Disclaimer:
see prologue
Buffy
walked into the bedroom in Giles' apartment that she shared with her two
children. She needed to pack but there
was something she had to do first. She
opened a drawer and reached to the very back.
She pulled out a small velvet bag and emptied the contents into her
hand. There was the silver cross Angel
had given her when they first met and the claddagh he had given her on her
seventeenth birthday.
Jenny
looked up from packing her backpack, "What are those, Mommy?"
"They are
things that are very important to Mommy.
Some one very special gave them to me." Buffy answered her daughter as
she put them on and then began packing her things.
"Who Mommy?"
"The man
who will be your new Daddy. We have
known each other for a long time, he was the first man I ever loved. He gave me
this cross the first time we met and the ring on my 17th
birthday. When I wear the ring with the
heart pointed in it means that I belong to someone. He has a ring just like it and wears his the same way." Or at
least she hoped he did. 'Who am I kidding, of course he wears his. Or at least if he wasn't he's doing the same
thing as me right now.' Buffy thought.
At the same
time in LA
"Excuse
me," Angel said suddenly, "there's something I have to do." He promptly turned
and walked quickly out the door, heading for the stairs.
"What theā¦"
Cordy started, then she realized what he was talking about, "the ring" she and
Willow said at the same time.
"What
ring?" asked Lizzie.
"His
claddagh," Cordy explained, "he hasn't worn it since he turned human and your
Mom didn't come. He thought she didn't
love him anymore, and since the ring means that you belong to someone, he took
it off. Now he knows that she still
loves him and that he belongs to her just as she belongs to him."
Just then
Angel re-entered the room. "Sorry I just had to get.."
"Your
ring." The other occupants of the room finished for him.
"How'd you
know?" Angel asked perplexed.
"Come on
Angel, we know you." Cordy answered, "You talk to Buffy and she says she's
coming to move in here. Of course the
first thing you are going to do is put the symbol of your love for each other
back on your finger. Enough talk about
this mushy stuff, we should eat."
"Actually,
I told Buffy the adults would wait for her before we eat. But you're right we should feed the kids."
"Dad, can I
wait for Mom too?" Lizzie asked. She
wanted to meet her mother plus she basically considered herself one of the
grown ups.
"Yes you
may, and Heather may too, if it's alright with Aunt Cordy." Angel responded,
sneaking a glance at Cordy to check if it was ok if Heather stayed up. She
nodded her agreement.
"Lizzie can
you and Heather set the table while I get the spaghetti ready? And then can you find the other kids and let
them know that supper is ready?"
"Sure Dad,
and I'm pretty sure the other kids are playing hide and seek on the third
floor." Lizzie said as she stood on her tiptoes to reach the plates. She and Heather set the table while Angel
strained the spaghetti and put it and the sauce into to serving dishes. When the girls were done with the table they
decided to be lazy and use the intercom to get the other kids. They went into Angel's office and turned on
the intercom.
"Attention
all hide and seekers. Anybody who wants
to eat supper better get down to the dining room, pronto. You have 5 minutes or we start with out
you." The girls turned off the intercom
and raced back to the dining room to see how fast the other kids would get
there. They stood in the door way looking at their watches until the last kid
ran by.
"Two
minutes twenty three seconds, not bad, but not a record from the third floor."
Heather said to no one in particular.
Angel, who
had heard the announcement and thus knew what was going on came in and said, "I
guess everyone is getting food tonight, but you could have been a bit quicker,
maybe we should shorten the time limit next time."
Lizzie knew
he was joking but the younger kids weren't sure, it was hard to tell when the
former vampire was joking and when he was being serious. They looked slightly scared that the next
time they may not make it in time and not be fed.
"He's just
joking." Lizzie assured them.
Angel
started walking around the table doling out the spaghetti.
"Aren't you
eating too?" asked Samantha, when she realized that none of the adults were
sitting down.
"No sweetie
not now." Angel answered, "There's been a slight change in plans, only you kids
are eating now. The grown ups and
Lizzie and Heather are waiting for a special guest to arrive later tonight."
Once Angel
said this most of them just nodded and dug in.
"Uncle
Liam, who's coming?" asked a curious Izabel.
"Lizzie's
mom is coming and staying for good. Now
hurry up and eat because after you eat and Lizzie opens her presents we have a
lot of work to do. We have to get ready
for when Buffy and her two kids get here."
"How old
are they?" Izabel had definitely inherited her mother's curiosity.
"Jenny is 5
and David is 3. Now eat." Angel said in a mock commanding voice. Izabel obeyed.