Hey! Here's chapter 2 of Phoenix. I know you've all been waiting for it forever, and I am very sorry about the wait, but I have been extremely busy. Just tomorrow I leave for a weekend in Parkersburg West Virginia, so don't expect an update for another week or two. I'll try to get it out as soon as possible. Rating, disclaimer, summary, and title are the same.
Cordelia stared in shock at Buffy's announcement. "Pregnant? How can you be pregnant? Angel and you have been careful haven't you?"
"Yeah." Buffy was quick to confirm. "Except the first night he was back. We got into a fight about the Day that Wasn't when Carley was conceived, and then he came into my room late that night. I don't have to tell you how we reconciled."
"No, you don't. So, what're you going to do? We don't have enough room for another baby."
"Can we not talk about this right now? I need to think and then we'll decide what we're going to do. And then there's the telling Angel part. He loves Carley, but I don't even know if he'll want another baby."
"Buffy, Angel thinks the sun rises and sets on you and Carley. Trust me, when given the chance to dote on one more baby, he'll jump at it. Truth be told, he probably won't let you do anything during the time you're pregnant."
"Even if he did, Xander and Wesley wouldn't. Not to mention Doyle, Gunn, and Fred. No one let me do a thing the entire time I was pregnant with Carley."
"And I should imagine that it will be the same way this time." Cordelia said, picking up Carley and heading in the direction of Buffy's car. "And you have to tell Giles too. And Willow, Tara, Oz, Anya, Xander, Doyle, Gunn, Fred, Wesley, and possibly even Kate. Not to mention Riley."
"Riley does not find out. Got it? No, no, no. I do not want him know that I am pregnant."
"Why? You were married to the guy for crying out loud."
"That was the biggest mistake I have ever made. And I don't intend to dredge up any of those awful memories."
Cordelia sighed and strapped Carley into her car seat, then got in the front. "I can't say I blame you. Where to now?"
"The office. I have a meeting with Kate. And Spike." She added on a depressed sigh.
"I think we should just move into a bigger apartment."
"We have a three bedroom already. Apartments don't come much bigger than that. I think we're going to have to look for something else."
"A house?"
"Possibly. That would probably be smartest."
"Buffy, maybe we should think about moving in different places. I mean don't get me wrong, I love living with you and Carley, and even Angel, and another baby would be so much fun, but I'd feel like I was tagging along."
"You wouldn't be tagging along. I would love to have you move in with me and Angel when we move, if we move. We could renovate the playroom into a nursery."
"We could, but it would be awfully small."
"You're right. Do we have newspapers at the office?"
"I think. Why?"
"I want you to start looking for options while I have my meeting."
"What about Carley?"
"Fred'll be there. She can watch her."
"Great."
Half an hour later, Buffy was wishing that she and Cordelia had switched places, and she was the one scanning newspapers for apartments and houses, and not the one who'd just had a new case dumped on her when she had no one to help her with it.
"Okay, why don't you explain this again. What exactly do you want me to do?"
"We want you to help the police department solve a case." Kate explained patiently, "And we need your help seeing as how this is all vampire related. There've been some murders, I'm sure you've read the papers, and judging from the autopsy reports and the markings found on the body, we can only guess that the murders are some sort of a ritual. But we do know that it was done by vampires, because all victims were bitten several times."
"So, what do you want me to do?"
Spike sighed. "Slayer, we want you to do what you do best. Find and kill." Spike said, leaning back in his chair.
"Who even invited you anyway?" Buffy asked impatiently. "Last time I checked you weren't part of the Scooby Gang, the Fang Gang, or the SPD."
"No, but I am an evil vampire who has his ways of finding information."
"I have my own ways. Now get out of here. I believe the Detective and I have to discuss some business. Kate, are you looking at this as a favor or are you hiring the firm as an independent investigator?"
"The Chief gave the okay on hiring you. What's the average rate?"
"Same as before. Twelve dollars per hour of investigating done, and a start up fee of five hundred."
"That sounds about right. I'll write you a check and have it delivered later today. I'll also have the rest of our files on this case sent over so you can get started."]
Cordelia walked into Buffy's office as soon as Kate vacated it. "I know we work with her, but I don't think that I will ever learn to like that woman. Anyway, I don't care what case it is, you have to look at this house first. It's perfect and I scheduled a tour for Friday afternoon at four. Angel'll be back on Thursday so that gives you a day to tell him about the baby, and get his approval on moving."
"Cordelia, they just sent me on a murder investigation."
"Well, tell them no. You're pregnant, you can't do anything like that. It won't kill them to solve their own cases for once in their careers. We do it for them every time and it's time they learned to take responsibility for their investigations."
"They're ritualistic vampire murders."
"I'll call Angel. See if I can't get him home early with the promise of a good case and good news."
Twenty minutes later, Cordelia returned to Buffy's office, where she was reading over all the files that Kate had given her. "He said that he can leave in a couple hours to come home, so he should be home by this evening. Everything got wrapped up there faster than he thought it would. So you have even more time than we thought to tell him and let him get used to the idea."
"True, but I want to ease into it, not surprise him all at once. I mean, he's great with Carley, and she calls him Daddy already, but a new baby is a whole other ballpark. I don't want him to come home and have me be like 'oh honey, dinner's in the oven, Carley's already asleep, we have a new case at the office, and by the way I'm pregnant with your child.' That just isn't right."
"I understand, but he has to be told, and soon. I'm telling you, Buff, he won't have a problem with it. Besides, it takes two to tango."
"I know. Well, let's forget about it for the moment. I'm heading out to do some investigating. I'll be back by dinner. It's your turn to cook."
"Macaroni and cheese." Cordelia said flatly. She was not a very good cook.
"Food is food. Especially to a two year old. And if she doesn't care, then I don't care."
Buffy walked into a local bar fifteen minutes later and walked up to the counter where a half demon man named Willie was serving several vampires drinks. They had come in through the sewer system to wait for nightfall. At seeing the Slayer, most retreated to the back room where they hoped she would ignore them. Buffy hadn't come to kill them, she had come to get information out of the bar tender.
"Willie, I need your help." She stated bluntly. Willie sighed and leaned over the counter.
"What can I do for you today, Slayer?"
"There've been some murders going on. The police say that they're ritualistic vampire kills. I want to know who and why. Maybe a next time where and when if you've got it."
Willie thought for a minute. "I don't know anything about it. And don't go getting' any ideas about me lying to you, I want my head right where it belongs, thank you very much. And it belongs on my shoulders. I'll let you know if I hear anything. Saturday night is my busiest time, so if I hear anything, it'll be then."
"Are you sure you haven't heard anything at all? I just need a starting point."
"All I know is that most of the vampire's around here are talking about getting out of town because whatever this is, it's badder than they want to deal with. Something about the Child prophesied and the spilling of sacred blood. That's all I've heard about anything going on lately. But like I said, if I hear anything, you'll hear from me. Now if you don't mind, I've got a business to run and you're scaring off all my customers."
"That's my job Willie. And if you're lying to me, I will find out."
Willie shook his head in disbelief. "Lying to the Slayer would be as much suicide as if I shot my own head off. I know better."
"Good. I'll come by some time tomorrow night. Have something for me by then."
With that having been said, Buffy left the bar and headed out into the sunlight, relishing the way all the demons shied away from the rays she let in the door. She headed toward the office and thought of the many different ways she could tell Angel about the baby. All the scenarios she pictured ended with him leaving her pregnant and alone as his death had three years before.
Angel walked into the apartment at six that evening. He heard Buffy working in the kitchen and heard Cordelia and Carley playing in Carley's room. He decided to greet Buffy before the other two and headed into the kitchen. She whirled, knife in hand at the sound of unfamiliar footsteps behind her and gasped when she saw Angel. She threw the knife on the counter and threw herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly and then kissed her gently. She returned his kiss and then pulled away. He, with a look of mild curiosity on his face, sat her on her feet. Buffy sat down at the table and looked up at him. A moment later he joined her at the table. He already knew that something was wrong.
"What's wrong? You're awfully tense. Cordelia said we have a new case?"
"Yeah, the case should be pretty difficult. Ritualistic vamp murders. It'll take a while to get through everything and get it solved. There's already a mountain of papers on my desk. Kate's sending over more in the morning."
"Okay, so we get to work early. Now do you want to tell me what's really bothering you or do I have to tickle it out of you?" Angel threatened comically. Buffy had to give him a small smile at the expression on his face.
"All right. I might as well tell you now rather than later."
"Is it that bad?"
"That depends on your perception of bad. To me, no it's not bad. To you, I don't think it's bad, but it has a small chance of being bad."
"Buffy, spit it out already."
She did. With a deep breath she said the two words that had haunted her all day. "I'm pregnant."
Well, what did you think? I've been working on this for forever. Every time I'd sit down to get this typed out, something would happen and I'd never get to finish. So, the night before my trip, when I should be packing and preparing my presentation, I'm finishing this so I don't have to worry about it when I get back. I hope you enjoyed everything. Review if you have any shred of kindness in you.
