Disclaimer:
see prologue
A/N: sorry
it took so long my muse decided to take a vacation.
By this time all the guests had
arrived. Tara and Willow had been
introduced to the members of AI that didn't know them. Lizzie and Heather still hadn't come down
stairs, but they were pre teen girls they were probably gossiping about boys in
Lizzie's room.
Angel
walked into the room with a grin as wide as the Mississippi on his face. From that smile Willow knew how the
conversation had gone before he even spoke.
"She's
coming." He said, the smile never leaving his face. Willow and Tara hadn't filled the others in on what was going
on. They had only said that Angel was
taking an important phone call.
"Who? Who's coming?" Asked Cordy excitedly, she
had an idea who it was but she wanted to hear him say it out loud.
"Buffy."
Angel said simply, "She's coming back to me, for good. She's should be on her way soon. She just had to pack up her things and the
kids and yell at Giles and then she's going to leave."
"She has
kids?" Cordy asked, surprised, "Other than Lizzie, I mean."
"Yes, she
has kids," Angel answered calmly, "two of them, Jenny and David, they're 5 and
3. She's getting a divorce from her
husband and he gave her full custody of the kids."
"So, she
and her children are coming here to live?" Asked Wesley in his usual
inquisitive tone.
Just then
Lizzie and Heather walked into the room.
"Who's
coming here to live?" Asked Lizzie.
"Your Mom
and your half brother and half sister." Angel said gently.
"Mom's
coming to live here?!" Lizzie cried giving her father a bear hug, "alright!! That's the best birthday present ever." Then she noticed Willow and Tara. "Miss Rosenburg? What are you doing here?"
She was confused as to why her computer teacher was sitting in her rec
room.
"Willow's a
friend of your mother's." Angel explained.
"She's the one who told me that your mother was getting a divorce and
convinced me to call her. It's partly
thanks to her that your Mom is coming."
" You mean
Miss Rosenburg is the Willow from all the stories you told me?" If she had know
her teacher's first name she might have figured it out on her own but Willow
had introduced herself as Miss Rosenburg and left off her first name.
"Yes, she's
that Willow." Angel answered, "How many Willow Rosenburgs there are in the
world?"
"Stories?"
Willow interrupted.
"Ever since
I was a baby Dad's been telling me stories about his times back in Sunnydale
with Mom and the Scooby gang. I've
heard about how they met, their whole relationship, every demon they fought,
and all the little high school melodramas that went on. Just about everything that Dad knows I
know. I feel like I know Mom and all
the Scooby gang, at least I know them the way they were when Dad left
Sunnydale. And we haven't been
completely in the dark, Giles feeds us little bits of information now and then,
usually by accident, plus he supplies us with up to date pictures of Mom when
he can."
At the same
time in Sunnydale
Buffy hung
up the phone; she was still a little shocked over what she had just
learned. Her daughter brought her out
her trance. "Mommy, what's wrong?" Jenny asked looking up her mother.
"Nothing,
baby," Buffy answered as she knelt down so she was at her daughter's eye level.
"You and me and Davey are going to go on a trip. I have to talk to grandpa Giles but I'll be up in a while to pack
your suitcases. What I want you to do
is get your backpack and pack up the things you want to take in the car with
you and help Davey pack his. And both
of you change into your pj's; it's going to be past your bedtimes by the we get
there." Buffy wanted to get her kids
out of the way while she yelled at Giles.
"Ok,
Mommy. Where are we going?" Jenny asked
innocently.
"We're
going to go live with your sister and your new Daddy." Buffy answered, "I'll
explain more later, right now I want you to go pack your back pack."
"Ok." Jenny
agreed as she headed for the stairs.
"Giles, may
I speak to you in the kitchen please?" Buffy said in a voice that was calm but
dripping with anger.
"Yes,"
Giles responded hesitantly, following her into the kitchen. He didn't know why the former slayer was so
angry but he was quite worried that he was going to get his but kicked.
"That was
Angel on the phone." She began, "and do you know what he told me? That he's human and you knew about it! Not only that but he has been raising our
daughter for the past 11 years. I can
understand why you kept that from me for the first five years but why didn't
you tell me when he turned human?! I
can't believe you thought that I was truly happy with Chris. I was happy but never as happy as I was when
I was with Angel. You should have been
able to see that! I never stopped
loving Angel, why else would I name my kids after him and his sister? I thought you knew me. I guess I was wrong. Even if you did think I was happy with Chris
why didn't you tell me when we broke up, especially since you knew the reason
that we broke up was because I still love Angel? I can't believe you Giles, I never thought YOU would keep
something so important from me." As she finished she leaned against the
counter, crossed her arms and looked expectantly at her former watcher.
"Buffy, I… I ..I don't know what to say." Giles
stammered.
"Ok, I'll
assume you thought I was happy with Chris.
Why didn't you tell me about Angel when Chris and I broke up?"
"I don't
know. I guess I was thinking of the
children and how traumatic it would be to lose their father and have to move at
the same time. That's to many changes
for small children to adapt to in a short amount of time. I'm truly sorry Buffy, I see now that I was
wrong." Giles was trying to explain his
reasons but it was just coming out all wrong.
"Apology
accepted but I don't know how long it's going to take me to forgive you." Buffy
replied in a slightly softer tone. "As
you probably know it's her birthday today.
Angel invited me and the kids to go and stay with him. I decided to take him up on that offer, I
think Karrie can handle the slaying by herself by now." Karrie was the new
slayer that had taken over when Buffy had retired.
"I understand
that it will take some time for you to forgive me. What are you going to tell the children when they ask where they
are going?"
"Jenny
already asked and I told her the truth, that we are going to stay with their
new Daddy."
"What about
Chris?"
"Chris
hasn't even bothered to say hello to his children since I served him the
divorce papers. Anyways, he gave up his
right to complain when he gave up his parental rights."
"If you
don't mind me asking how did Angel find out that you and Chris were separated?"
"Turns out
Willow is Lizzie's computer teacher.
Lizzie came home raving about her new teacher and Angel figured out that
it was Willow and phoned the school."
"Oh, I
see. Would you, uh, like to see a
picture of her? Your daughter." Giles
wanted to smooth things over as soon as possible between him and the former
slayer. She was like a daughter to him
and he hated fighting with her.
"Yes, I
would." Buffy said simply.
Giles
walked into his study and retrieved a small photo album from the shelf.
"Here." He
said handing her the album, "the, uh, more recent pictures are at the, uh,
back."
Buffy
flipped to the back of the book and encountered a picture of Angel and a girl
who looked to be about 10. The girl had
the same dark, soulful eyes as Angel and the same raven hair and his brilliant
smile but the rest of her was an exact replica of Buffy.
"She's so
beautiful." Buffy said quietly. "I should go and pack. I told Angel we'd be there as soon as we
could and they're holding supper for me." She turned and headed up the stairs.