all disclaimers in chapter 1. enjoy!
Chapter 2
Buffy woke up a couple mornings later at almost 4:30 A.M. to the end of the Angel dream. It had become familiar over the past couple days. Suddenly Buffy's stomach twisted and she felt very sick. Holding her stomach and almost keeling over, Buffy rushed from bed straight to the bathroom and began to vomit into the toilet. When she was done, she laid back down in bed, wondering what had brought on vomiting. Had she eaten something the other day? She didn't know. Looking at Willow's bed, she was relieved to find that she hadn't woken up her roommate.
Buffy tried to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come to her. She tossed and turned, looking at the clock every five minutes. Eventually she got out of bed once more and headed to her closet. She got out her favorite pair of jeans and a deep red velvet v-neck blouse. Also pulling a stake from her bag on the floor, Buffy quietly crept out of the room. Patrolling always kept her mind occupied and busy.
As Buffy walked around campus, she kept her eye out for any hint of movement. She was rewarded for her vigilance outside of the library. There, a sudden flurry of movement signified the jump of a vampire, who looked rather hungry. The vampire's blond hair looked familiar, but she didn't hesitate to pull her stake and aim it at the vampire's heart. A familiar whimpering with a British accent stopped the forthcoming plunge.
"Please, don't dust me!" said the voice. Buffy recognized it easily and backed off of him, sighing.
"It had to be you!" she accused. Spike stumbled back and looked at her in relief. "Why couldn't you have been a vamp I could've just dusted and gotten it over with! At least the fact that it's you explains the ease of catching you."
"Oh, please don't rub it in, Slayer. I'd like to bite you very much, but the bloody Initiative fixed me. And now, because of you, I can't get any donations from my fellow vampires or demons!"
"Because of me? Ha! I hope you starve to death! It would be a fitting death for you," she countered. Spike grimaced as his face went back to normal.
"Why, Buffy. I'm afraid you've been eating too much. You look bigger than normal. Perhaps you could donate some blood to me?" he pleaded, looking pitiful. Buffy snarled.
"Take your pity camp somewhere else. Insulting a girl is not the way to get stuff." With that, Buffy stalked off.
* * *
Willow woke up a bit early that morning, feeling a bit uneasy. Looking around the room, she noticed that her roommate's bed was empty. Not made, just empty. Willow, instantly awake, sat straight up in bed. All the lights were out, so she wasn't in the room. Worried about her friend's recent strange behavior, she scrambled to get on a pair of bellbottoms and a multicolored long-sleeved shirt and headed toward the door. Opening the door, she ran straight into Buffy, on her way back in.
"Oh! Willow! You're up! Hi," Buffy greeted brightly.
"Yeah I'm up. W-where were you?" Willow asked. Buffy held up her stake. Willow understood. "But, so early in the morning?"
"I couldn't sleep," she explained. Indeed, there were circles under her eyes, though she didn't look very tired. Despite her cheeriness, Willow could see something in Buffy's eyes that betrayed her.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Buffy shook her head.
"Nothing? Why do you ask?" she responded. This time, Willow could hear the hollowness of her cheery tone. But she could sense that Buffy wanted to hide the fact that she wasn't okay, so she decided to ignore it.
"No reason. I'm just making sure. Well, I have studying to do. See ya, Buff." With that, Willow walked out and headed to Giles' place. On the way there, Willow realized that Buffy seemed to be getting bigger. This wasn't the first time that Buffy had gotten up early in the morning and disappeared either. Buffy didn't realize that she usually woke Willow up when she sneaked out and then back in. Buffy also seemed to be making frequent trips to the bathroom each morning.
As Willow walked up to Giles's door, a thought hit her. Buffy had all the symptoms of being pregnant! Giles opened the door to see Willow standing there with a shocked look on her face.
"Is something wrong, Willow?" Giles asked. Willow walked numbly past Giles and sat down on his couch. "Willow?"
"I think Buffy's pregnant!"
"What?" Giles asked, giving her a look. "What are you talking about?"
"Giles," Willow started, looking at him. "Buffy's been getting bigger, she's sneaking out at nights, and she throwing up every morning since she had that dream!" Then Willow's eyes grew big as saucers. "What if she and Angel..."
"Impossible," Giles cut her off. He began to walk around the room. "If she and Angel had… well, we would have Angelus to deal with."
"Not if he was human for a time!" Willow exclaimed, remembering what the dream had been explained as. Giles shook his head at her.
"We must get in touch with Angel," Giles said. He scratched his head and frowned, trying to figure out a way to do that.
"Hey!" Willow exclaimed, interrupting Giles' reverie. "Buffy snagged one of Angel's business cards when she was in LA! I know how to find him! I'll be back!" With that, Willow ran out the door, leaving Giles in confusion.
* * *
Willow searched frantically through Buffy's stuff, looking for the card from LA. Buffy had shown her the card after she got back, but Willow didn't know where Buffy had put it. Luckily, Buffy had left the dorm room by the time Willow got back, so she was safe in that respect. As Willow finished searching everything that was in the main room, she sighed and headed for the closet. The closet was where Buffy kept her demon hunting weapons and such. Willow knelt and opened the bag they were kept in and began to search around. She finally found the card at the very bottom in a small pocket in the bag. She retrieved it and stuck it in her pocket. As she zipped the bag shut, a voice startled her.
"What are you doing, Willow?" Buffy asked. Willow nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around, thankful that Buffy hadn't come in a couple seconds earlier.
"Umm, looking for a sweater!" Willow said, grabbing one from the rack.
"Will, that's my sweater," Buffy said. Willow shrugged.
"Can I borrow it?" she asked weakly. Buffy sighed.
"Go ahead. I'm not gonna wear it today." Buffy grabbed a book and walked out. It seemed to Willow that Buffy looked even bigger than she had in the morning. Willow shrugged again, put the sweater down, then ran to Giles'.
* * *
Willow handed the card to Giles as soon as he opened the door and breathed heavily. Without asking any questions, Giles sat down near his phone and dialed the number, hoping that it would work.
* * *
Cordelia heard the phone ring in Angel's office. Unfortunately Angel was downstairs. Cordelia rushed and sat and spun in his seat, then grabbed the phone.
"Hello, Angel Inc! Helping those who need help!" Cordelia said in a rush.
"Cordelia?" a British voice questioned.
"Giles?" Cordelia returned.
"I expected Angel," Giles stated.
"Well excuse me!" Cordelia said huffily. "Watch and see if I ever answer the phone for you again!"
"I'm sorry, Cordelia. May I talk to Angel?" Giles asked.
"Just a sec, he's downstairs." Cordelia put the phone on the desk then went to the top of the stairs. "Angel! Giles wants to talk to you!" she yelled. A minute later, Angel came running up the stairs.
"Who?" Angel asked.
"Giles. As in Buffy's watcher."
"Why's Giles on the phone?"
"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?" Cordelia said impatiently, then shoved the phone at Angel. Cordelia made her way out of his office as Angel sat down and put the phone to his ear.
"Giles?" Angel asked, making sure he was still there.
"Angel, there's some information I must ask of you," Giles said, his voice urgent. "It's about Buffy."
"Is something wrong with Buffy?" Angel asked, immediately worried.
"We're not quite sure. Buffy may have a... 'physical' condition. Do you remember when Buffy came to confront you in Los Angeles after Thanksgiving?"
"Yes." 'Oh God, yes. How could I forget?' Angel thought to himself. That time was... painful to remember. Angel was the only one who still knew what had occurred during that time, or rather what had not occurred. "Why, what about it?"
"Angel, Buffy has been having some rather odd dreams lately. In them, you were human and you made love without calling forth Angelus. That is what we believe is most important."
"What!" Angel yelled, springing out of his chair. Outside of his office, Cordelia and Wesley both gave him odd looks, but he ignored them. If Giles was telling the truth then something had gone seriously wrong.
"Is something wrong, Angel?" Giles asked. Angel forced himself to sit down and to calm down. There was no way that Buffy could be having dreams about that.
"Umm, no. I'm sorry Giles. Go on."
"Of course," Giles responded, his tone revealing that he wasn't convinced. "Anyways, we have reason to believe that Buffy may be… pregnant."
"Buffy's pregnant!" Angel was once more out of his seat. Cordelia and Wesley, who had apparently been eavesdropping, yelled in surprise over the phone.
"Oh my gawd!" Cordelia's voice came over the phone and Angel's acute hearing.
"By who?" Wesley asked, shocked.
"Oh no…" Giles moaned.
"Get off the phone!" Angel barked at. Cordelia whimpered and gave Angel puppy dog eyes from outside his office window. Angel pulled the cord and the blinds went down. A moment later, he heard Cordelia click off the line. "Wesley," he stated impatiently. Wesley clicked off a second later. "Giles, I'm coming down there," Angel told him flatly.
"Angel, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Giles answered hesitantly.
"I'll see you soon." With that, Angel hung up. He walked out of his office and past Cordelia and Wesley. "Stay and mind the store. I have something to take care of back in Sunnydale."
* * *
Willow looked expectantly at Giles and he grimaced. Giles shook his head and hung up the phone.
"What?" Willow asked. "Did Angel say anything?"
"Unfortunately, yes. He's coming to Sunnydale."
"Uh oh! Not good! Especially with how upset Riley is with Buffy for avoiding him! If Angel shows up..."
"Yes, yes, I know." Giles rubbed his forehead. "I feel a headache coming on."
"Hi Willow, hi Giles!"
"Umm, hello Buffy," Giles said hesitantly.
"What's with grim reaper face?" Buffy asked, taking a bite of ice cream out of the small pint she held in her hand.
"Nothing Buffy. What brings you here?"
"What, aren't I allowed to come visit you?" Buffy suddenly pouted. 'Uh oh! Mood swings!' Willow thought. She and Giles exchanged glances. "What?" Buffy asked, confused.
"Buffy, have you been getting any... odd craving lately?" Willow asked.
"What do you mean?" Buffy was paying more attention to her ice cream than she was to Willow and Giles. Giles sighed and took his glasses off.
"Buffy, would you like some pickles?" Giles asked.
"Yes!" Buffy exclaimed, startling Willow. Giles shrugged at Willow, then got up to get some pickles for Buffy. He returned a minute later and handed a whole jar to her. Buffy began to inhale them and Willow sighed in frustration.
"Buffy, have you been to the doctor lately?" Giles asked.
"No, why?" Buffy looked up momentarily.
"Then I'll make an appointment for you. A friend of mine from England is in town and he can see you."
"What?" Buffy had set down the pickles and was looking at Giles in confusion.
"Buffy-" Willow began.
"Willow, no. We have to be sure before we tell her."
"Tell me what?"
"Nothing Buffy," Giles said. Buffy eyes flared.
"Tell. Me. What." Buffy stated furiously. Willow recognized the look.
"Run!"
* * *
Riley was wandering around school campus several days later, pondering Buffy's recent strange behavior. She seemed to be avoiding him, and none of her friends would tell him anything. He'd thought he'd become part of their inside circle after all he had done, but evidently not. After all the rumors that were flying, Riley felt desolate. It seemed that Buffy was involved with another guy. Suddenly, Riley bumped into another person. He looked up to apologize and his eyes flared.
"It's you!" Riley nearly shouted. "I should've known!"
"What?" Angel asked. Then he recognized Riley. "What'd I do?"
"'What'd you do!' You know what you did! You've stolen Buffy back! Once again, you just sweep into town and think you can take her!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Angel asked convincingly. Riley didn't buy it.
"You're the person who Buffy's been seeing!" Riley yelled, then charged at Angel. A cold voice stopped him in barely inches from Angel's suddenly changed face.
"Riley! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Buffy shouted. Riley and Angel both looked towards the source and their jaws dropped.
"Buffy?" they said together. They glared at each other, but kept their main attention on Buffy.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Riley said. "Is that why you've been avoiding me?"
"Buffy, exactly how far along are you?" Angel asked, amazed. Buffy seemed to break down and she started running toward the two. Riley held his arms out, but Buffy ran right past him and grabbed onto Angel. Angel was as shocked as Riley was as Riley gave him a death look. Angel's face returned to normal and he hesitantly patted her on the back. Buffy sobbed into his chest. "Umm, there, there."
"Angel, I needed to see you so much!" she sobbed, clutching him tightly. "I have all these horrible mood swings and I crave nasty foods, and I throw up every morning, and… and I have these dreams and I'm so confused! I don't know what's wrong with me!"
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Riley asked, temporarily putting aside his anger at Angel.
"She's pregnant," Angel mouthed above Buffy's head. Riley's eyes grew wide and he stalked off without a word.
"Riley?" Buffy sniffed, immediately detecting his absence. Angel looked down at her and pet her head in an effort to calm her. She looked up into his eyes. "Angel, what's wrong with me?"
"Nothing, Buffy, nothing," Angel told her. She buried her face in his chest and Angel thought back to that night when Buffy found out that what had happened was going to be erased. She had clung to him and cried that night also. Angel thought vicious thoughts at the Powers That Be. It could only be some oversight that they had made that could lead to this. He looked down at Buffy again. "Everything's going to be alright, Buffy."
* * *
Giles answered his door after he looked to check who it was. It was his doctor friend who had worked for the Council awhile back. Giles held his hand out to the woman.
"Greeting, Alicia. It's been a while."
"Yes, Rupert, it has," the woman said warmly, taking the extended hand. She pulled him into a hug and Xander muffled laughter from behind them. "Well, who would you friends be?" Alicia asked when they disengaged.
"Oh, um. This is Willow and Tara, our resident witches. This is Anya, an ex-vengeance demon. Angel, whom you already know. Buffy, the Slayer and patient. And this is Xander, our… umm…" Giles introduced, stumbling for a word to describe Xander. Alicia looked around at the group. Willow had her arm around Tara, Anya was kissing Xander, and Buffy was clinging to Angel. Xander looked up, pushing Anya away slightly.
"I'm our sleuth!" Xander proclaimed, his chest puffed up. "I figure everything out!"
"No you're not!" Anya said. "You're my toy!" As Xander blushed furiously, Anya began to kiss him again.
"How very... interesting," Alicia said, grinning.
* * *
Outside, Spike watched the group through a window. He knew something had been going on with Buffy for a while. It was hard to miss the fact that she had definitely gained weight over the past week or so. It was also obvious that Buffy wasn't fighting as well as before. She hadn't detected him trailing her since that morning when she'd almost staked him. And even then, her reflexes had been down. Spike would admit it to no one else, but he was worried about her.
Chapter 2
Buffy woke up a couple mornings later at almost 4:30 A.M. to the end of the Angel dream. It had become familiar over the past couple days. Suddenly Buffy's stomach twisted and she felt very sick. Holding her stomach and almost keeling over, Buffy rushed from bed straight to the bathroom and began to vomit into the toilet. When she was done, she laid back down in bed, wondering what had brought on vomiting. Had she eaten something the other day? She didn't know. Looking at Willow's bed, she was relieved to find that she hadn't woken up her roommate.
Buffy tried to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come to her. She tossed and turned, looking at the clock every five minutes. Eventually she got out of bed once more and headed to her closet. She got out her favorite pair of jeans and a deep red velvet v-neck blouse. Also pulling a stake from her bag on the floor, Buffy quietly crept out of the room. Patrolling always kept her mind occupied and busy.
As Buffy walked around campus, she kept her eye out for any hint of movement. She was rewarded for her vigilance outside of the library. There, a sudden flurry of movement signified the jump of a vampire, who looked rather hungry. The vampire's blond hair looked familiar, but she didn't hesitate to pull her stake and aim it at the vampire's heart. A familiar whimpering with a British accent stopped the forthcoming plunge.
"Please, don't dust me!" said the voice. Buffy recognized it easily and backed off of him, sighing.
"It had to be you!" she accused. Spike stumbled back and looked at her in relief. "Why couldn't you have been a vamp I could've just dusted and gotten it over with! At least the fact that it's you explains the ease of catching you."
"Oh, please don't rub it in, Slayer. I'd like to bite you very much, but the bloody Initiative fixed me. And now, because of you, I can't get any donations from my fellow vampires or demons!"
"Because of me? Ha! I hope you starve to death! It would be a fitting death for you," she countered. Spike grimaced as his face went back to normal.
"Why, Buffy. I'm afraid you've been eating too much. You look bigger than normal. Perhaps you could donate some blood to me?" he pleaded, looking pitiful. Buffy snarled.
"Take your pity camp somewhere else. Insulting a girl is not the way to get stuff." With that, Buffy stalked off.
* * *
Willow woke up a bit early that morning, feeling a bit uneasy. Looking around the room, she noticed that her roommate's bed was empty. Not made, just empty. Willow, instantly awake, sat straight up in bed. All the lights were out, so she wasn't in the room. Worried about her friend's recent strange behavior, she scrambled to get on a pair of bellbottoms and a multicolored long-sleeved shirt and headed toward the door. Opening the door, she ran straight into Buffy, on her way back in.
"Oh! Willow! You're up! Hi," Buffy greeted brightly.
"Yeah I'm up. W-where were you?" Willow asked. Buffy held up her stake. Willow understood. "But, so early in the morning?"
"I couldn't sleep," she explained. Indeed, there were circles under her eyes, though she didn't look very tired. Despite her cheeriness, Willow could see something in Buffy's eyes that betrayed her.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Buffy shook her head.
"Nothing? Why do you ask?" she responded. This time, Willow could hear the hollowness of her cheery tone. But she could sense that Buffy wanted to hide the fact that she wasn't okay, so she decided to ignore it.
"No reason. I'm just making sure. Well, I have studying to do. See ya, Buff." With that, Willow walked out and headed to Giles' place. On the way there, Willow realized that Buffy seemed to be getting bigger. This wasn't the first time that Buffy had gotten up early in the morning and disappeared either. Buffy didn't realize that she usually woke Willow up when she sneaked out and then back in. Buffy also seemed to be making frequent trips to the bathroom each morning.
As Willow walked up to Giles's door, a thought hit her. Buffy had all the symptoms of being pregnant! Giles opened the door to see Willow standing there with a shocked look on her face.
"Is something wrong, Willow?" Giles asked. Willow walked numbly past Giles and sat down on his couch. "Willow?"
"I think Buffy's pregnant!"
"What?" Giles asked, giving her a look. "What are you talking about?"
"Giles," Willow started, looking at him. "Buffy's been getting bigger, she's sneaking out at nights, and she throwing up every morning since she had that dream!" Then Willow's eyes grew big as saucers. "What if she and Angel..."
"Impossible," Giles cut her off. He began to walk around the room. "If she and Angel had… well, we would have Angelus to deal with."
"Not if he was human for a time!" Willow exclaimed, remembering what the dream had been explained as. Giles shook his head at her.
"We must get in touch with Angel," Giles said. He scratched his head and frowned, trying to figure out a way to do that.
"Hey!" Willow exclaimed, interrupting Giles' reverie. "Buffy snagged one of Angel's business cards when she was in LA! I know how to find him! I'll be back!" With that, Willow ran out the door, leaving Giles in confusion.
* * *
Willow searched frantically through Buffy's stuff, looking for the card from LA. Buffy had shown her the card after she got back, but Willow didn't know where Buffy had put it. Luckily, Buffy had left the dorm room by the time Willow got back, so she was safe in that respect. As Willow finished searching everything that was in the main room, she sighed and headed for the closet. The closet was where Buffy kept her demon hunting weapons and such. Willow knelt and opened the bag they were kept in and began to search around. She finally found the card at the very bottom in a small pocket in the bag. She retrieved it and stuck it in her pocket. As she zipped the bag shut, a voice startled her.
"What are you doing, Willow?" Buffy asked. Willow nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around, thankful that Buffy hadn't come in a couple seconds earlier.
"Umm, looking for a sweater!" Willow said, grabbing one from the rack.
"Will, that's my sweater," Buffy said. Willow shrugged.
"Can I borrow it?" she asked weakly. Buffy sighed.
"Go ahead. I'm not gonna wear it today." Buffy grabbed a book and walked out. It seemed to Willow that Buffy looked even bigger than she had in the morning. Willow shrugged again, put the sweater down, then ran to Giles'.
* * *
Willow handed the card to Giles as soon as he opened the door and breathed heavily. Without asking any questions, Giles sat down near his phone and dialed the number, hoping that it would work.
* * *
Cordelia heard the phone ring in Angel's office. Unfortunately Angel was downstairs. Cordelia rushed and sat and spun in his seat, then grabbed the phone.
"Hello, Angel Inc! Helping those who need help!" Cordelia said in a rush.
"Cordelia?" a British voice questioned.
"Giles?" Cordelia returned.
"I expected Angel," Giles stated.
"Well excuse me!" Cordelia said huffily. "Watch and see if I ever answer the phone for you again!"
"I'm sorry, Cordelia. May I talk to Angel?" Giles asked.
"Just a sec, he's downstairs." Cordelia put the phone on the desk then went to the top of the stairs. "Angel! Giles wants to talk to you!" she yelled. A minute later, Angel came running up the stairs.
"Who?" Angel asked.
"Giles. As in Buffy's watcher."
"Why's Giles on the phone?"
"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?" Cordelia said impatiently, then shoved the phone at Angel. Cordelia made her way out of his office as Angel sat down and put the phone to his ear.
"Giles?" Angel asked, making sure he was still there.
"Angel, there's some information I must ask of you," Giles said, his voice urgent. "It's about Buffy."
"Is something wrong with Buffy?" Angel asked, immediately worried.
"We're not quite sure. Buffy may have a... 'physical' condition. Do you remember when Buffy came to confront you in Los Angeles after Thanksgiving?"
"Yes." 'Oh God, yes. How could I forget?' Angel thought to himself. That time was... painful to remember. Angel was the only one who still knew what had occurred during that time, or rather what had not occurred. "Why, what about it?"
"Angel, Buffy has been having some rather odd dreams lately. In them, you were human and you made love without calling forth Angelus. That is what we believe is most important."
"What!" Angel yelled, springing out of his chair. Outside of his office, Cordelia and Wesley both gave him odd looks, but he ignored them. If Giles was telling the truth then something had gone seriously wrong.
"Is something wrong, Angel?" Giles asked. Angel forced himself to sit down and to calm down. There was no way that Buffy could be having dreams about that.
"Umm, no. I'm sorry Giles. Go on."
"Of course," Giles responded, his tone revealing that he wasn't convinced. "Anyways, we have reason to believe that Buffy may be… pregnant."
"Buffy's pregnant!" Angel was once more out of his seat. Cordelia and Wesley, who had apparently been eavesdropping, yelled in surprise over the phone.
"Oh my gawd!" Cordelia's voice came over the phone and Angel's acute hearing.
"By who?" Wesley asked, shocked.
"Oh no…" Giles moaned.
"Get off the phone!" Angel barked at. Cordelia whimpered and gave Angel puppy dog eyes from outside his office window. Angel pulled the cord and the blinds went down. A moment later, he heard Cordelia click off the line. "Wesley," he stated impatiently. Wesley clicked off a second later. "Giles, I'm coming down there," Angel told him flatly.
"Angel, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Giles answered hesitantly.
"I'll see you soon." With that, Angel hung up. He walked out of his office and past Cordelia and Wesley. "Stay and mind the store. I have something to take care of back in Sunnydale."
* * *
Willow looked expectantly at Giles and he grimaced. Giles shook his head and hung up the phone.
"What?" Willow asked. "Did Angel say anything?"
"Unfortunately, yes. He's coming to Sunnydale."
"Uh oh! Not good! Especially with how upset Riley is with Buffy for avoiding him! If Angel shows up..."
"Yes, yes, I know." Giles rubbed his forehead. "I feel a headache coming on."
"Hi Willow, hi Giles!"
"Umm, hello Buffy," Giles said hesitantly.
"What's with grim reaper face?" Buffy asked, taking a bite of ice cream out of the small pint she held in her hand.
"Nothing Buffy. What brings you here?"
"What, aren't I allowed to come visit you?" Buffy suddenly pouted. 'Uh oh! Mood swings!' Willow thought. She and Giles exchanged glances. "What?" Buffy asked, confused.
"Buffy, have you been getting any... odd craving lately?" Willow asked.
"What do you mean?" Buffy was paying more attention to her ice cream than she was to Willow and Giles. Giles sighed and took his glasses off.
"Buffy, would you like some pickles?" Giles asked.
"Yes!" Buffy exclaimed, startling Willow. Giles shrugged at Willow, then got up to get some pickles for Buffy. He returned a minute later and handed a whole jar to her. Buffy began to inhale them and Willow sighed in frustration.
"Buffy, have you been to the doctor lately?" Giles asked.
"No, why?" Buffy looked up momentarily.
"Then I'll make an appointment for you. A friend of mine from England is in town and he can see you."
"What?" Buffy had set down the pickles and was looking at Giles in confusion.
"Buffy-" Willow began.
"Willow, no. We have to be sure before we tell her."
"Tell me what?"
"Nothing Buffy," Giles said. Buffy eyes flared.
"Tell. Me. What." Buffy stated furiously. Willow recognized the look.
"Run!"
* * *
Riley was wandering around school campus several days later, pondering Buffy's recent strange behavior. She seemed to be avoiding him, and none of her friends would tell him anything. He'd thought he'd become part of their inside circle after all he had done, but evidently not. After all the rumors that were flying, Riley felt desolate. It seemed that Buffy was involved with another guy. Suddenly, Riley bumped into another person. He looked up to apologize and his eyes flared.
"It's you!" Riley nearly shouted. "I should've known!"
"What?" Angel asked. Then he recognized Riley. "What'd I do?"
"'What'd you do!' You know what you did! You've stolen Buffy back! Once again, you just sweep into town and think you can take her!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Angel asked convincingly. Riley didn't buy it.
"You're the person who Buffy's been seeing!" Riley yelled, then charged at Angel. A cold voice stopped him in barely inches from Angel's suddenly changed face.
"Riley! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Buffy shouted. Riley and Angel both looked towards the source and their jaws dropped.
"Buffy?" they said together. They glared at each other, but kept their main attention on Buffy.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Riley said. "Is that why you've been avoiding me?"
"Buffy, exactly how far along are you?" Angel asked, amazed. Buffy seemed to break down and she started running toward the two. Riley held his arms out, but Buffy ran right past him and grabbed onto Angel. Angel was as shocked as Riley was as Riley gave him a death look. Angel's face returned to normal and he hesitantly patted her on the back. Buffy sobbed into his chest. "Umm, there, there."
"Angel, I needed to see you so much!" she sobbed, clutching him tightly. "I have all these horrible mood swings and I crave nasty foods, and I throw up every morning, and… and I have these dreams and I'm so confused! I don't know what's wrong with me!"
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Riley asked, temporarily putting aside his anger at Angel.
"She's pregnant," Angel mouthed above Buffy's head. Riley's eyes grew wide and he stalked off without a word.
"Riley?" Buffy sniffed, immediately detecting his absence. Angel looked down at her and pet her head in an effort to calm her. She looked up into his eyes. "Angel, what's wrong with me?"
"Nothing, Buffy, nothing," Angel told her. She buried her face in his chest and Angel thought back to that night when Buffy found out that what had happened was going to be erased. She had clung to him and cried that night also. Angel thought vicious thoughts at the Powers That Be. It could only be some oversight that they had made that could lead to this. He looked down at Buffy again. "Everything's going to be alright, Buffy."
* * *
Giles answered his door after he looked to check who it was. It was his doctor friend who had worked for the Council awhile back. Giles held his hand out to the woman.
"Greeting, Alicia. It's been a while."
"Yes, Rupert, it has," the woman said warmly, taking the extended hand. She pulled him into a hug and Xander muffled laughter from behind them. "Well, who would you friends be?" Alicia asked when they disengaged.
"Oh, um. This is Willow and Tara, our resident witches. This is Anya, an ex-vengeance demon. Angel, whom you already know. Buffy, the Slayer and patient. And this is Xander, our… umm…" Giles introduced, stumbling for a word to describe Xander. Alicia looked around at the group. Willow had her arm around Tara, Anya was kissing Xander, and Buffy was clinging to Angel. Xander looked up, pushing Anya away slightly.
"I'm our sleuth!" Xander proclaimed, his chest puffed up. "I figure everything out!"
"No you're not!" Anya said. "You're my toy!" As Xander blushed furiously, Anya began to kiss him again.
"How very... interesting," Alicia said, grinning.
* * *
Outside, Spike watched the group through a window. He knew something had been going on with Buffy for a while. It was hard to miss the fact that she had definitely gained weight over the past week or so. It was also obvious that Buffy wasn't fighting as well as before. She hadn't detected him trailing her since that morning when she'd almost staked him. And even then, her reflexes had been down. Spike would admit it to no one else, but he was worried about her.