Planned Parenthood Monday afternoon in a trance. She'd refused to let Willow come with her, and once she got there, she was glad she'd gone alone. It was full of young couples and bunches of girlfriends worried about one thing or another. She didn't want anyone suspecting anything, even though that was a futile thought. There weren't many reasons young girls went to see gynecologists.
She was sort of numb as she walked back to her house where Willow swore she'd have the tree out of the box. Xander and Anya and Spike and Giles were coming over later and they were going to decorate it together. She couldn't wait.
Still, she felt as though the person talking to the doctor had been someone else and not herself. The idea that she was pregnant by Parker had barely registered when she found out that was completely impossible.
She was barely four weeks pregnant.
The doctor had just assumed Buffy was full of shit when she'd argued how far along she was with her, but Buffy didn't care. She knew when she'd been with someone and when she hadn't. There was only one hole in her calendar.
Her weekend in LA.
She'd spent most of it in her hotel room crying. She'd never called her father, using that as a poor excuse to visit Angel and get even. She hadn't gotten even though, she'd simply succeeded in hurting him back which was only what she wanted initially. Really and truly she wanted to pin him against his desk and kiss him until the world ended or her lips fell off, whichever came first.
"I'm gonna have to go see him," she decided. "That's the only solution, I'll have to talk to him."
She couldn't imagine how she would've gotten pregnant while in LA, but she was sure something demonic or Hellmouthy was behind it.
Sighing, she turned onto Revello and tried to get herself into the Christmas spirit.
*****
"You better watch out, you better not cry," Willow sang cheerfully along with the Christmas CD of Joyce's she'd put on.
"You'd better not pout, I'm tellin' you why." Xander added.
"Santa Claus is comin' to town!" they sang together.
Anya frowned. "I don't get it."
"What's not to get?" Xander handed Giles a mass of tangled lights before sitting down to tackle a mess of his own. "The guy in red is on his way."
"It's stupid," she decided. "And besides, he isn't real."
"I remember growing up and not believing in Father Christmas," Giles began. "My parents were too busy with the Council to teach me anything themselves in my younger years, and my nanny--"
"Could you tell us something less boring?" Anya asked.
"Buffy!" Willow called into the kitchen. "Need some help?"
She didn't, not really. She'd been stirring the pot of hot chocolate forever, trying to hear everything her friends were doing and saying. She wanted to be in there with them, and yet there was something peaceful about being alone with herself in the kitchen.
Sighing, she poured the hot cocoa into mugs and carried it into the living room, waking right into a bickering match between Xander and Anya.
"But why don't you just divide them by colour?" she was asking.
"Because they're all on separate strands." he said for what felt like the hundredth time. "These are *multicoloured* lights, Anya. They have all colours on them."
"Why? Why isn't one blue and one pink and one..."
"They're giving me a headache," Buffy sat down and picked up a sugar cookie, taking a small bite out of it.
"You're not the only one." Giles took a mug and sipped the hot chocolate. "Are you all right, Buffy? You look exhausted."
"I'm just tired," she smiled weakly. "I'll sleep in tomorrow and then I'll feel better."
Giles nodded, but he wasn't sure that would help her.
When he looked into her eyes, she looked worn out and yet she was almost.....
"Giles?" Buffy waved a hand in front of his face.
"Um, yes?" he blinked and looked at her.
"You good with pizza?" she asked. "I'm dying for pineapple and tomatoes."
Dear Lord, he thought. I was right.
She's pregnant.
*****
Cordelia walked out of her audition feeling confident. She'd done well and she might actually get this one. Smiling, she decided to go by the office and see if Angel needed anything before she went out with some friends to celebrate.
She had just entered Angel's building when it happened. She fell to the floor with a mind numbing vision.
When she opened her eyes and realized what she'd seen, it was hard to breathe for a few minutes. Finally, she stood up and called, "ANGEL!"
No one answered. She swore and kicked her desk, groaning when it bruised her foot.
She plopped down into her seat and sighed. How was she gonna tell Angel she'd just seen Buffy giving birth to a baby?
*****
Buffy scrawled a quick note to Willow early Wednesday morning and tossed her duffel bag down the stairs. Then she whispered goodbye to her best friend and ran down the stairs, Willow's keys in her hand.
She got in the wildly coloured VW bug and started the engine, waiting for it to warm up before pulling away. She stared at the house she'd lived in for four years and wondered if she'd ever see it again. Sighing, she turned on the radio, enjoyed a remix of *NSYNC's latest single and screeched down the street. She wouldn't get in *too* much trouble if she got caught driving without a license, right?
*****
Cordelia paced anxiously in the office. She'd been up all night waiting for Wesley and Angel to return from whatever their mission that night had been. They *still* weren't back and it was almost daylight. She was more than a little freaked out.
She was terrified.
She started sharpening pencils and straightening things. She was realphabatizing Angel's client files for like the thousandth time when she heard the door open. She sprinted into the lobby that doubled as her office and stared at her boss.
"ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" she demanded.
There wasn't a scratch on him or Wesley. "We're fine," he said, giving her an odd look.
"Then where the Hell were you?" she put her hands on her hips.
"We got a flat tire," Angel walked over to the coffee maker and turned it on. "We were stuck in Venice for hours."
"It was quite scary," Wesley added.
"Demons?" Cordy assumed.
"Prostitutes." Angel shivered. "Got propositioned more than once."
"Not exactly the finer side of the state," Wesley took his coat off. "Angel, would you mind terribly if I just crashed on the couch here for a bit? I truly don't think I can drive myself home."
"No, not at all. I'm gonna go get a shower."
When he was gone, Cordy rushed over to the couch and sat on top of Wesley's legs.
"Cordelia," he began. "That--"
"Not now! I had a vision."
"Oh, lovely. Shouldn't Angel be here for this?"
"Nuh-uh! It involves Buffy!"
"What about her?" now he was intrigued.
"She was having a *baby*! Can you believe that?"
"Oh dear," Wesley sat up. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear."
"I'll say," she pushed her hair behind her ears. "What are we going to do?"
"Well, we can't do anything. This is something that has to be discussed only between the Slayer and--"
"Oh wow!" Cordy leaned back against the couch. "Oh man."
"What?"
"I just figured out who the father is."
"Xander?" Wesley guessed.
"No! And eeew! It's Angel!"
