AUTHOR: Goddess Isa
EMAIL: goddessisa@aol.com
SUMMARY: Parker left Buffy with a nine month backache, now what?
SPOILER: SPECIFICALLY The Harsh Light Of Day, but there are hints on everything thus far on both Buffy and ANGEL
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 =)
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-14
DISCLAIMER: Everyone but the baby (like I'm gonna give away the name this early on!!) belong to Joss and co. I do get weekly visitation with Xander though, which I so thoroughly enjoy! The songs belong to *NSYNC (do not yell at me - JC & I will hunt you down if you insult my boy bands) and Creed (there's a combo for ya!).
"Come on Buffy," Dr. Lincoln said. "Push!"
"I can't," she said in a stressed voice. Buffy had never felt more worn out in her life. She'd been in labor for seven hours and enough was enough. She wanted this baby out of her and she wanted it yesterday. She just didn't wanna have to push anymore to do it."
"I can't, I'm too tired," Buffy insisted.
"You can do it baby," Angel kissed her cheek. "I know you can."
"No," she turned away from him since his eyes were giving her strength she didn't want. "I need sleep now. Give birth later."
"The head is almost out Buffy, you have to push."
She swore at the doctor, which made him snort and Angel smirk. Buffy squeezed the hell out of his hand and pushed.
"The head is out," Dr. Lincoln announced.
"Whose idea was this natural childbirth?" Angel asked. "You're killing my hand."
"You're the one who said it was better for the baby," Buffy said between breaths. "Next time I'm making you give birth." When the doctor laughed at her, she glared at him. "You wouldn't believe what I can do. I have friends who are Witches."
"She's delirious." Angel told him.
Buffy glared at her lover. "Bite me."
"One more push Buffy, come on."
She made herself look at Angel, because she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with a baby's head between her legs. She took a deep breath, dug her nails into his skin, drew blood, and pushed.
"She's out!" he announced as she started to cry. The nurse wrapped her in a blue hospital blanket and handed her to Buffy.
"Would you look at her?" Buffy whispered. "She's so beautiful."
"Just like her mother," Angel said softly. He stared at the little girl. She did look like Buffy, but her hair was dark, like his. Angel stared at her, realizing that she could easily pass for his own daughter.
"She looks like you too," Buffy said. "After all, you are her father."
"Buffy--"
"Your name is going on the birth certificate, so I hope you have a last name."
"It's Connelly."
"Connelly, I like that."
"I figured you would."
"However, until you and I tie the knot, and no pressure there, I'm not ready to be married yet, but until then, her last name is Summers."
"And what is her first name? Do you still wanna name her after Willow?"
Buffy shook her head. "No. Well, sort of. Willow's middle name is Kathleen, so for our daughter, I picked...."
"Don't keep me in suspense!" he teased.
She laughed. "Her name is Kayra Angeline."
Angel's bottom lip dropped. "Buffy--"
"She's your daughter Angel. We'll just have to name the next one after me. Victoria Summer might be a nice name, don't you think?"
He only smiled at her. "I love you."
"I love you too." she let him lean over their new baby girl to kiss her and then the baby began to cry again, begging to be fed.
"Let me take her," the nurse appeared again. "We're just going to check her out and we'll bring her right back."
Buffy laid down and sighed. "I can't believe she's here."
"Me neither. You're amazing, you know that?"
She smiled. "I've been told that a couple of times in the past."
"It's true."
"Angel?"
"Hmm?"
"I don't want to pressure you with Kayra, I mean, if you don't want to be her father, it's okay, but I--"
"Buffy, there is nothing I want more on this Earth than to be your....husband, eventually, and her father."
She yawned.
"That boring, huh?" he looked a tad hurt.
"No, I'm just exhausted."
"I should let you rest."
"Do me one favor before you leave."
"Anything."
"Kiss me again."
*****
Angel fell asleep in a hospital chair, but when he woke up, Kayra was crying. Buffy was still resting so he picked her up and held her close, kissing her and touching her little fingers.
"Hey sweetheart," he whispered. "Daddy's here and I'm going to take care of you, but I don't want you to wake your Mommy, k? She's had a rough time of it and she needs her rest."
Buffy rolled over and yawned. "No, it's all right, she's probably just hungry."
"Are you sure?"
She sat up and readjusted the pillows behind her shoulders. "Yeah, I'll feed her."
Angel stood up and gently handed her the baby. "Buffy, can I ask you something?"
She opened her nightgown and began nursing. "Sure. What?"
"Have you had any strange dreams lately?"
"No dreams at all, why?"
He sighed and looked away.
"Angel?" she sounded a bit worried.
"It's nothing bad. It's just....I've been seeing my mother. She keeps telling me this is where I belong."
"She's right," Buffy said softly.
"I called Doyle yesterday, we had a long conversation. He reminded me that I came to Los Angeles seeking redemption. We think this is it."
"How could it ever be anything else?" she asked. "You belong with me, with us."
"I wanna stay forever," he said. "If you'll have me?"
"I can't believe you have to ask." she said as tears escaped her eyes. He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss before they both concentrated their attention on their newborn daughter.
*****
Buffy was so tired from giving birth that the doctors insisted she and Kayra stay in the hospital an extra night. Buffy sent Angel home to rest and was sitting in bed, writing in her journal while Kayra slept when the phone rang.
"Hello?" she answered, surprised that anyone would be calling. All her friends had been by to see the baby that evening.
"Hello, Buffy, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Giles. Is something wrong?"
"I was just wondering if you'd spoken to your mother."
"No. I haven't."
"Don't you suppose you should call her? Let her know how you feel?"
"How do I feel, Giles?" Buffy asked. "Since you're such an expert, perhaps you should tell her."
"Buffy, all I'm suggesting is that you call your mother and tell her that you had the baby yesterday."
Buffy sighed. "All right, Giles, I'll call her."
"Thank you," he smiled.
"You sound quite proud of yourself," Buffy said.
"I do not."
Buffy laughed. "You are a riot, Giles. 'Night."
"Good night, Buffy."
Sighing, Buffy pushed the disconnect button down She dialed the number to her mother's house and bit her lip, waiting.
"Hello?" Joyce answered on the third ring.
"Hi, Mom," Buffy said quickly. "How are you?"
"Buffy." Joyce didn't sound happy. "Hello."
"Hi. Um, I just wanted to call and tell you....well, you're a grandmother."
There was silence on the other end of the phone line.
"I had a baby girl yesterday morning. Her name is Kayra Angeline. I just thought you'd wanna know."
"Kayra?" Joyce asked. "Where'd you get a name like that?"
"After Willow's middle name, Katherine. Mom, I'm not leaving until tomorrow afternoon if you wanna come and see us."
"I don't think so, Buffy. Thank you for calling."
The dial tone rang in Buffy's ear for five minutes before she remembered to hang up the phone. She slammed it down and woke Kayra.
"Oh, I'm sorry, baby," Buffy said, getting out of bed to pick up her daughter before the nurse showed up. "I didn't mean to wake you."
Kayra kept on crying though, so Buffy fed her and changed her diaper. She got back into bed and fell asleep with the baby in her arms. She didn't wake up until hours later when Kayra woke her up, hungry again.
*****
Buffy and Angel had spent the weeks leading up to their baby's birth changing the mansion into a home, and when Giles, Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia and Doyle came to the house for the baby's homecoming, no one recognized the place.
"No whips?" Xander asked. "What about the chains? Kinda surprised Buff wanted to ax all that stuff."
"It's in our room." she told him.
"Buffy!" Angel hissed. "Let's keep some things between the two of us."
"If he thought they were of no use to us, he'd ask for them!" Buffy exclaimed. "And I'm not sharing."
"We shouldn't discuss that kind of thing with our friends." Angel looked quite uncomfortable.
"Xander's not a friend," Buffy teased.
"She's right, I'm family," Xander said as Buffy handed Kayra to him. "I'm Xander, your ultra fun friend who buys you toys and sneaks you candy."
Buffy glanced at the large box Xander had brought. "What *did* you buy?"
"A Cabbage Patch Kid with hair that changes color when you get it wet."
Buffy leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You're the best Xan."
"Buffy, I have to say, this place looks amazing." Giles said. "And you've got quite a nice little turnout here."
Buffy looked at her friends talking, eating, passing around pictures taken of Kayra in the hospital. "Yeah, but someone's missing."
"Have you tried talking to your mother?" Giles asked.
"I called her yesterday from the hospital, but she wasn't really all that concerned. She asked where I got the baby's name from and hung up. I'll bet she gets the number changed now."
"Oh Buffy, I am sorry."
"Me too," she wiped tears from her eyes. Then she noticed Angel and Xander *talking* as Angel bottle fed the baby. "Look," she pointed. "I guess you take the good with the bad."
Giles nodded. "I guess so."
*****
The first few days that Kayra was home, Buffy was exhausted. The baby never slept so Angel agreed to stay up and take care of her. Buffy was almost a bit jealous of how good he was with her, but she forgot all that while breast feeding the baby. She'd been worried that Kayra didn't even need her anymore, but the breast pump was broken so she was up every three hours with the baby to feed her. Angel caught her yawning while they were grocery shopping that night and bought her a new breast pump so she wouldn't be so worn out during the day.
"I'll just handle the feedings while you sleep," he promised.
Buffy smiled at him. "I love you."
"I love..." he looked down at her hand, which was on his leg. She was wearing her Claddagh. "I thought you took this off ages ago."
"I did. I knew something had been missing from my life until that point."
He touched her finger and the ring, remembering when he gave it to her, and what it really stood for.
"Angel," she whispered. "I was thinking--"
Kayra picked this moment to cry, disturbing their conversation.
"I'll go," Angel stood up. "You get some rest."
*****
As Buffy always knew he would be, Angel was an extremely thoughtful father, staying up all hours with the baby to let her sleep and doing all the shopping so that she wouldn't have to. One morning she woke up to find him on the living room couch with the baby in his arms. He was snoring, but she was wide awake, pulling on one of his shirt buttons.
The next day, Buffy stumbled out of bed to use the bathroom at three a.m. She entered the bathroom, not bothering to turn the big light on since they had several night lights. It took her a minute to realize that Angel was in there, giving Kayra a bath in the sink.
"What are you doing up?" he asked her.
"What are you doing? It's three a.m."
"Well, neither of us could sleep, so I figured I'd do this now and you wouldn't have to in the morning." Kayra began to smile and kicked furiously in the water.
"She certainly is full of energy." Buffy said.
"She's adorable. Do you think the water is too cold?"
Buffy stuck a finger in it. "No, it seems all right. Your shirt's all wet."
"That's okay."
"Want me to bring you another one?"
He ran the washcloth gently down one of Kayra's arms. "No, I'm fine."
Buffy stayed in the doorway for a moment, watching him take such tender care of their daughter. She smiled at them and then went back to bed.
*****
At the end of August, Buffy and Angel had Kayra Christened in a small chapel on the outskirts of town. They did it at night, telling the Priest that Angel was allergic to sunlight and it would be easier for him to attend this way. Giles and Willow were the baby's Godparents, and Buffy took pictures, intent on sending one to her mother, though she could never make herself drop it in the mailbox.
*****
In September, on Willow's birthday, Angel proposed to Buffy with a new Claddagh that had a diamond in it. She accepted, regardless of the curse, and they set an April 29th, 2000 wedding date.
*****
"Can you believe it's here?" Buffy asked. "Kayra's first Christmas."
Angel was on a ladder, putting a Barbie doll that was also an angel and a tree topper on the highest branch. "Does that look straight?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's great." Buffy took her new camera out of its case and took a few pictures of him as he got down off the ladder. Angel had given it to her when Kayra was born and she used it almost daily. "Do you believe this? I'm having my first Christmas as a mother."
"Pretty amazing," he went over to a brown paper bag and pulled out a small box. "I got this while I was out."
"What is it?" she asked, taking it from him. It was a bit heavier than she'd expected.
"Open it."
She did and she found a beautiful crystal ornament of an Angel. She held a book with Kayra's name and birth date on it.
"It's beautiful, Angel. I love it. Thank you."
"I knew that you would. And just think, when Kayra gets a bit older she can pick her own ornaments out."
"I'm sure she'll like that."
"Buffy?"
"Hmmm?"
"Are you sure about the wedding? I mean, I know you already bought a dress and all, but the making love thing..."
"Angel, none of that matters to me. Don't you see? All I want is to be with you."
He held her close, resting his chin on her head, wishing he could change it for her.
*****
"What's all this?" Angel asked as he came inside, freezing. It was the uncommon cloudy December day, and he'd gone out in the late afternoon to "burn off energy". Buffy knew he'd really been on patrol so that she wouldn't have to go later on. She appreciated it, because that meant she could work on her baking. After all, Christmas was just two days away.
"These are peppermint rolls. Mashed up candy canes inside white chocolate."
He reached to try one and she let him, simply to get feedback.
"Mmm," he said after eating the whole thing in one bite. "I like these. How many do we have?"
"Not enough, so stay out." she laughed. "There are some burnt Snickerdoodles on the table though."
He looked over and saw two racks full. "Some?"
"I was busy with Kayra." she lied.
"Uh-huh." he sat down and began eating them, discovering they were good burnt. "Have you been in the living room lately?"
"Of course, that's where I fed Kayra."
"No, I mean, in the last fifteen or so minutes. Like right before I got home."
She looked at him strangely. "No, why?"
He ate another cookie. "I think you should go in there. Whenever you get a chance," he added.
Buffy knew he was up to something, but she didn't let on that she was suspicious. She took off her apron and went into the living room. Her mouth formed a perfect O as she studied the room.
The fireplace had been covered in lights and electric candles. In the center were three Barbie stocking holders, each holding a stocking with their name. Kayra's had a picture of a Precious Moments Angel on it.
"Oh, Angel," she said from the living room. He came up behind her and put his arms around her.
"Do you like them?"
"They're perfect. You think of everything."
"I want you to be happy."
"I don't need anything to be happy as long as I have you and Kayra, you know that."
"Even so. You should've seen your face when you first saw the fireplace."
"I love you."
"I--" he was cut off by the phone ringing. "Love you and will get that." He walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone, smirking when he noticed Buffy had hung mistletoe in the doorways. "Hello?"
"Hello," a stiff voice said. "Could I speak with my daughter?"
"Mrs. Summers, of course. Just a moment." Angel put the phone to his shoulder. "Honey, it's your mom."
She shot him a curious look before taking the phone from him. "Hi, Mom!"
"Hello." her voice was still cold. "I'm just calling to tell you I can't make it for Christmas Buffy."
"What? Why?"
"I just have a lot going on, that's all."
"But, Mom..." Buffy felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "It's *Christmas*. I mean, we're supposed to be together."
"I can't, I'm sorry." Joyce hung up and Buffy sunk back against the wall, glad that Angel had gone up to see the baby. She wanted to cry in peace for awhile.
