In the Family Way

by Laura1

A demon is targeting pregnant women and the team (with some unexpected help) must stop it before Buffy becomes the next victim. Ninth in my 'Evolution' Series.

Backstory ~ Previously in my crazy little universe: Tara cast a spell that bonded Angel and Buffy together, allowing him to be half-human, half-vampire. He and Buffy decided to have a baby and she is pregnant. Faith died and came back as a ghost, unbeknownst to any of the AI gang. Gunn tracked down the journal of Faith's first Watcher, which revealed she was actually from another dimension where she was supposed to save the world from being overrun by demons. And Wesley and Cordelia realised they had fallen for each other, even though she is married to somebody else.

Disclaimer ~ The characters mentioned herein belong to nasty, horrible people who abuse them hideously and generally subject them to pain, suffering and utterly miserable lives – if they're lucky. Thus, you can hardly blame me for borrowing them once in a while to give them a few happies, can you?

Anti-dedication ~ Joss – I hereby retract any nice things I said about you. Ever.

Notes ~ I feel absolutely awful about how long this has taken me to write, especially since I have no excuse, beyond general laziness. Please accept my most humble apologies.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

           

            "Buffy, for the hundredth time – you do not look remotely like a beached whale!"

Angel sighed tiredly, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to cope with another month of this. If he'd thought that Buffy in her normal state of health could be a little difficult to cope with sometimes, then Buffy pregnant was almost impossible. Her mood swings went off the scale – one minute she would be yelling at him for being insensitive, the next she would be in his arms crying about how much she loved him and how happy she was. And he didn't want to even think about some of the food cravings she had been having – it was bad enough that the guy at the deli was now giving him strange looks due to all the three a.m. shopping trips for pickled onions and chocolate sauce he'd been forced into doing recently. All in all it had been perhaps the longest eight months of Angel's eternal life and he was now counting the days (thirty-four) until Buffy's due date.

"Okay, maybe not a beached whale," she acceded. "But only because there's no beach. I look like a whale with legs, walking down the street. No! Worse, I look like a whale waddling down the street."

"You don't waddle," Angel replied tactfully. "You have a very…graceful walk."

"Yeah, for a person with a beach ball strapped to their stomach."

"Buffy!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She shot him a dazzling smile, her mood today apparently falling under the category of good. "No whales, no beach balls. I look beautiful, yadda, yadda, yadda."

He caught her wildly gesturing hand in his and brought it to his lips for a brief kiss. They stopped their journey down the street to stand in the middle of the sidewalk, oblivious to the world passing by around them. "You really do," he breathed quietly, gazing into her face. "There's no way you could possibly look anything else."

Buffy's eyes misted over with tears. "What did I do to deserve you?" She asked, wrapping her arms up around his neck.

"Hmm, saved the world about a dozen times?" Angel answered with a smile.

"Oh, yes, there was that. I forgot." She leaned upwards to meet Angel's lips in a soft, tender kiss. He responded at first, before pulling back to glance anxiously at their surroundings.

"People are looking," he remarked in a self-conscious whisper.

Buffy, however, was unfazed by this. "Then we better give them something worth seeing," she shrugged, pulling Angel's mouth back to hers and intensifying her kiss.

Buffy in his arms, Angel soon forgot about the nosy stares of the passers-by, and began to kiss her back hungrily, feeling the reassuring bulge of his baby in her womb pressing against him as he did so. Maybe, he thought to himself, Buffy being pregnant isn't so bad after all

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What time did you say Buffy and Angel got back from the doctor's?" Cordelia asked lazily, snuggling deeper back into Wesley's chest.

"About half past four, I believe," he replied equally distractedly.

"And what time is it now?"

"Um," Wesley fumbled for his glasses, reaching down to where he had discarded them on the floor. Then, once focus had been restored to the world, glanced over at the clock on the opposite wall. "Twenty-five to five," he eventually concluded.

Cordy yawned. "Okay, so we have another…" the drowsy haze in her head finally cleared, "minus five minutes! SHIT!"

"Cordelia, there really is no need for that kind of language," Wesley scolded her. "I'm sure we have plenty of time yet still to – "

He was interrupted by the sound of the building's front door slamming, followed by the distant babble of voices.

"To get all our clothes back on and complete that research we were supposed to be working on while Buffy and Angel were out playing happy families for the afternoon?" Cordelia asked, hurriedly climbing off the chaise longue in Angel's office where she and Wesley had spent the past couple of hours contentedly curled up together. Frantically she gathered up her clothes and started pulling them on over her head.

"Well, perhaps there is some cause for profanity," Wesley replied, quickly following her example.

Two minutes later when Angel walked into the room, they were both seated sedately at the desk pouring over several old and dusty tomes, Cordelia continuously running a spare hand through her hair in order to straighten out any telltale tangles in it. The vampire raised an eyebrow at the sight that befell him, a gesture not at all lost on Wesley then turned his attention back to his heavily pregnant wife. After helping her settle into a comfy leather chair in the corner of the room he bent over the shoulders of Wesley and Cordelia.

"Have you found out anything more about those demons Gunn and I were attacked by the other day?" He asked.

"Um, er, I'm afraid there seem to be fewer references than we had hoped," Wesley blustered. "We've had trouble tracking down the exact sub-species."

"Well, perhaps it might help if you consulted the right volume," Angel suggested teasingly. "I always thought the Book of Vyhal was about vampires not demons."

"Ah, yes, you're quite right, I seem to be much mistaken." Wesley closed the book, his cheeks coloured flaming red.

"And Cordelia," Angel snuck a glance at the text she was studying so intently. "I didn't know you could read Latin."

Not to be deterred by Angel's gentle mocking, Cordy looked him straight in the eye and smirked. "I thought it was about time I learnt." She snapped her own volume shut and ignoring Angel completely, turned to Buffy. "So, how did things go at the doctor's office?"

"Great," Buffy gushed. "They even let me keep the sonogram picture of the baby!" She reached into her overstuffed purse and pulled out the printout from the scanning machine the obstetrician had given her. "Look you can see his little arms and legs already," she passed the picture over to Cordelia who began to study it intently.

"So, you know you're having a boy do you?" Wesley asked, genuinely curious.

Angel shook his head. "No, it's just a feeling Buffy's got. Something or other to do with the time of day the baby was conceived."

"Ah, let me stop you right there," Wesley interrupted. "I don't think I really wish to hear any more details of the matter."

"I can't see any fangs," Cordelia called out loudly, handing the sonogram image back to Buffy. "So, I think you're okay."

"Thanks Cordy," Buffy replied tersely.

The other woman only shrugged. "Well, you wouldn't want it to come as a surprise would you? Have a little baby vampire try to bite the midwife."

Buffy and Angel exchanged horrified looks, whilst Wesley sighed in dismay at Cordelia's utter lack of tact. "Uh, perhaps we should get on with that research," he hinted, taking Cordy's arm and trying to steer her out of the office.

She waved him away. "Research is boring, I want to hear about baby stuff."

"I know," Angel jumped in. "Buffy, why don't you show Cordelia all the baby clothes you spent a fortune on this afternoon and Wesley and I will finish up that research."

Buffy initially shot him an annoyed look at the prospect of being left alone with Cordelia, but soon brightened as the brunette started to ooh and ahh over a cute miniature leather jacket bought so that 'the baby can match his daddy'.

Angel and Wesley left the two women to talk infant fashion in private and retreated into the main office. Wesley was just booting up the computer in preparation for doing an Internet search for the demons Angel was so concerned about (Cordelia having long since persuaded him to overcome the so called evils of information technology) when the vampire laid a hand on the ex-Watcher's arm and regarded him seriously.

"Wesley, will you promise me something?"

The other man looked momentarily confused then agreed wholeheartedly. "Certainly – anything you wish."

"Whatever else you may do in life, never have sex with Cordelia in my office again."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Gunn sat on the bedroom floor, pushing a toy car over to where Hope was playing. Happily she grabbed the car, picking it up and shaking it. This movement made the bells inside tinkle, her face lit up in a broad smile at the sound and she let out a stream of childish giggles. Gunn's heart swelled at the sound. He couldn't believe how big she'd grown or how fast the time had passed. It seemed only yesterday when Faith had been fighting for her life to give birth to this tiny miracle (a battle she eventually lost) and now Hope was approaching her first birthday.

            Cordelia had planned the party. There was going to be ice cream and cake and little party hats for all the guests. As well as the AI team, Gunn had invited several of children and their family members from the single-fathers' support group he had joined several months previously. It amazed him to think how much he had changed in such a short time. Two years ago he couldn't possibly have imagined his life would turn out like this. But then he supposed life was like that – it surprised you. Some of the surprises were good – like Hope – others were devastating – like Faith's death. However, all of them changed you in some way, until your whole personality was unrecognisable.

            Unable to accept Faith's death, he had been persuaded by his friends to see a grief counsellor. She had helped him come to terms with all the anger and pain he had help inside him from right back to his sister's death. Gradually, he had come to learn to put the past behind him, to move on and live his life in the present. He still missed Faith incredibly. Every morning he awoke with a searing pain in his chest as he remembered she was no longer with him. But he also appreciated the more positive aspects of his life, like the time he got to spend with Hope. He would sit over her crib for hours, telling her stories of her mother – demons she fought and lives she saved.

            The counsellor had suggested he join a support group and initially he had hated the idea. He didn't need to sit around in a circle with a load of depressed people and whine about his problems. But the group hadn't turned out to be anything like that. It was more just a way of meeting other people in a similar position to him. Trips out were organised for the children, like to the park or the zoo, and the fathers and their friends would come along for the social aspect of it. There were also adult-only outings too, like to sports games or drinks in a bar. And Gunn consequently made a whole lot of friends from many different walks of life, people who he had a deeper bond with because they all intimately understood the experience he had been through in losing Faith. Plus it was a great way for Hope to mix with other children and develop her social skills. He had to admit, however grudgingly, that joining the group was the best thing he had ever done.

            After a very tumultuous few months his life was about the most stable and in control it had ever been. He had a brand new apartment – it had proved too difficult to stay in the old one where he had found Faith's body – and he was gradually taking over care of his daughter once more. Buffy and Angel had been great with Hope and had made excellent substitute parents whilst he had still been in a mess about Faith, but now they were all set to have their own baby. It wouldn't be fair to have them look after Hope too, even though they had insisted it was no extra trouble, and besides Hope was Gunn's responsibility and his daughter and he wanted her back.

At the moment he was easing her, step-by-step, back into his life. He had started off just having her for the odd night, then over the weekends. Now, he would leave her at Buffy and Angel's only when he was out working on a case overnight, all other times Hope lived in his apartment. He was even part of the way through decorating her own room, though he had to admit Cordelia had helped him out with that, making sure that the décor was tasteful and conformed with all the latest fashions. And he was beginning to discover that being a single man looking after a baby made him a definite babe-magnet. Whenever he was out with Hope, women were always coming up to him, cooing over the baby and then asking him if he could get a sitter Friday night. He always turned them down, of course, he wasn't ready to be without someone else so soon after Faith, but it was still nice to be noticed.

Generally, his life was pretty fulfilling at the moment. He had his daughter, his friends, a job that he loved kicking demon ass and the only impediment to his happiness, he had learnt to accept. Hope flung away the car, the smile fading from her face and turning to a frown of concentration. She turned her huge brown eyes upon him and gurgled.

"Dooce!"

Gunn stared at his daughter incredulously, excitement beginning to build in the pit of his stomach. Was that just another lot of baby babble or was she actually trying to say something, to speak for the first time.

"Dooce!" Hope repeated and this time her arm was raised, pointing towards the cabinet where a cup half full of orange was situated.

Gunn quickly translated dooce to mean juice and let out a whoop of triumph. Words couldn't describe the exultation he felt at hearing Hope speak. Or maybe one word could – juice – Hope's first. He scooped her up in his arms and spun her around the room, a huge grin breaking out on his face as he did so.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 Faith watched Gunn and Hope together, tears streaming down her face. It was wonderful that she got the chance to see them like this, that she knew they were both okay and coping without her, but it was also horribly cruel. She could see them, she could hear their voices and their words, she could follow them and her other friends around wherever they went, but she could never be a part of their lives again. She couldn't talk to them or even reach out and touch and touch them. She was standing three feet away and they weren't even aware she was there.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could cope with this torture. Being a ghost had been fun at first. New fun superpowers, new places to go and people to meet. It was a novelty. But now nine months later, nothing seemed quite as different or exciting anymore and she was sick and tired of living – or not living, as the case may be – like this. She felt trapped, doomed to roam the earth forever, like some creature out of a bad horror movie. One thing she'd always accepted throughout her life as a Slayer was that one day she was going to die. And sometimes she even wished for it. She wanted that peaceful oblivion and respite from all her pain, anger and suffering. Then when her body had died at first she was grateful that her soul had been given a little extra time, that she hadn't just been abruptly snatched away from everything and everyone she held dear.

Now, though, she began to see the problem with the arrangement. It wasn't just a little extra time, it wasn't a delay in the inevitable. There was now no end in sight for her, no restful oblivion. Ghosts didn't die – they couldn't, they were already dead. She was stuck in this world for as long as it existed. She would have to watch all her friends and family grow old and die themselves. Then she would be truly alone in the world, for hundreds and hundreds of years in the future. She was beginning to understand exactly how Angel felt and why he despised eternal life so much.

Well, it wasn't going to happen to her. She was going to end up like some of the ghosts she met on the fringes of the spirit world, hundreds of years old and driven insane by too long spent up in the ether, away from things that are concrete and real, living in places that exist only in their own minds. She was going to do something about this, even if it meant having to give up watching Gunn and Hope like this. It would be hard, but she would be able to cope. Now at least she knew they were together and happy, that was all that mattered, anyway. And if she hung around any longer, she might have to see Gunn find himself somebody new, another woman to take Faith's place in his bed and as Hope's mother and she didn't think she could bear to witness that. On the other hand she didn't want to begrudge Gunn having it either. He deserved some love and contentment in his life after all, and he couldn't be expected to miss out on that juts because his ex-girlfriend was stuck watching over him. No, it was definitely best for all concerned, if she just moved on like she was supposed to. And she was going to make sure it happened.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A stunned silence stretched across the antenatal class, as the instructor switched off the TV screen. She snapped the overhead lights back on, and beamed broadly out at the gathered parents-to-be.

"Well, that was the miracle of birth," she referred, in a chirpy tone of voice, to the video they had just been watching. "Has anyone got any questions?"

"Yeah," Buffy muttered to Angel, who was sat on the floor next to her. "Is it too late to change my mind?"

He patted her bulging stomach. "I think you've pretty much passed the point of no return."

The class now over, Buffy struggled to climb to her feet once more, Angel's enhanced vampire strength coming in very useful as he pulled her up. "Why do they make us sit on the floor, anyway?" She grumbled. "This isn't kindergarten, you know."

"We're probably supposed to be regressing to our inner child," a nearby woman responded to Buffy's comment, mocking the new age tone of the class. "Next they'll be handing out milk and cookies and announcing naptime."

"Just as long as we don't have to play show and tell," Buffy joked.

The other woman laughed then held out her hand to introduce herself. "I'm Carol, by the way."

"Buffy, oh and this is my husband Angel," a smile played at the edge of Buffy's lips as she made the introduction, she still got a kick out of referring to Angel as her husband. It made her feel like finally after all they had been through over the years in order to be together, they had been successful. They were married now, even if it wasn't totally legally binding, it still meant a commitment existed between them that they both respected and honoured. They had said forever and this time they were actually living that forever, with no more obstacles in their way.

"Angel, that's an unusual name," Carol remarked, causing the happy couple to share a private grin. "What is it?" Carol asked suspiciously. "Did I say something funny? Offensive?"

Buffy smiled. "It's just that he's a pretty unusual guy, so the name kinda fits."

"He doesn't say much, either," Carol gently teased.

"I say plenty," Angel replied, raising an amused eyebrow. "I just can't always get a word in edgeways." He looked pointedly at Buffy who scowled at him good-naturedly.

"So, what did you think of the video?" Carol asked, changing the subject.

Buffy screwed up her nose in distaste. "I thought it was gruesome. And way too heavy on the close-ups. Urgh."

"I know," Carol laughed. "I was like 'zoom out, zoom out'!"

Angel slipped his arm around Buffy's waist. "Well, I thought it was beautiful. Childbirth is one of the most awe-inspiring events you could possibly witness."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spoken like a true man!"

"This is going to degenerate into one of those conversations about how all men are emotionally retarded and couldn't possibly understand your pain, isn't it?" Angel asked with a smile.

Buffy leant up to kiss him lightly on the cheek, before replying. "Probably." She turned back to Carol. "Hey, why don't you come back to ours for a drink, or something? Will 'Delia and Wesley still be there?" She enquired of Angel.

He sighed. "Do they ever leave?" Then he seconded Buffy's invitation to Carol, knowing how much good it could do his wife to become friends with someone in the same position as her. Buffy needed somebody to understand what she was going through, to be able to empathise with all the difficulties of pregnancy and becoming a mother and who better to do this than someone also expecting a baby at the same time.

"I'm not sure," Carol answered, checking her watch as she did so. "I'm actually supposed to be waiting for my ride home."

"Is your husband coming to pick you up?" Buffy asked. "Because he's welcome to come too. Then the guys can get together and talk about guy stuff. Whatever that may be."

Angel rested his chin on the top of Buffy's head. "Football?" He suggested.

She snorted. "Yeah, I can really see that discussion lasting a long time with you and Wesley involved."

"Hey, I can talk about sports," he protested.

"Name me one football team. In the whole country."

Angel looked stuck. "Uh…"

Before Buffy could berate him for his lack knowledge, however, Carol interrupted their banter. "Actually, I'm not married," she said self-consciously. "My cousin's meant to meet me here. She'll probably be late, though, she's always pretty busy at work. She's a private detective."

"Really?" Buffy interjected. "That's what Angel does too. I guess it's a pretty small world."

Angel nodded. "I might even have met her once or twice. What's her name?"

"Kate," Carol supplied. "Kate Lockley." She craned her neck, looking over Buffy and Angel's shoulders. "Actually, she's just walked in the door, right now."

Vampire and Slayer both spun around in astonishment at the familiar name, and sure enough there stood Kate, a matching expression of surprise on her face when she saw Buffy and Angel and especially when she registered Buffy's swollen stomach.

"Kate!" Angel was the first to speak. "I haven't seen you around in ages."

"Angel," she replied tersely, drawing him into an awkward hug.

"Hi," Buffy greeted Kate unenthusiastically. She replied in an equally dismissive manner – the two women had never really gotten along. The cause of discord was probably a combination of Buffy's maintained dislike of Kate from the first time the women met, when she threatened to kill Angel, and jealousy from the close friendship Angel and Kate finally developed.

"Obviously you do know Kate, after all," Carol picked up on the tension between the two women.

"Oh yeah," Buffy muttered in response. "We go way back."

She remembered back to the time of her original arrival in LA when she and Angel had just gotten back together and she was still unsure about their renewed relationship. Kate had shown up and nearly ruined everything before it could even be started. Buffy still couldn't help shuddering as she thought back to what happened and how she could so easily have missed out on all the subsequent happiness she had found with Angel. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

            Buffy stirred slightly in Angel's arms, awaking to the unfamiliar feeling of being tightly held by another. And yet it somehow managed to feel totally familiar too, because it was him, it was Angel, and she never forgot how his embrace felt because she knew she belonged there. Her face breaking out into a smile so wide she thought her cheeks would crack, she twisted around to plant a kiss on the end of Angel's nose. His eyes fluttered slowly open, filling with pleasant surprise as he saw Buffy and recalled the events of the previous evening.

            He had just discovered his soul was bound, and almost as if it had been predestined, Buffy walked into his office. In that single second when his eyes met with hers, all the old feelings of love and desire came flooding back and what followed was inevitable really. But now it all felt like a dream, and one that he never would have believed if it wasn't for the concrete evidence of Buffy, lying next to him in bed. It was amazing – there she was in his arms, as alive and beautiful as ever and best of all very, very, naked.

            He grinned broadly and slid his hands over her smooth velvet skin, lustful thoughts running briefly through his mind. Then deciding to lighten the moment, he began to tickle her. Buffy shrieked, kicking out with her arms and legs, her laughter like music to his ears. He manoeuvred his body on top of hers, pinning her down as he continued his assault. Then, as he glanced down to look at her face etched with so much happiness, their eyes met and suddenly the teasing was forgotten as they became drawn into each other's gaze.

            "Is this really happening?" Buffy asked in a whisper.

            Angel leant down to kiss her softly and tenderly on the lips. "Yeah," he returned in his own low voice. "I think it is."

            "Wow," Buffy smiled, the simple gesture suffusing a warm glow throughout his whole body.

            "I would like to second that," he rolled off her, snuggling up by her side instead.

            She rested her head against his broad, muscular chest. "So, what now?"

            Angel thought for a second. "Shower?" He suggested.

            Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Really? And would this be a solo or a group activity? Because I warn you – I like my showers long and very hot."

            He leant close to whisper in her ear. "I don't think either of those should be a problem."

            A good while later, Buffy was sitting on the edge of the bath wearing Angel's robe, whilst he dressed in black pants and a deep purple silk shirt.

            "You know as fun as this is," Buffy quipped. "I think I preferred the reverse process."

            Angel leant over to give her a quick peck on the cheek. "You and me both – but attractive as the idea of staying in bed with you all day might seem, I don't really think it's possible."

            She pouted. "And why not?"

            "Because, for a start you still have to call your father – whom you are meant to be staying with – and explain to him why you didn't come home last night."

            Buffy shrugged. "No big – he probably didn't even notice."

            "Well, I think he might eventually notice of you never go back there," Angel pointed out. "Besides, you're going to have to go pick up all your stuff and bring it over here – " he broke off, suddenly uncertain. "That is, of course, if you still want to move in here. You still want that, right?"

            She smiled softly, reaching out to touch his hand. "I still want it," she confirmed. "Pretty much more than ever."

            "Good," Angel hooked a finger under her chin, tipping her face up to meet his. Their lips met in a searing kiss. When Buffy began to run out of air she pulled away.

            "I'll just go and call my dad."

            "Right."

            Buffy headed out of the bathroom and towards the main living room, which she only vaguely remembered from the previous evening. A quick search of the place was all it took to locate the phone, a sleek, wall-mounted appliance, in Angel's favourite colour – black. She started to dial the number when the sound of footsteps on the stairs up to the apartment caught her attention. She turned around towards the sound, fully expecting it to be followed by a knock on the front door. Instead, however, a key was inserted into the lock and the door swung open, revealing to Buffy's complete surprise a hazily familiar blonde woman.

            The pair just stared at each other for a couple of beats, until Buffy managed to find her voice.

            "Okay, who are you and what the Hell are you doing here?"

            Kate glared back at her. "I could ask you the same question."

            "You have a key," Buffy stated, her hurt, anger and confusion beginning to register in her voice.

            Kate cocked an eyebrow at Buffy's state of undress. "And you have a bathrobe and not much else."

            Buffy self-consciously tightened the robe around herself, just as Angel – having overheard voices – entered the main room. "Kate!" He exclaimed, a little shocked. "You're early. I thought we weren't meeting until this afternoon."

            She shrugged, holding up a paper bag. "I brought lunch instead. Figured you wouldn't have any big daytime plans – guess I was wrong."

            Buffy whirled around upon Angel. "So, that's what the 'get rid of Buffy campaign' was about earlier, is it? You wanted me out of the way so you could meet up with your girlfriend here."

            "Buffy!" Angel almost laughed at the absurdity of the idea. "Don't be stupid – there's nothing like that going on between Kate and – "

            "Oh, so you think I'm being stupid now, do you?" Buffy interrupted him, aware of her irrationality, but not able to do anything to counter it. She had felt so close to Angel just a minute ago, and suddenly she felt as if she hardly knew him at all. "Well, I guess I was to ever think we could possibly have another chance together. We're over, Angel – and we have been for years."

            She stormed into the bedroom, tears stinging her eyes and proceeded to hurriedly get dressed. Angel followed her, attempting to catch hold of her arm, but she slapped him away. "Just leave me alone."

            "What about last night?" Angel protested. "It didn't seem very over between us then."

            Buffy shook her head, desperately trying not to cry. "That was a mistake."

            "You don't really believe that."

            "I don't know what to believe anymore."

            "Believe in us," Angel forced Buffy to look into his eyes. "Believe this was meant to be."

            She pulled away from him, turning to fasten her shoes. "Please don't do this, Angel. Just forget last night ever happened. Go back to living your own life with Kate and – oh my God," realisation suddenly hit her. "I remember where I've seen her before. She was that police officer who threatened to kill you over Faith. Wasn't she?"

            "Yes, but – "

            "She wanted you dead and now you're inviting her over for lunch dates?"

            "It wasn't a date – "

"I don't want to hear it Angel," Buffy overrode his denials. "I just want to leave." She strode past him out of the bedroom, trying to ignore Kate's victorious smirk as she left the apartment. Angel hurried after Buffy down the stairs, calling her name as he went – but she ignored it. Finally she reached the front door and opened it, standing in the pool of sunlight let in from the street.

"Wait, Buffy." Angel paused at the edge of the shadows. "I love you."

She finally lost her fight with the tears and let them stream down her face as she looked at him sadly. "That's the problem – you always did." Then she turned to go, walking swiftly away from the office block and refusing to let herself look back.

*~*~*

            Buffy sat staring at the wall of her father's apartment, running over and over the events of the previous night and morning in her head. How was it possible that Angel still had this power over her, that he could hurt her so deeply and so suddenly after five years of separation? Of course, she knew the answer to that – it was because she still loved him. She always had and she always would, there was no changing that. But, just because she loved him and he loved her, didn't mean they were right for each other. Love was definitely not the answer to everything. They had loved each other before and that hadn't stopped him losing his soul, or her having to send him to Hell, or him leaving her. What had changed now? Other than the possibility for them to have sex, that is.

            She sighed as she remembered the long night spent in Angel's arms. It had been so good – better even than she remembered from the first time (although that was only to be expected). Now she had a little more experience and a little less self-consciousness, everything had been truly blissful. And afterwards they had lain together in total comfort, their bodies still intimately entwined even as they drifted off into deep, peaceful sleep.

            But no, it wasn't to be. No matter how good it felt between them that was just an illusion, a shadow of the past. Angel was a completely different person now, one she didn't even know – and the appearance of that woman this morning only proved the point. The time in LA when he and she had quarrelled over Faith had never left her mind. She never forgot it; the experience was fairly tattooed into her heart. The way he had demanded for her to leave, the sting of his palm against her cheek. She remembered every detail with a crushing shame. She'd been such a bitch then to throw her new relationship into his face, just so she could see the hurt appear there and know she still had influence over him in that way. But to him, the event did not seem to have held a similar significance. She'd always thought that his apology afterwards had shown how much he cared, but maybe that wasn't the case, maybe it showed how much he didn't care – a casual admission of fault in order to smooth the way forward for future encounters. And now he was involved with that policewoman who, back then, had threatened to kill him. It just went to show how little the entire episode still mattered to him.

            A pounding on the front door jerked Buffy out of her thoughts. Startled, she turned her gaze towards the direction of the noise, wondering who it could be. For a second hope flared and she imagined it to be Angel come after her in order to try and put things right, but then she glanced out the window to the bright sunny day and realised exactly how implausible that hope was. Sighing deeply, she dragged herself off the couch and towards the door, opening it to reveal a very annoyed looking Kate Lockley.

            Buffy narrowed her eyes angrily. "What the Hell are you doing here?"

            Kate glared back. "Believe me – I don't want to be."

            "Then go then," Buffy retreated a few steps back in the hallway, preparing to slam the door on her rival. But before she could complete the action Kate stepped uninvited into the apartment.

            Damn, Buffy thought. Guess that means she's a not a vampire, so I can't stake her.

            "I just want to you know, I'm not doing this for you – I'm doing it because he asked me to," Kate said cryptically.

            "Doing what? Barging your way into my father's home? How did you know where to find me, anyway?"

            Kate shrugged. "I'm a private investigator – I did some investigating. Once Angel told me you were staying with your father you weren't exactly difficult to locate."

            "What's Angel got to do with this?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

            "He wanted me to come talk to you," Kate admitted. "To put a few things straight."

            "What things?"

            Kate's glare intensified even further if that were possible. "He's worried that you might be somewhat under the impression that he and I are a couple."

            "And I wonder where I got that idea from," Buffy interjected sardonically.

            "Anyway," Kate averted her gaze. "We're not. And that's all I came to say." She turned to leave.

            "Wait!" Buffy called after her, now even more confused than ever. "Why did you come just to tell me that?"

            "Because Angel wanted me to. For some reason he seems to want to hold on to you." Kate sighed. "Just because we're not together now, doesn't mean I don't want it to happen in the future. He's a great guy – despite, or maybe even because of, what he is. If I didn't do this now – as a friend – then I could have risked losing him altogether."

            Buffy stared in shock at the other woman's frank confession. Angel hadn't been lying to her after all. And he obviously cared about her enough to risk ruining a valuable friendship in order to keep hold of her. She still didn't like Kate, but now she felt a little sorry for her. Buffy of all people knew what it was like to want Angel and not be able to have him, to love him and know there wasn't a future between them. But now, now she wasn't so sure. Had she made a mistake in walking out that morning? Could she and Angel now finally be together? Maybe, just maybe…

            "Thanks for coming," she muttered in Kate's direction, her thoughts already distracted with plans of what to do next.

            "Well," Kate frowned. "Like I said – it wasn't for you. I've been his friend for close to five years now and if I have to hang on a little longer for you two to split up again then that's fine with me."

            Buffy pursed her lips. "Are you sure about that? Because eternity's a long time to wait."

*~*~*~*~*~*

            In the present day, staring into the same blue eyes that once vowed to Buffy they would have her man, she couldn't help feeling the same stirrings of jealousy and hostility. That afternoon Buffy had returned to Angel and apologised, they had sorted things out (both admitting they were scared and unsure about the future and the depth of their love for one another) and had never looked back since, In the early days, Angel had tried to keep up his friendship with Kate, but in the end the task had proved too difficult and the pair had drifted apart – the pain of rejection on Kate's side and the guilt over causing that pain on Angel's side both forcing the separation.

            An awkward silence stretched between the group, which Kate finally broke. "You ready to go Carol?"

            The pregnant woman nodded. "Nice meeting you Buffy, Angel. I'll see you next week, I guess."

            The couple smiled weakly in acknowledgement. "It was good to see you Kate," Angel called after the ex-police officer's retreating form. But she simply walked off, ignoring him completely.

            Arriving back at the offices in a somewhat subdued mood, Buffy and Angel were surprised to find Cordelia and Wesley waiting anxiously just inside the door for them. Wesley pacing up and down, Cordelia reclined on a sofa, and ice pack held up to her head.

            "Vision?" Angel enquired upon registering Cordelia's sorry state. She nodded grimly.

            "Uh-huh, and not just a vision, but the mother of all visions – and I mean that literally."

            "Do you think you could throw a few specifics in with all that vague, Cordelia?" Buffy asked in slight annoyance.

            Before Cordelia would come up with a biting comeback, however, Wesley stepped in. "We tried to call you – but we couldn't get through."

            "Really?" Angel looked puzzled. "There shouldn't have been a problem – I had my cell with me." He reached inside his jacket pocket and withdrew the mobile phone. "Ah."

            "That's Angel speak," Buffy clarified to no one in particular, since they all knew the vampire well. "It means nothing good."

            "No wonder you couldn't get through," Angel said sheepishly. "I forgot to charge it this morning."

            "You forgot to charge your phone!" Buffy exploded at him. "You can't do that, Angel. I'm having a baby – it's only another four weeks until I'm due. I have to be able to reach you at all times!"

            "Since when are you two ever separated nowadays, anyway," Cordelia muttered under her breath, causing Buffy to flash her an angry stare.

            "Um, I think we're getting a little distracted here," Wesley stepped in to keep the peace. "I believe we were actually discussing Cordelia's vision."

            "What did you see?" Angel asked the former cheerleader.

            "This big ugly demon," she grimaced as she remembered. "It had big horns on top of its head and horrible green scales. Eww, and the worst case of demon dandruff I ever want to witness. It was doing these awful things," Cordelia turned pale at the thought. "It killed this pregnant woman and ripped out her foetus…and I don't even want to go into what happened next…"

            "It ate it?" Angel questioned.

            "Yuck!" Buffy complained, rubbing her bulging stomach protectively. "That's not the kind of imagery I'm really needing right now."

            "Sorry," Angel squeezed her hand lightly before returning to his explanation. "I think what you saw is a Polym'kk demon. They have to consume ten human foetuses before they can reproduce."

            "And then what happens when they breed?" Cordelia asked.

            "The female – well actually any demon really, since they're hermaphrodites – lays a clutch of eggs, from which up to a thousand offspring may be born – all wanting to reproduce themselves."

            "So, we have to kill this thing before it's baby-buffet all across the city."

            "Cordelia!" The other three made faces at her blatant lack of sensitivity.

             "But basically, I'm right, aren't I?" Cordy countered.

            Angel nodded. "I'll head on down to wherever this woman was murdered – just write down the address – and see if I can find out any more. Cordelia – get on the Internet and look up any recent deaths of pregnant women, particularly ones where the foetus went missing afterwards. Then call Gunn and tell him we need him. And Wesley, I want you researching exactly how to kill this thing."

            "What about me?" Buffy pouted.

            "Uh," Angel looked unsure. "You can help look after Hope when Gunn gets here."

            "Ooh, baby-sitting detail, so thrilling," she replied sarcastically.

            Angel grabbed a piece of paper off Cordelia then turned to grin at Buffy. "Well, we can't all have the exciting, world-saving jobs."

            Buffy poked her tongue out at him, as he headed out of the door, trusty battle-axe in hand.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Angel double-checked the address he got from Cordelia with the street number. He was definitely in the right place – so where were the police or the paramedics he'd expected? There was no sign of any officials on the scene, making it clear the woman's body hadn't been discovered yet. Thus, it can't had been long since the murder, meaning the demon might still be hanging around somewhere. Angel sharpened his awareness of the surroundings, stretching his preternatural senses into the darkest corners of the street and as he drew closer to the house in question the strong scent of blood hit him, followed closely by the sound of a heartbeat.

            Realising that somebody was still alive in the house – perhaps the demon hadn't killed the woman as Cordelia had insisted, but instead only took her baby – Angel quickened his pace. Reaching the front door, he found it standing ajar, two of the hinges broken. His heart sank as he realised the barrier to his entrance had gone, meaning whoever lived in the house was indeed now dead. The heartbeat must have been coming from somebody else.

            Walking swiftly into the house, his battle-axe raised in a defensive posture, Angel soon caught a glimpse of blonde hair lying splayed out across the lounge carpet. Venturing further into the room, he saw the hair was attached to a female body, it's skin silver in the moonlight pouring in through the un-curtained windows, a stark contrast to the pool of black blood surrounding it. Angel's eyes roamed from the jagged gash up the woman's abdomen to her face as felt his stomach tighten in shock as he recognised her.

            It was the woman from the antenatal class, earlier this evening – Kate's cousin. Angel further scanned the room and soon found the source of the mysterious heartbeat. It was Kate, lying unconscious in the corner, a matted patch of blood and hair on the back of her head appearing to be her only injury.

            Angel rushed over to her, kneeling by her side and shaking her gently, calling her name as he did so. "Kate! C'mon Kate, wake up!"

            She gradually stirred, her eyes fluttering open under his intensely concerned gaze. "Angel?"

            "Look at me," Angel commanded, wanting to check her head wound wasn't serious. "What day is it?"

            Kate winced painfully as she tried to sit up. "Thursday, the eleventh of January."

            Angel nodded. "And who's the president of the United States?"

            Kate shot him a look. "Charlton Heston," she answered sarcastically. "Now will you let me up – I'm fine."

            Angel held her firmly in place, however, his large bulk blocking her view of her dead cousin. "What happened?"

            Kate searched her memory, coming up with vague images of some ugly green creature. Carol was screaming and then there was only pain and blackness. "We were attacked," she managed. "By a demon. It was coming after Carol and I tried to stop it, but it slammed me up against the wall and I passed out." She struggled out of Angel's grip and to her feet. "Oh, my God, Carol!"

            Kate stumbled over to her cousin's side, tears welling up in her eyes. "What did this to her?"

            "A Polym'kk demon," Angel answered. "Cordelia had a vision about it – she didn't see you, though."

            Kate shook her head. "I should have done more to help – I shouldn't have let her die like that."

            Angel laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "There was nothing you could have done."

            Kate turned to him, a determined glint in her eye. "There's something I can do now, though – make that thing pay for ever touching my cousin."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Faith stood determinedly with her hand on her hips. When she made up her mind to do something she got it done, no matter how impossible the task appeared. She's spent the past week contacting everybody she knew in the spirit world, trying to find out a way that she could Pass On – in other words, some escape route from life as a ghost to…whatever it was that came afterwards. She wasn't afraid – even if it were Hell she faced – nothing could be worse than eternal limbo, after all. But everyone she spoke to said it was impossible. It was the Powers That Be who decided which souls passed on and which didn't – the individuals involved had nothing to do with it.

            So, Faith had tried to find out how to get in contact with the Powers and persuade them of what she wanted, but everyone had said that impossible too – the PTB lived on another plane and did not communicate with Lower Beings such as herself. However, Faith knew better, she'd spoken to the Powers before, through the channels of the Oracles. Only then she had been summoned at their request, not the other way around. Thus arose the problem: how the Hell was she supposed to acquire an audience with the Oracles? Faith could only think of one possible solution.

            "Hey!" She yelled up towards the sky in the loudest voice she could manage. "Get your multi-coloured butts down here. I need to talk to you!" She stopped and waited, but there was no response. "Earth calling Oracles – c'mon, I know you can hear me. I hate to drag you out of those toga parties you love so much, but I'M IN SERIOUS NEED OF ASSISTANCE HERE!"

            A bolt of lightening flashed down from the sky and suddenly the two Oracles appeared before her appearing to be – in Faith's humble opinion – divinely pissed off.

            "Why do you call on us Lower Being?" The male asked condescendingly.

            "This is highly irregular," his sister added.

            "I want out," Faith demanded. "I'm sick of this spectral deal. Just let me die already."

            "Is this what you have summoned us to request?" The male Oracle exploded. "You wish to return your gift?"

            "My gift? This isn't a gift – it's a punishment! I get to see the world, but not live in it. I have to watch my daughter grow-up, knowing I can never be a part of her life." Faith's voice cracked. "Please, I don't want to carry on like this."

            "What you want is not our concern," the male told her dismissively. "It has been decided by the Higher Powers and so shall it be. We do not exist to pamper to the whims of ungrateful mortals."

            "But that's not fair," Faith protested. "I didn't ask for this."

            "Have patience Slayer," the female said in a softer voice. "For every circumstance there is a reason. Your purpose will become clear soon enough. For now, enjoy the world – it is more aware of you than you think."

            The Oracles both turned to leave, but Faith called after them. "Wait! I want to know what's going to happen to me. You can't just keep me here in limbo for eternity and not give a single damn reason why."

            "Visit your friends," the female urged her, before disappearing into nothingness. "They will help you uncover your destiny. And remember," her disembodied voice echoed through the air. "On this earth, nothing is eternal."

            Faith stood staring after them, feeling even more confused than before. And she used to think Angel was cryptic! The Oracles seemed to be masters of the obscure message. All that she'd really learnt from the encounter was that she was stuck as a ghost and nothing she did was going to change that. Then there was all that crap about her destiny again, something she'd pretty much disregarded during her first encounter with those glorified sales reps for the Powers That Be. In life – real flesh, blood and solid body life, that is – it had always been B who was subject to all the prophecies. She was the one crucial to the fate of the earth, not Faith. Faith was just an extra Slayer called by mistake, she was generally surplus to requirement and certainly not bestowed with some huge higher purpose. But now it seemed things were different, there had been a point to her miserable existence after all, and Faith was determined to find out what it was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "Buffy."

            "Kate," the younger woman tersely returned the greeting.

            "What's ex-Cop Lady doing here?" Gunn exclaimed in irritation. He had never been a big fan of the police – possibly owing to a few of his shadier dealings with them in the past – so Kate wasn't one of his favourite people. He could never quite breathe easily around her; always felt she was watching him for one small transgression of the law and that she was biased against him because he was a black street kid with a record. Somehow, no matter how far he moved away from that background, a part of it always stayed with him, both in his character and in the perceptions of others.

            Angel glanced uncomfortably at Buffy before speaking. They had barely known Carol, but he still realised the news would be difficult for Buffy to take, especially in her emotional state. "I met Kate at the crime scene – it was her cousin Carol who was murdered."

            Buffy's mouth dropped open and her eyes welled with tears. She reached out a hand towards Kate, actually once feeling some measure of goodwill and sympathy for the other woman. "I'm so sorry," she murmured. "It's such a tragedy."

            "Thanks," Kate nodded stiffly.

            "Kate saw the demon," Angel continued. "She was there during the attack."

            "Then how come it didn't kill her too?" Cordelia asked.

            "The Polym'kk demons kill for a purpose," Wesley responded to the question. "They aren't truly evil in nature."

            "You coulda fooled me," Gunn muttered.

            "I mean," Wesley continued curtly. "They aren't motivated by the enjoyment of mindless violence. They only ever attack humans when they wish to reproduce and if the individual isn't pregnant then they see no need to kill him or her." He turned to address Kate. "Once the demon was satisfied you were no longer a threat then it would have just left you alone."

            She nodded, confirming that this was what happened.

            "So, did you manage to track down any previous killings?" Angel asked, changing the subject.

            Cordelia pulled several printed sheets from a pile on the desk and handed them to Angel. "I checked out the police database for recently reported murders – Wes said they would have to have been within the past month – seven pregnant women have been killed in the LA area during the past thirty days. One in a hit and run. One shot by her abusive boyfriend – that was really sad. But the other five match our description perfectly – only our oh so competent – " she shot a look at Kate – "police department hasn't seemed to have spotted the link yet."

            "Give me the names of the chief investigating officers and I can call them and find out more for you," Kate offered, but Angel shook his head.

            "They'll be treating these as conventional murders, committed by a human perpetrator. None of their leads will be remotely helpful to us."

            "So, this latest death brings the demon's tally up to six victims, right?" Buffy summarised. "So, it only needs four more until all reproductive systems are a go, which doesn't give us much time to kill it."

            "Us?" Angel questioned disapprovingly.

            "Yeah," Buffy nodded. "There's no way you're leaving me out of this one. Somebody I know just got sliced open and their baby ripped out. Stop the vengeance train here, because I'm getting on it."

            "No way," her lover insisted. "I don't want you anywhere near this demon. Especially not in your condition."

            "My condition?" She shot back. "I'm pregnant, not dying of some horrible disease. And – newsflash – this is the twenty-first century, you know, women can have careers and babies."

            "Not when their career could possibly kill them and their child they can't," Angel raised his voice slightly, crossing his arms determinedly over his chest.

            "Angel's right," Wesley interjected. "It would be far too much of a risk for you Buffy, especially considering the nature of the case."

            "But," she started to protest further, but then gave up, scowling at the rest of the room.

            "Well, I'm not so worried about the when," Gunn commented, changing the subject. "More the 'where' and the 'how'."

            "That was concerning me a little too," Angel turned to Wesley. "Did you mange to find anything?"

            Wesley slid back on his reading glasses, flipping a several inch thick volume open in front of him. "There's no problem with the 'how' aspect. You should be able to kill the demon using the usual methods – beheading, dismemberment, that sort of thing. But as to where, I'm not sure. It'll need a nest to bring up its prospective young. So, somewhere underground, preferably dank and dark with a good water supply – most probably in the sewers or the sea caves somewhere. Beyond that, unfortunately, I can't help you."

            "So, hours of intensive research narrows our hunt down to 'somewhere underground'. Way to go Wes," Buffy said sarcastically.

            "Hey," Cordy admonished her. "He's trying his best. Just because you're all fat and pregnant and can't fight, doesn't mean you have to take it out on the other people here who can do their jobs."

            "Did you just call me fat?" Buffy screeched back.

            "Yeah, well, if the oversized maternity wear fits…"

            Buffy turned a bright shade of puce. "Well, at least I'm not cheating on my husband."

            The room fell deathly silent and the colour drained from both Cordelia and Wesley's faces. Guilty tears sprung to Cordelia's eyes and she hurriedly got up, running out if the room, whilst Wesley nervously began cleaning his glasses. "I-I'm sorry," Buffy called after the fleeing brunette.

            "Whoa," Gunn raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Who knew 'Delia was that kind of girl? I wonder who the lucky guy is."

            There was a clatter as Wesley knocked a container of pens and pencils to the floor, inadvertently attracting everyone's attention. "Whoa," Gunn repeated, chuckling softly to himself.

            "Perhaps you better go after her," Angel suggested to Wesley.

            "I, uh, well…um, that is to say…perhaps indeed," the Englishman stuttered then left to follow Cordy. 

            An awkward silence stretched across the room, until Kate – the only one who didn't care about the sudden revelations – spoke. "So, what are we going to do about finding this demon then?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "Cordelia?" Wesley called out tentatively.

            There was no response beyond a soft sobbing from the corner of the training room.

            "Are you quite all right?"

            "What do think?" Came the muffled reply.

            Wesley took this as his cue to approach and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

            "About what?" Cordy twisted around to look at him. "You haven't done anything wrong."

            Wesley shrugged and offered a slight smile. "Generally I find dealing with women, it's best to apologise first before attempting anything else, since whatever happened is bound to be the man's fault somewhere along the line."

            She managed to just about find the good humour to roll her eyes at him, then laid her head against his chest. "I feel awful."

            "I know," Wesley nodded sombrely.

            "I just don't know what to do – I love both of you."

            Wesley started in surprise. "You love me?"

            She turned around to look at him, a shy smile on her lips. "I guess I must."

            "I love you too," Wesley returned and their lips met in a soft, slow kiss. His hands drifted down to the small of her back and hers caressed his neck.

            Breathlessly, Cordelia pulled away, groaning loudly. "Noooo, we can't do this. Bad lips." She stood up and paced about the room. "This only gets harder, doesn't it?"

            Wesley nodded. "I'm afraid so."

            "I remember when Xander cheated on me with Willow," she recalled, eliciting a look of surprise from Wesley who was trying to repress visuals of first Willow and Xander together, then – more disturbingly – Xander and Cordelia. "It hurt so much to find out," she continued. "And getting impaled at the same time didn't help much either."

            "Sorry, I don't think I follow," Wesley said, since he had pretty much lost Cordelia's train of thought at the 'Xander cheated on me' junction. But nevertheless, he thought he understood her point. Infidelity caused huge amounts of pain, and even more so when one of the participants was married. And ultimately, what pain her husband felt Cordy would feel too, and what pain Cordy felt Wesley knew he loved her enough to suffer from as well. So, generally the whole situation was one huge mess with no easy way out.

            "I don't want to hurt John like that," Cordelia whispered.

            Wesley shook his head. "You don't have to – not if you don't want to."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "So, where d'you want me, then?" Gunn asked, casually tossing his axe from hand to hand.

            "In the alley across the road," Angel directed. "Wesley, you go with him. And Kate, I want you inside, following us."

            The three nodded in agreement, Wesley and Gunn immediately heading off to their ambush position. Angel checked his pockets for concealed weapons, making sure the two daggers and stake he had secreted there were still present and easily accessible. "You ready?" He asked Buffy.

            She nodded, flashing him a wide grin. "As I'll ever be. Told you there was room in this plan for me."

            Angel frowned. "I'm still not happy about this, you know. You are not, in any circumstances, to fight this thing, okay? Leave that to the rest of us."

            She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

            He grabbed her arm, staring into her eyes in order to prove his point. "I'm serious here, Buffy. I don't want anything to happen to you. I couldn't bear it."

            She nodded, swallowing to dry and dislodge the lump in her throat. "I'll be good, I promise," she said genuinely, reaching over to squeeze her husband's hand tightly.

            Angel smiled in relief, keeping hold of her hand as they walked into the building, Kate shadowing them close behind.

            After much discussion they had decided there was no way they could track down the demon's lair, there was just too many miles of sewer to ever possibly explored in time to save more women from being killed. Instead they turned their attentions to the creature's actions above ground. It must be targeting its victims from somewhere and it had to be moving at night under the cover of darkness. The obvious conclusion was that it was tracking vulnerable women home from antenatal classes like the one Angel, Buffy and Carol had attended several nights ago. An analysis of the routines of the previous victims had shown they all attended a class or a group of some sort for pregnant women. So, the decision was made to send Buffy and Angel to every possible class in the area of town the demon seemed to be targeting. This was their third that night, and Angel was getting a tingling on the surface of his skin that told him this was the one.

            After sitting through another three-quarters of an hour of visualising cervixes opening and practising breathing patterns (which Buffy now felt she was an old hand at), the couple snuck out the meeting early. They wanted to be the first to leave, so the demon would target them, not another innocent woman. This time Angel lagged behind, letting Kate accompany Buffy, since two women would be easier to attack than a woman and a man. He kept close by, however, and soon their efforts paid off, as he spotted a flash of green sprinting through the dark towards his wife.

            Although fully prepared for this eventuality it still filled him with utter terror as the demon got closer to Buffy and he saw, almost in slow motion, her turn to intercept it. With a loud battle cry and several long strides at a pace no human could replicate, he was suddenly at the demon's side, dragging it away from its target. As he reigned blows down onto its scaly back – all thoughts of the weapons he had brought gone from his head – he caught out of the corner of his eye, the reassuring sight of Kate dragging Buffy backwards out of the fray.

            The demon's claws ripped into his chest, causing him to stumble backwards. He tripped on the edge of the kerb, falling backwards heavily. The demon towered over him, clearly mad now, and brought its arm down for the killing blow. But Angel rolled out of the way just in time, springing to his feet just as Wesley and Gunn appeared on the scene. With three against one the outcome of the fight was now decided, Wesley quickly thrusting a sword through the creature's abdomen and Gunn finishing the job by slicing its head off in one fluid motion. The demon fell, dead, to the ground, yellow pus forming in a pool around its body.

            Angel rushed over to Buffy's side, mentally cursing himself for agreeing to the plan in the first place, something could so easily have gone wrong. "Are you all right?" He asked in concern.

            Buffy clutched her stomach and shook her head. "No, my waters just broke. I think…I think the baby's coming…"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Angel paced nervously back and forth across the hospital waiting room.

            "Why won't they let me see her?" He growled to no one in particular.

            "Because the doctor's in with her right now," Wesley informed him patiently. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

            "How can I help worrying?" Angel asked in reply. "She isn't due for another four weeks yet," he ran his hands through his already dishevelled hair. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have let her go out there. It was too dangerous."

            "Angel, you probably saved the lives of four women and their unborn children this evening," Wesley reassured him. "It was the only thing you could have done. And we don't even know whether it was that which sent Buffy in to labour. It could just have been time – many women deliver early, you know."

            Angel sat down with a loud sigh. "I know."

            "And look at it this way." Wes continued. "In several hours time you'll have a healthy wife and baby and you'll both have forgotten all this stress."

            Angel raised one eyebrow and smiled wryly. "Yeah, and we'll just have a whole new set of stress to bother us."

            The former watcher returned the smile. "Ah, such is life."

            A short companionable silence stretched between the two men, until Angel spoke, changing the subject. "Speaking of stressful things – how are you and Cordelia?"

            Wesley frowned. "Unfortunately, things are not progressing quite so well in that quarter. We decided it best to end whatever was, uh, formerly between us. A most sensible course of action all round I would say."

            Angel made no reply, causing Wesley to turn around in concern. "What? You don't agree?"

            The vampire shook his head. "No, I think it's very sensible and it'll save a lot of hurt in the long run. But things aren't generally quite that simple."

            "No," Wesley acknowledged, thinking of the how much it went against his own private feelings and wishes to break things off with Cordelia and how much he missed her now he had. "They certainly aren't."

            "Look," Angel faced his friend, hesitating a little before continuing. "I can't help feeling a little responsible for everything coming out in the open like this. If I hadn't voiced my suspicions to Buffy…"

            Wesley waved one hand in the air dismissively. "Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. It's perfectly natural you should want to share things with Buffy. The responsibility lies entirely with Cordelia and I. We shouldn't have embarked upon the affair in the first place."

            "Easy to say now, isn't it?" Angel smiled in understanding, remembering how much he fought against his better judgement to be with Buffy when she was in high school. He had known their relationship was bound to end in disaster and that they couldn't possibly have a meaningful future together, but still he hadn't been able to keep away. He had loved her and that had been enough to cancel out any rational objections he may have had. And in hindsight, maybe giving in to those feelings was the best thing he could have done. He wished Buffy hadn't been so hurt in the process, but without that short stolen time with one another then they never would have realised how right their relationship was and reunited later in life. On the other hand, he couldn't regret leaving her after Graduation either, because in the intervening years they both grew and changed a lot and he managed to get his curse lifted, so they could finally be together properly. There really was no right or wrong way to approach love, he concluded, you just had to go with your feelings at the time.

            "Mr Summers," the nurse called out, using the pseudonym Angel had somehow adopted in the rush of getting Buffy admitted to hospital. "You can come in and see your wife now."

            Angel shot to his feet, sparing one last glance back at Wesley before hurrying past the nurse into Buffy's private room. His brow creased in concern as he caught sight of her, red-faced and in obvious pain. He took her hand in his and smoothed away some of the hair stuck damply to her forehead.

            "Is it over yet?" Buffy asked him groggily.

            Angel shook his head. "No, love. You've got a little way left to go yet."

            "Oh," Buffy sank back into the pillows, utterly exhausted. "Because I'd quite like to stop now."

            "I know," Angel smiled softly. "But you just have to hold on for a bit longer, that's all."

            "Easy for you to say," she complained. "You're not the one having this – owwww," she broke off as another contraction started to ripple through her abdomen. Taking short rapid breaths, she squeezed Angel's hand tightly through the contraction, like they'd been taught in all those birthing classes they'd been forced to attend. Angel winced in his own pain, as Buffy's grip got stronger and stronger, eventually feeling one of the bones in his hand snap under the pressure.

            "Buffy," he prised his hand loose, shaking it in the air to encourage the tissue to knit together once more. "Do you think you could try not to squeeze quite so hard next time?"

            "Nuh-uh," she groaned, the muscles in her belly, finally calming down once more. "We share everything, remember? If I'm in pain then so are you."

            Angel sighed. It was going to be a long night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Gunn reluctantly left Hope in her crib in Buffy and Angel's apartment, then went to join the others downstairs, taking the baby monitor with him. He would much rather have stayed with his daughter than have to deal with hostile atmosphere between Cordelia and Kate. The two women had never got along and owing to their both having extremely strong, antagonistic personalities, they probably never would. But they were all stuck together waiting for news from the hospital. For some reason Kate was reluctant to leave after helping kill the demon and in the confusion nobody had asked her why, they just let her stay and wait.

            Gunn strode into the main office, collapsing lazily into a large armchair they kept there to seat distraught clients, and eyed the other two women suspiciously, waiting for the inevitable argument between them. Silence ticked by awkwardly for a few minutes, until Cordelia spoke up.

            "Did you get Hope to sleep okay?"

            Gunn nodded. "She went out like a light."

            More silence. His eyes flicked upwards to the clock – some antique Angel had picked up somewhere, all polished walnut and roman numerals instead of numbers – it was twenty to two in the morning, Buffy's fourth hour of labour. These things could take up to thirty-six hours, he'd heard, so clearly they were in for a very long wait.

            "Anyone want to get take out?" He asked. "Some Kung Pow chicken would really hit the spot right now – "

            "How did Buffy get pregnant, anyway?" Kate interrupted him with a sudden change of subject.

            Cordelia smirked. "If you don't know that then you're more in need of a date than we previously thought."

            Kate shot the brunette a withering glare. "I mean, I thought vampires couldn't have children. You know, because of the whole being dead thing."

            "They can't," Cordelia answered, clearly wanting to put an end to the subject.

            But Kate, predictably, didn't take the hint. "So, what, did they use a sperm bank or something?"

            "Hmph!" Cordy let out a sound of exasperation. "If you must know, Buffy was dying so Tara cast a spell that bonded her and Angel's essences together making him half-human. Hence, little wiggly live sperm, definitely not the frozen kind."

            Gunn shrugged. "I think you had to be there."

            The sound of happy gurgling emanating from the baby monitor interrupted their discussion. Hope was definitely laughing, but at what Gunn had no idea. He glanced between the two women in puzzlement. "I'd better go and check on her."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Faith watched Gunn put their baby to bed then creep quietly downstairs back to Cordelia and Angel's on/off ex-cop friend. There were positive aspects to being dead, she thought wryly, at least she would never have to deal with Kate ever again – it wasn't that she hated the woman (not completely, anyway) it's just that she had issues with attempting to socialise on an equal footing with the person who once arrested her for murder. A small part of her realised she probably hadn't given Kate the chance she deserved, since Angel seemed to respect her at least, and his judgement was generally infallible. But no matter how good Kate's investigative skills were it didn't mean Faith had to like her personally.

            She leant over the crib, smiling down at Hope, tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She hated the fact Hope had to grow up without a mother – it wasn't fair, and she would do anything to change it. Faith reached down a hand and trailed it against her daughter's peacefully sleeping face. Hope stirred in her sleep.

            "Hey, baby," Faith whispered. "I love ya – you know that, right?"

            The child's huge brown eyes fluttered open and fixed themselves directly on Faith. The former Slayer's eyebrows shot upwards, until she realised it was just plain chance. Hope didn't really see anything in front of her, Faith had just positioned herself in Hope's line of vision, that's all. Hope yawned sleepily and Faith moved a few steps back away from the crib. To her surprise, however, Hope followed her movements, turning her head around in Faith's direction and then pulling herself up into a sitting position on the bars of the crib.

            Faith ventured tentatively closer. "Hope? Can you see me? Do you hear me?"

            The baby's face broke into a smile and she replied with a string of nonsense syllables, picking up a teddy from the corner of her crib and waving it in Faith's direction.

            "Wow," Faith matched her daughter's smile with a huge grin of her own. "I'm your Mommy, Hope. Can you say Mommy?"

            Hope fixed her with an inquisitive stare, but said nothing, a beat later turning her face towards the door just in time to see Gunn walk into the room. Faith jumped guilty away from the cot, unsure as to why she was feeling self-conscious about trying to communicate with her own daughter, especially since Gunn couldn't see or hear her doing it. Maybe that was the problem, she realised. She felt like she was deceiving Gunn, but there really was nothing she could do about it. No matter what she said or did, she couldn't make him aware of her presence, but the same obviously didn't apply to Hope. Faith couldn't understand it but, for whatever reason Hope could see her, she was grateful. Now her child didn't have to grow up without a mother – Faith could always be there for her, with her, for the entire time she was growing up. Compared to what her life could have been if she hadn't died, it was hardly anything special, but to Faith the ghost, it meant everything. She finally had something worthwhile left in her life, she had a reason to want to stay exactly where and how she was.

            Gunn reached down in to Hope, a puzzled look on his face. "What was all that about?" He asked in a singsong voice. "You're very cheerful all of a sudden." He looked around the room suspiciously, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end – there was definitely someone or something here. "Do you see something that I don't?" He asked Hope in a quiet voice.

            The baby's eyes shifted back towards the direction of Faith and Hope's arm started rising in a pointing gesture. Gunn twisted his head to look in the same direction, Faith's heart jumping into her mouth as he stared directly at her. Gunn saw nothing in front of him, but couldn't ignore the tingling that had begun in the depths of his stomach and was no spreading throughout his whole body. He felt like he was close to a revelation, he was just about to see something amazing if he only looked a little harder…

            "GUNN!" A loud yell echoed from downstairs, making him jerk in shock and shattering the eerie, almost mystical atmosphere of the room.

When he looked back at the same spot, he felt nothing.

            "What is it Cordy?" He rushed quickly back down to the office.

            She greeted him enthusiastically, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "Wesley just called from the hospital – Buffy had the baby!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Angel sat on the edge of the hospital bed, gazing down at the tiny bundle cradled in Buffy's arms. His son. His son. He could hardly believe it. After 250 years of being a vampire there was no way he'd ever thought he would have children one day, but the impossible had happened and here he was pressed up close against his wife and baby son on what he thought was the best day of his life. Surely he didn't deserve such happiness after everything he'd done? But maybe it was fitting, that after all the lives he had taken he got to create a new one.

            Buffy smiled up at him. "How ya feeling, Daddy?"

            Angel grinned back. "I think incredible is a definite understatement. What about you? Are you okay now?"

            "Mmm, the doctors gave me drugs. I love the doctors," she replied dreamily. "Though, I have to wonder where they were when this little guy was trying to tear his way out of my uterus."

            He kissed her forehead gently. "I promise we'll get you an epidural next time."

            Buffy looked over at him in horror. "Next time? No way, is there going to be a next time, buddy."

            "That bad, huh?"

            She nodded. "Remember that time a demon impaled me on one of his big, spiky, claw-things?"

            Angel dipped his head in reply, paling a little at the memory of what was perhaps the most terrifying few seconds of his life. The demon had run Buffy through with his talon then shaken her body off him, tossing her into the corner, Angel had been convinced she was dead, until her eyes had fluttered open and met with his, incredible pain masking their brightness.

            "Well, this was worse," she continued. "But, having him makes it all worth it, y'know?"

            Angel covered one of her hands with his. "I know." They sat in silence for a few moments until Buffy spoke up.

            "So, we never discussed names."

            Angel raised one eyebrow sceptically. "Why? Did you have any ideas?"

            She grinned wickedly. "Well, I had been tossing around a few suggestions. How does Xander or Spike sound to you?"

            He scowled. "You better be joking woman."

            "We could always name him Rupert after Giles – or take Cordelia's advice and call him Keanu."

            Angel put his hands over his ears in mock protest. "Do you want to damage our child for life?"

            She pouted back. "I'm sure all these are better than any ancient Irish names you could come up with."

            "There's nothing wrong with being traditional," he countered.

            "Then in the interests of tradition," she said thoughtfully. "I think we should name him after his father."

            "You want to name the baby Angel too?" He asked. "Wouldn't that get a little confusing?"

            "No," she shook her head. "I think we should call him Liam, after your original name."

            Angel cast his mind back over two and a half centuries to the sounds of his father's voice raised in anger, the roar of 'Liam' stretching across the courtyard of their home in Galway.

            "Not a good idea," he said quietly. "Too many bad memories."

            Buffy reached up to touch his cheek softly. "Okay. I understand. We'll think of something different then. A new name for a brand new start."

            There was silence once more as both of them tried to come up with suitable suggestions. Buffy was the first to hit pay dirt, a smile curling up the corners of her lips as she thought of the perfect name.

            "Gabriel," she announced. "We'll call him Gabriel. That way he's an angel just like you."

            Angel considered it for a moment then acquiesced. "I can live with that."

            "Good," Buffy nodded. "Then it's decided." She leant over her newborn son and whispered softly. "Welcome to the world, Gabriel."

THE END

Thanks for reading, and once again a million apologies for taking so long with this!