May 25, 2003
"UGH." Buffy groaned as she leaned back against Dawn for support. Dawn sat holding Buffy's hand and rubbing her back, as she had almost every day since Buffy discovered she was pregnant. It was close to the end of May and had been almost a month since Buffy found out she was pregnant. When Buffy went to the doctor, she was told she was a month pregnant, just as she suspected, and that everything checked out just fine. The doctor told her the baby was due near the end of December. Buffy hoped and prayed her morning sickness would go away soon so she could start to enjoy her pregnancy. Buffy leaned forward from where she had been leaning against Dawn and began to throw up again. Dawn held her hand, rubbed her back, and did her best to comfort her sister with her words.
"Shhhh Buffy, it'll be okay, you're going to be done with all this morning sickness soon and then you're going to be feeling like your old self again." She said as she rubbed her sisters back in a circular motion. The bouts of morning sickness often reduced Buffy to tears and Dawn hated to see her strong sister cry. Once Buffy had stopped gagging, Dawn ran a cool cloth over her sister's face. Buffy did her best to smile, she had to admit Dawn had really stepped in and did everything she could to help her.
"Where's Will?" She asked weakly, her voice sounding hoarse.
"She went to go get some Sprite, she'll be back soon, Xander's at work."
Buffy smiled and linked her finger's through her sister's "Just you and me then huh?"
Dawn nodded. "And the little one you got in there." she said rubbing Buffy's still flat stomach affectionately, it was obvious Dawn already had a strong love for her niece or nephew.
"This little one doesn't want mommy to get any food at all."
Dawn smiled a little " Maybe she just doesn't like what you're eating."
"She??"
Dawn smiled again, "Just a feeling, I mean, this IS your child, we've come from a long line of real strong women."
Buffy nodded and smiled " We sure have ."
Dawn looked at her sister " You feeling a little better? Wanna go back to bed?"
"Yeah, for a minute there I thought I was gonna turn inside out, but I'm okay now, thanks for sitting with me Dawn. I know how much you hate barf."
Dawn smiled and supported her sister as she stood. "No problem, I'm used to it by now."
Willow quietly walked inside the house to find Dawn sitting on the couch reading a book.
"Is she sleeping?" Willow whispered.
"Yeah."
"How is she??"
"She was pretty sick this morning, she's been okay for the past few hours."
"Would it be a bad time to bring in this?" Willow asked reaching outside the door and grabbing the hand of a man. Dawn nearly screeched before Willow threw her hand up to cover her mouth.
"Shhhhh Dawn, Shhhhhhh don't..."
"But.. But..." Dawn stammered. "That's Angel... and.. It's light outside... And he's not on fire.."
"I know Dawn, I know."
"Dawn, I'm not a vampire anymore, I'm human, beating heart, warm skin, Willow told me what happened, came to get me." Angel took Dawn's hand and placed it on his chest. Sure enough she could feel his heart beating.
Dawn smiled but then groaned, "Buffy is so gonna kill you Will."
"No she won't, her whole, I don't need Angel thing is just an act, she wants to be strong, but you've seen her. She gets weak in the knees at the mention of his name. All she's wanted for the past month is to wake up and see Angel next to her. " The knowledge that Buffy thought of him this way made Angel blush.
Dawn sighed and gave in, "She's sleeping in her room, go on up, but I swear if you upset her and she starts to throw up again you're on vomit patrol!"
Angel hugged Dawn, " Thank you... you know, I've missed you."
Dawn smiled, she had to admit she'd always had a soft spot for the tall dark and handsome vampire her sister had fallen for. Besides, she found their tragic love story quite romantic.
Angel paused a moment before walking into Buffy's bedroom. The lights were dim and she lay still on the bed. Angel slowly approached the bed and sat down next to where Buffy rested. She began to stir.
" Hmmm... what?? Who is it? Dawn?"
" Shhhhh, Buffy, it's me gorgeous."
Buffy startled for a minute, but her eyes remained closed, " Mr. Xander Harris, you never call me gor...." She paused for a moment as the sound of the male's voice struck up a familiar warm feeling all throughout her body.
"Angel?" She asked, a small smile coming to her face as she slowly opened her eyes, fearing if she opened them too quickly he would only be a dream.
"I'm right here Buffy." He said taking her hand and kissing it. "I'm here to take care of you."
Buffy sat up slowly and leaned her head against Angel's chest, she smelled him, felt him, and knew that he was real. Not some nasty trick her mind was playing on her.
" You're going to have lots of explaining to do later on mister. You're lucky I'm out of it right now."
Angel chuckled and stroked Buffy's hair. Willow had mentioned that Buffy was sometimes only slightly lucid after her long bouts of morning sickness. A wave of nausea came over Buffy and she slowly pulled away from Angel.
"What? You okay?"
Buffy nodded, " Just a little nauseous."
"You need me to carry you to the bathroom?" Buffy shook her head, begging her body to hold off on being sick for a little while. She did not want to ruin the moment. Instead, she laid back and pulled up her tank top to reveal her stomach.
" Maybe the baby just missed its daddy."
"May I?" Angel asked holding out his hand to touch her stomach.
"Oh, please do." Buffy said smiling. Angel reached his warm hand out and placed it on her stomach making a slow circular motion with his large hands.
Buffy smiled and her whole body seemed to relax, her nausea vanished. "The baby likes that and so does mommy." Buffy and Angel stayed like this for a few silent moments before Buffy spoke again.
" Your hand.. It's so warm." She said suddenly realizing that Angel's touch had never felt so warm against her skin before.
"I'm human Buffy..."
Angel sat tense, waiting for Buffy's shocked reaction, but she just sat there for a moment and then nodded.
"Yeaaaaaaah, I figured."
" You knew?"
"I didn't KNOW know, but I had a feeling, when we um... made love... well, I knew you wouldn't risk your soul for a moment of happiness, and then, when I found out I was pregnant, I put two and two together."
"Are you mad at me?"
Buffy shook her head. "Are you mad at me for not telling you."
"No, of course not sweetie, I know you were just scared."
Buffy nodded. "Not so scared anymore."
Angel pressed his ear up against Buffy's stomach and listened.
"So.. We're going to have a baby together huh?"
Angel paused for a moment and looked at her. "Babies."
"Excuse me??" Buffy said staring shocked at Angel.
" We're going to have two babies."
"Babies as in more than one fighting to come outta me at the same time??"
"Babies as in I can hear three very strong heartbeats when I listen, one of them is yours but two belong to our babies."
Buffy stared at Angel shocked, "Are you sure? The doctor didn't say anything about it."
"Honey, I'm sure, I hear three strong heartbeats inside of you." He pressed his lips up against her stomach and kissed it.
" Our babies." Buffy whispered. "Wait a second Angel, didn't you lose your super vampire sense of hearing when you became a human?"
"I still got it." Buffy sat silently for a moment thinking, but then a smile came to her face.
"Are you okay with this Buff?"
Buffy nodded. "I think I am... yeah, I am, I mean I don't know how okay I would have been with it before, but you're here now, I've got you, and the rest of the gang too!"
"Are you okay with the entire pregnancy thing? I know it's put a hold on your life."
"Besides the whole throwing up all the time thing, I'm thrilled. I mean my boobs are bigger, and Xander says I glow. What more could a girl want? Not to mention the fact that I'm getting to be a normal woman Angel. Nothing about my life up until now has been normal. It's been all slaying and death. And now.. I'm getting to go through this entirely normal non-demonic process and it's amazing, I've got two little lives growing inside of me right now. I'm getting to be a WOMAN! I can finally be here for Dawn. I can finally sit down with my sister and watch a movie. I'm here when she gets home from school, I can help her with her homework. She's thriving and she's happy, Will says her grades have gone up. It's been great, Will, Xander, Anya, and even Spike have helped out tons. Xander, Spike, and Anya patrol for me, and Will does too when she's not busy. I don't miss slaying at all.. I'm not putting these two precious lives in danger for slaying.. I'm just not. For the first time in a really long time I'm..."
"Happy?"
"Happier than I have been in years. And now you're here and things are just..."
"Perfect?"
"Perfect!" Buffy repeated as she placed her hand over Angel's.
"UGH." Buffy groaned as she leaned back against Dawn for support. Dawn sat holding Buffy's hand and rubbing her back, as she had almost every day since Buffy discovered she was pregnant. It was close to the end of May and had been almost a month since Buffy found out she was pregnant. When Buffy went to the doctor, she was told she was a month pregnant, just as she suspected, and that everything checked out just fine. The doctor told her the baby was due near the end of December. Buffy hoped and prayed her morning sickness would go away soon so she could start to enjoy her pregnancy. Buffy leaned forward from where she had been leaning against Dawn and began to throw up again. Dawn held her hand, rubbed her back, and did her best to comfort her sister with her words.
"Shhhh Buffy, it'll be okay, you're going to be done with all this morning sickness soon and then you're going to be feeling like your old self again." She said as she rubbed her sisters back in a circular motion. The bouts of morning sickness often reduced Buffy to tears and Dawn hated to see her strong sister cry. Once Buffy had stopped gagging, Dawn ran a cool cloth over her sister's face. Buffy did her best to smile, she had to admit Dawn had really stepped in and did everything she could to help her.
"Where's Will?" She asked weakly, her voice sounding hoarse.
"She went to go get some Sprite, she'll be back soon, Xander's at work."
Buffy smiled and linked her finger's through her sister's "Just you and me then huh?"
Dawn nodded. "And the little one you got in there." she said rubbing Buffy's still flat stomach affectionately, it was obvious Dawn already had a strong love for her niece or nephew.
"This little one doesn't want mommy to get any food at all."
Dawn smiled a little " Maybe she just doesn't like what you're eating."
"She??"
Dawn smiled again, "Just a feeling, I mean, this IS your child, we've come from a long line of real strong women."
Buffy nodded and smiled " We sure have ."
Dawn looked at her sister " You feeling a little better? Wanna go back to bed?"
"Yeah, for a minute there I thought I was gonna turn inside out, but I'm okay now, thanks for sitting with me Dawn. I know how much you hate barf."
Dawn smiled and supported her sister as she stood. "No problem, I'm used to it by now."
Willow quietly walked inside the house to find Dawn sitting on the couch reading a book.
"Is she sleeping?" Willow whispered.
"Yeah."
"How is she??"
"She was pretty sick this morning, she's been okay for the past few hours."
"Would it be a bad time to bring in this?" Willow asked reaching outside the door and grabbing the hand of a man. Dawn nearly screeched before Willow threw her hand up to cover her mouth.
"Shhhhh Dawn, Shhhhhhh don't..."
"But.. But..." Dawn stammered. "That's Angel... and.. It's light outside... And he's not on fire.."
"I know Dawn, I know."
"Dawn, I'm not a vampire anymore, I'm human, beating heart, warm skin, Willow told me what happened, came to get me." Angel took Dawn's hand and placed it on his chest. Sure enough she could feel his heart beating.
Dawn smiled but then groaned, "Buffy is so gonna kill you Will."
"No she won't, her whole, I don't need Angel thing is just an act, she wants to be strong, but you've seen her. She gets weak in the knees at the mention of his name. All she's wanted for the past month is to wake up and see Angel next to her. " The knowledge that Buffy thought of him this way made Angel blush.
Dawn sighed and gave in, "She's sleeping in her room, go on up, but I swear if you upset her and she starts to throw up again you're on vomit patrol!"
Angel hugged Dawn, " Thank you... you know, I've missed you."
Dawn smiled, she had to admit she'd always had a soft spot for the tall dark and handsome vampire her sister had fallen for. Besides, she found their tragic love story quite romantic.
Angel paused a moment before walking into Buffy's bedroom. The lights were dim and she lay still on the bed. Angel slowly approached the bed and sat down next to where Buffy rested. She began to stir.
" Hmmm... what?? Who is it? Dawn?"
" Shhhhh, Buffy, it's me gorgeous."
Buffy startled for a minute, but her eyes remained closed, " Mr. Xander Harris, you never call me gor...." She paused for a moment as the sound of the male's voice struck up a familiar warm feeling all throughout her body.
"Angel?" She asked, a small smile coming to her face as she slowly opened her eyes, fearing if she opened them too quickly he would only be a dream.
"I'm right here Buffy." He said taking her hand and kissing it. "I'm here to take care of you."
Buffy sat up slowly and leaned her head against Angel's chest, she smelled him, felt him, and knew that he was real. Not some nasty trick her mind was playing on her.
" You're going to have lots of explaining to do later on mister. You're lucky I'm out of it right now."
Angel chuckled and stroked Buffy's hair. Willow had mentioned that Buffy was sometimes only slightly lucid after her long bouts of morning sickness. A wave of nausea came over Buffy and she slowly pulled away from Angel.
"What? You okay?"
Buffy nodded, " Just a little nauseous."
"You need me to carry you to the bathroom?" Buffy shook her head, begging her body to hold off on being sick for a little while. She did not want to ruin the moment. Instead, she laid back and pulled up her tank top to reveal her stomach.
" Maybe the baby just missed its daddy."
"May I?" Angel asked holding out his hand to touch her stomach.
"Oh, please do." Buffy said smiling. Angel reached his warm hand out and placed it on her stomach making a slow circular motion with his large hands.
Buffy smiled and her whole body seemed to relax, her nausea vanished. "The baby likes that and so does mommy." Buffy and Angel stayed like this for a few silent moments before Buffy spoke again.
" Your hand.. It's so warm." She said suddenly realizing that Angel's touch had never felt so warm against her skin before.
"I'm human Buffy..."
Angel sat tense, waiting for Buffy's shocked reaction, but she just sat there for a moment and then nodded.
"Yeaaaaaaah, I figured."
" You knew?"
"I didn't KNOW know, but I had a feeling, when we um... made love... well, I knew you wouldn't risk your soul for a moment of happiness, and then, when I found out I was pregnant, I put two and two together."
"Are you mad at me?"
Buffy shook her head. "Are you mad at me for not telling you."
"No, of course not sweetie, I know you were just scared."
Buffy nodded. "Not so scared anymore."
Angel pressed his ear up against Buffy's stomach and listened.
"So.. We're going to have a baby together huh?"
Angel paused for a moment and looked at her. "Babies."
"Excuse me??" Buffy said staring shocked at Angel.
" We're going to have two babies."
"Babies as in more than one fighting to come outta me at the same time??"
"Babies as in I can hear three very strong heartbeats when I listen, one of them is yours but two belong to our babies."
Buffy stared at Angel shocked, "Are you sure? The doctor didn't say anything about it."
"Honey, I'm sure, I hear three strong heartbeats inside of you." He pressed his lips up against her stomach and kissed it.
" Our babies." Buffy whispered. "Wait a second Angel, didn't you lose your super vampire sense of hearing when you became a human?"
"I still got it." Buffy sat silently for a moment thinking, but then a smile came to her face.
"Are you okay with this Buff?"
Buffy nodded. "I think I am... yeah, I am, I mean I don't know how okay I would have been with it before, but you're here now, I've got you, and the rest of the gang too!"
"Are you okay with the entire pregnancy thing? I know it's put a hold on your life."
"Besides the whole throwing up all the time thing, I'm thrilled. I mean my boobs are bigger, and Xander says I glow. What more could a girl want? Not to mention the fact that I'm getting to be a normal woman Angel. Nothing about my life up until now has been normal. It's been all slaying and death. And now.. I'm getting to go through this entirely normal non-demonic process and it's amazing, I've got two little lives growing inside of me right now. I'm getting to be a WOMAN! I can finally be here for Dawn. I can finally sit down with my sister and watch a movie. I'm here when she gets home from school, I can help her with her homework. She's thriving and she's happy, Will says her grades have gone up. It's been great, Will, Xander, Anya, and even Spike have helped out tons. Xander, Spike, and Anya patrol for me, and Will does too when she's not busy. I don't miss slaying at all.. I'm not putting these two precious lives in danger for slaying.. I'm just not. For the first time in a really long time I'm..."
"Happy?"
"Happier than I have been in years. And now you're here and things are just..."
"Perfect?"
"Perfect!" Buffy repeated as she placed her hand over Angel's.
