Buffy stared around the neighborhood in confusion. Suddenly a foot came
from nowhere and kicked her in the face. She went down hard. A vampire
stood over her. He kicked her in the stomach twice. She gasped in pain.
"Buffy! Buff.." Someone shouted her name but it was cut off suddenly followed by a meaty thud.
Buffy looked up slowly and saw Spike slam two vampires together. They both went down. "From dust.." Spike staked one. "Two dust." Then the other. A shark-looking thing came up to Spike. "You're an odd duck, Mister Spike. Fighting your own kind.. palling around with a Slayer. And whoa, that suit! Chutzpah must be your middle name. Uh, hey, look, um.. about our little debt problem, it's okay, I don't need the kittens."
Spike yanked the demon close. "You'll get paid. I'm no welsher."
"Right, sure." Spike let him go. "You're good for it, I know that. I'm just going to, uh.. yeah." The shark thing walked away quickly.
Spike walked over to Buffy and offered her his hand. Buffy ignored it and stood up. "What the hell is going on? Where's Angel?"
"Angel? You feeling ok Slayer?"
"Where is he?"
"He's in LA! You know that."
"What? LA? No. He-he-he was here. We just got back from Ireland.. Tonight. I wanted to patrol. What the hell is going on?"
"That's what I'd like to know."
"Where's Angel?"
"I told you, he's in LA."
"Where?"
"Los Angeles."
"No, I mean, where in LA?"
"Oh! That Hyperion Hotel."
"Hyperion!? Why would he be at that old place?"
"Because he moved in not to long ago. Slayer, I think we should get you some help."
"No. No more help from you people! I'm going to Angel."
"How're you going to get there?"
"I'll drive. I still live in my house don't I?"
"Yeah." Buffy took off running. "Buffy! Buffy!"
She ignored Spike again and ran for her house. Just as she'd suspected, her Jeep sat there, but Angel's car wasn't there. Something weird was going on and Buffy needed to find out what. Starting the engine, Buffy revved up and sped out. She drove to LA as fast as she could without getting caught for speeding and found the Hyperion without any trouble. When she burst through the door, Cordelia, Wesley, and a girl with long brown hair stared at her.
"Buffy!?" Cordy and Wesley said, surprised.
"Cordelia? You're.. Oh my God!" Buffy ran to Cordelia and hugged her tightly. "You're alive!"
"Yeah. I've been alive. Ow!" Cordy shoved Buffy off gently. "What's with the 'Christmas Carol' attitude?"
"Where's Angel?"
"He's upstairs in his room."
"Which is..?"
"217. Why are you here? Is there some huge monster that you need help on? Because.."
"No. I need to find Angel." Buffy headed up the stairs.
"Buffy! Wait! There's something you should.."
Buffy didn't hear the rest. She ran to room 217 and knocked. The sound of a baby crying came from the inside. Buffy backed up a step and stared at the door. The crying got louder. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
"It's all right. It's gonna be all right. It's gonna be all right." Angel said. He was sitting in a chair, his back facing her, and talking at a bundle in his lap. "Hey. Shh." Angel made silly noises. "Do you like that?" The baby continued to scream. "Well, obviously. Okay. How about this one?" Angel pulled on his ears and made more silly noises. The baby continued to scream. "I don't know what to do with you!"
"Try warm milk." Buffy said gently.
Angel turned around. "Buffy!? What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Excuse me?"
"Can we get that baby to stop crying so we can talk?"
"I've tried everything!" Angel stood and held the baby close.
"Who's is it?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me. I've been through a lot in the past month."
"The baby's mine and Darla's."
"Say what!? You're vampires! You can't.. You slept with Darla!?"
"It's a long story.. Bad week. She just happened to be there."
Buffy started to tear up. "You slept with Darla? I.. I thought I was your girl."
"Buffy.." The baby cut Angel off with a scream. "Hey little guy. Come on now."
Buffy walked up to Angel and held out her arms. He backed away a little. "Angel! Give me the baby. I took care of Dawn when I was little. I think I know how to take care of it."
"Him."
"Ok, him." Angel stared at Buffy's outstretched arms. "Please?" After another moment of hesitation, Angel gave the baby to her. He continued to cry for a moment and then he looked up at Buffy. She smiled slightly down at him and he cooed at her, grabbing for her long locks. Buffy flipped her hair away from him before he could grab it. "Hey there. Is that you making all this noise?" Buffy bounced the baby slightly and he started to coo. She kissed his forehead as his little eyes started to droop and he drifted off to sleep. Walking over to the bassinette, Buffy gently put the baby down.
"Wow. He hasn't stopped crying since I got him back here." Angel said softly.
"When was that?"
"Last night."
"How old is he?"
"A night."
"He was born last night?"
"Not really born. More like, poof he was there." Buffy looked at Angel steadily. "Darla.. She.. She killed herself to save our son."
"Were you guys back together?"
"No. She just showed up at my door nine months pregnant." Buffy looked away sadly. In this reality, Angel got to have kids somehow. "I would have called you but..
"It wouldn't have done any good."
"Why?"
"I don't remember any of this! I blinked and then I was standing in a neighborhood instead of a graveyard."
"Buffy, what are you doing here in LA then?"
"That's an excellent question. I wish I had the answer. All I knew was to find you."
Angel took her hand and led her into the main part of the apartment. He shut the doors to the baby's room and sat down on the bed next to Buffy. "What's going on?"
"I don't know. One minute I was patrolling with you and the next Spike is talking to a shark."
"A shark?"
"Asking him about kittens and payments. I don't know."
"Patrolling with me?"
"Yeah. We always patrol together. This was our first time in two weeks."
"Two weeks?"
"We were in Ireland. You showed me where you used to live and we, uh.. In your old room. You told me that I was the first girl you had ever brought in your room and had intentions of.. You know. And you bought a house for us a few miles out of Galway. But of course you don't remember any of this."
"We.. Am I human?"
"No! No, you're still a vampire with a soul. Oh, you have the Gem of Amara. You've had it for three years now. You love going to the beach and playing football with me. The last time we went to the beach was before we found out Dracula had come to Sunnydale."
"You were with Riley then."
"Riley!? Why would I be with him? I was engaged to you. Oh my God!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"I don't know if I'm still engaged to you or not! I guess I am. I mean, you said that you still loved me and we.. lots of times.. God!" Buffy looked down at her ring finger, but the engagement ring wasn't there. "Maybe that vampire I was fighting killed me and this is actually hell! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!"
"Hey, calm down. We'll figure this out."
"I love it when you talk that way. Your voice, it's gets all sweet and sexy and calming." She leaned in to kiss Angel out of habit.
"Buffy.. We can't.." Angel stopped talking when Buffy's lips met his and a spark ignited in him. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply. Buffy's hand found the base of his neck and her fingers tangled into the back of his hair. Moving on instinct, Buffy scooted into Angel's lap and straddled him. "Hey.. Whoa. I want to, but.."
"Oh! Sorry. Habit. You're not even my fiancé.. Technically. I need to get back home. Back to my Angel and Dawn and Lita and Spike and Giles."
"Did Giles go back to Sunnydale where you came from?"
"He came back to Sunnydale before you and I left for Ireland. God, it's so pretty there. I wanted to stay there so bad and just be alone out in the country with you." Angel smiled lightly at her and Buffy stopped rambling. "I'm sorry. Obviously in this.. Whatever this is, you can't be with me."
"Is there another Buffy here?"
"I don't think so. Maybe.. I think I ended up in her body. Or at least my memory did. I don't know exactly what happened. Like I said: the only thought I had was to get to you."
"We're engaged where you come from?"
"Yeah. You asked me last summer.. The summer before I died. You asked my dad if it was ok, you two are buddies and I make fun of you for that sometimes because you're not used to having a dad.. He sees you like a son, he told me that. You asked me to marry you in front of everyone. Lindsey made dinner and it was a huge deal. Supposed to be our Fourth of July party. We decided to make it a long engagement when Glory came to town. We never got to get married. I want to so bad. I just don't know how to tell him.. You."
"Well, seeing as how I'm me.. Just come right out and tell him.. Me. This is confusing. And who's Lindsey?"
"My step-mom."
"You don't have one. Not here anyways."
"Really? My dad is so in love with her. It wigged me out at first and I didn't like her, but she was cool after a while."
"And you're mom? Is she alive?"
"No. She died of an aneurysm almost a year ago."
"She died here too."
There was a long pause and then Buffy asked, "Why are you here in LA?"
"What?"
"Why are you here? Did you leave when I died?"
"Buffy, I left after your graduation." Buffy stared blankly at him. "I didn't break up with you where you're from?"
"Yes. You did and you went to LA. But I followed. I beat up Willy the Snitch just to find you. That was after I moped. I found out that my mother talked to you that morning after I stayed the night at the mansion. I was so mad at her.. And you."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm sure the Buffy here has had a great life."
"Don't be so positive."
"She doesn't? I don't?"
"She.. You were miserable when I saw you."
"When was that?"
"About a month or two ago. Your friends had just brought you back and you were so miserable. I was the one you opened up for.." Angel stopped.
"What?"
"Everything that happened here happened to you where you're from. Only I wasn't there here. You didn't come after me here. You stayed in Sunnydale. You slept with Parker. You dated Riley. Riley left. And then you were interested in that Ben guy, but he turned out to be Glory."
"I slept with Parker!? EW! That's so gross! He hit on me a few times, but I always brushed him off because I was with you. And Riley.. He's just a friend. The Initiative offered him his old job back and he left for South America."
"Same here, only you two had a fight because he was going to vamp whores and letting them suck his blood."
"So it was his fault we broke up?"
"It was sort of both of you. You were distant because you missed me so much and Riley felt that he couldn't live up to what you really wanted."
"He could never live up to you Angel."
"You seem like the same Buffy I know, only a lot happier right now."
"It's because of you. After I got back, my friends shot question after question at me and I couldn't handle it. Everyday after that they watched me like hawks. Every move I made that was wrong.. They'd ask if I was ok. I'd be richer than you if I got a dollar for every time I got asked that." Angel chuckled. "You got so mad at Willow. You yelled at her and told her she was selfish. Then a week later, you swept me off to Ireland. We talked and.. stuff. You showed me where you used to live and your humungous room that had never been violated by a girl until you took me up there and.. on the bedpost and on the bed, then on the door and back on the bed. It was interesting. If it weren't for Doyle we would never have found out that your soul was bound to you."
"Doyle?"
"Irish guy. Half demon from what you told me. I'm guessing he wasn't here."
"No. H-he was. He died saving me and everyone else on a ship full of half demons. I would have.. But he wouldn't let me."
"You became friends?"
"Yeah. He was my best friend after I left you."
"He told me that.." Buffy was cut off by a soft knock at the door.
Angel walked over to it and opened the door. The girl with long brown hair stood there. She was taller than Buffy, but much skinner. She'd be prettier if she put on a little makeup and took her hair out of the ponytail. "What is it Fred?" Angel asked.
"Charles is back. He needs to talk to you." Fred said.
"Ok. I'll be down in a second."
Fred looked over at Buffy. "Hi. I'm Fred. Cordelia told me about you while you were up here talking. Did I interrupt anything?"
"No." Buffy and Angel said.
"Give us a second." Angel said.
Fred nodded and left. Angel was about to speak, but the baby screaming cut him off. He started to go to the other room, but Buffy held out her hand and stopped him. "Go on downstairs. I'll take care of him." Angel looked at her warily. "Go. I'll be fine. I'm a woman. I have that whole 'mother's touch' thing." Angel stared at her a moment and then walked out the door. Buffy walked into the little room and went to the bassinette. The baby laid there and cried. "Hey there. What's the matter?" Buffy felt his temperature. "You're not warm." She felt his diaper. "But you are wet. Come on. Let's get you changed."
After a quick change, Buffy walked downstairs with the baby cradled in her arms. Everyone turned to stare at her. A smile spread across Angel's face. To him, it was all a dream. Buffy, the love of his life, walking down the stairs holding his son and cooing and talking to him as if her were her own. Their own.
"All he needed was a change." Buffy said to Angel.
"You let her hold him!?" Cordy asked.
"She made me." Angel said.
"Well, that was a five-year-old's excuse! Let me see him." Cordy said, walking over to Buffy.
Angel intervened. "No. Let Buffy watch him for me. Tell me about these people outside."
"Not all of them are people." Gunn said.
"Gunn?" Buffy asked. "You work for Angel?"
"With. And how do you know my name?"
"Oh, right.. I keep forgetting that things are different here."
"Gunn, this is Buffy Summers." Angel said, moving to stand behind her shoulder. He looked down at his son in Buffy's arms and cooed. "Yes she is little guy."
"So you're the infamous Buffy." Gunn said.
"That would be me." Buffy said.
"We hear a lot about you. First time I ever met you."
"Well, here anyways."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Long story. You were saying."
"Two blacked out cars of what I'm betting is a vampire cult. And a biker gang I recognize from back in the day are outside."
"Did they see you?" Angel asked.
"Nah. I saw them, kept on going, doubled back and came in through the sewer."
"Biker gang. Are they humans?"
"Yeah. Into extortion and kidnapping. There are also some funky fellows in a van I didn't recognize, wearing hooded cloaks."
"Lilliad demons." Wesley said. "Their fun is making a magical broth from the bones of human children. They probably want to find out how the child born of a vampire effects the recipe. They use strong magic. They may be able to break the furies spell."
"What are they waiting for?"
"Night. Their power is linked directly to the lunar cycle."
"So, we're safe for now, but when the moon rises.." Cordy said.
"And tonight's a full moon." Fred said.
"No matter what kind of weapons we have, we're not gonna be able to fight off the whole world, once that force field comes down." Gunn said.
"I don't see that we have a choice." Wesley said.
"Don't worry. We have extra backup." Angel said looking at Buffy.
"Huh?" Buffy asked. "What did I do?"
"Buffy! Buff.." Someone shouted her name but it was cut off suddenly followed by a meaty thud.
Buffy looked up slowly and saw Spike slam two vampires together. They both went down. "From dust.." Spike staked one. "Two dust." Then the other. A shark-looking thing came up to Spike. "You're an odd duck, Mister Spike. Fighting your own kind.. palling around with a Slayer. And whoa, that suit! Chutzpah must be your middle name. Uh, hey, look, um.. about our little debt problem, it's okay, I don't need the kittens."
Spike yanked the demon close. "You'll get paid. I'm no welsher."
"Right, sure." Spike let him go. "You're good for it, I know that. I'm just going to, uh.. yeah." The shark thing walked away quickly.
Spike walked over to Buffy and offered her his hand. Buffy ignored it and stood up. "What the hell is going on? Where's Angel?"
"Angel? You feeling ok Slayer?"
"Where is he?"
"He's in LA! You know that."
"What? LA? No. He-he-he was here. We just got back from Ireland.. Tonight. I wanted to patrol. What the hell is going on?"
"That's what I'd like to know."
"Where's Angel?"
"I told you, he's in LA."
"Where?"
"Los Angeles."
"No, I mean, where in LA?"
"Oh! That Hyperion Hotel."
"Hyperion!? Why would he be at that old place?"
"Because he moved in not to long ago. Slayer, I think we should get you some help."
"No. No more help from you people! I'm going to Angel."
"How're you going to get there?"
"I'll drive. I still live in my house don't I?"
"Yeah." Buffy took off running. "Buffy! Buffy!"
She ignored Spike again and ran for her house. Just as she'd suspected, her Jeep sat there, but Angel's car wasn't there. Something weird was going on and Buffy needed to find out what. Starting the engine, Buffy revved up and sped out. She drove to LA as fast as she could without getting caught for speeding and found the Hyperion without any trouble. When she burst through the door, Cordelia, Wesley, and a girl with long brown hair stared at her.
"Buffy!?" Cordy and Wesley said, surprised.
"Cordelia? You're.. Oh my God!" Buffy ran to Cordelia and hugged her tightly. "You're alive!"
"Yeah. I've been alive. Ow!" Cordy shoved Buffy off gently. "What's with the 'Christmas Carol' attitude?"
"Where's Angel?"
"He's upstairs in his room."
"Which is..?"
"217. Why are you here? Is there some huge monster that you need help on? Because.."
"No. I need to find Angel." Buffy headed up the stairs.
"Buffy! Wait! There's something you should.."
Buffy didn't hear the rest. She ran to room 217 and knocked. The sound of a baby crying came from the inside. Buffy backed up a step and stared at the door. The crying got louder. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
"It's all right. It's gonna be all right. It's gonna be all right." Angel said. He was sitting in a chair, his back facing her, and talking at a bundle in his lap. "Hey. Shh." Angel made silly noises. "Do you like that?" The baby continued to scream. "Well, obviously. Okay. How about this one?" Angel pulled on his ears and made more silly noises. The baby continued to scream. "I don't know what to do with you!"
"Try warm milk." Buffy said gently.
Angel turned around. "Buffy!? What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Excuse me?"
"Can we get that baby to stop crying so we can talk?"
"I've tried everything!" Angel stood and held the baby close.
"Who's is it?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me. I've been through a lot in the past month."
"The baby's mine and Darla's."
"Say what!? You're vampires! You can't.. You slept with Darla!?"
"It's a long story.. Bad week. She just happened to be there."
Buffy started to tear up. "You slept with Darla? I.. I thought I was your girl."
"Buffy.." The baby cut Angel off with a scream. "Hey little guy. Come on now."
Buffy walked up to Angel and held out her arms. He backed away a little. "Angel! Give me the baby. I took care of Dawn when I was little. I think I know how to take care of it."
"Him."
"Ok, him." Angel stared at Buffy's outstretched arms. "Please?" After another moment of hesitation, Angel gave the baby to her. He continued to cry for a moment and then he looked up at Buffy. She smiled slightly down at him and he cooed at her, grabbing for her long locks. Buffy flipped her hair away from him before he could grab it. "Hey there. Is that you making all this noise?" Buffy bounced the baby slightly and he started to coo. She kissed his forehead as his little eyes started to droop and he drifted off to sleep. Walking over to the bassinette, Buffy gently put the baby down.
"Wow. He hasn't stopped crying since I got him back here." Angel said softly.
"When was that?"
"Last night."
"How old is he?"
"A night."
"He was born last night?"
"Not really born. More like, poof he was there." Buffy looked at Angel steadily. "Darla.. She.. She killed herself to save our son."
"Were you guys back together?"
"No. She just showed up at my door nine months pregnant." Buffy looked away sadly. In this reality, Angel got to have kids somehow. "I would have called you but..
"It wouldn't have done any good."
"Why?"
"I don't remember any of this! I blinked and then I was standing in a neighborhood instead of a graveyard."
"Buffy, what are you doing here in LA then?"
"That's an excellent question. I wish I had the answer. All I knew was to find you."
Angel took her hand and led her into the main part of the apartment. He shut the doors to the baby's room and sat down on the bed next to Buffy. "What's going on?"
"I don't know. One minute I was patrolling with you and the next Spike is talking to a shark."
"A shark?"
"Asking him about kittens and payments. I don't know."
"Patrolling with me?"
"Yeah. We always patrol together. This was our first time in two weeks."
"Two weeks?"
"We were in Ireland. You showed me where you used to live and we, uh.. In your old room. You told me that I was the first girl you had ever brought in your room and had intentions of.. You know. And you bought a house for us a few miles out of Galway. But of course you don't remember any of this."
"We.. Am I human?"
"No! No, you're still a vampire with a soul. Oh, you have the Gem of Amara. You've had it for three years now. You love going to the beach and playing football with me. The last time we went to the beach was before we found out Dracula had come to Sunnydale."
"You were with Riley then."
"Riley!? Why would I be with him? I was engaged to you. Oh my God!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"I don't know if I'm still engaged to you or not! I guess I am. I mean, you said that you still loved me and we.. lots of times.. God!" Buffy looked down at her ring finger, but the engagement ring wasn't there. "Maybe that vampire I was fighting killed me and this is actually hell! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!"
"Hey, calm down. We'll figure this out."
"I love it when you talk that way. Your voice, it's gets all sweet and sexy and calming." She leaned in to kiss Angel out of habit.
"Buffy.. We can't.." Angel stopped talking when Buffy's lips met his and a spark ignited in him. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply. Buffy's hand found the base of his neck and her fingers tangled into the back of his hair. Moving on instinct, Buffy scooted into Angel's lap and straddled him. "Hey.. Whoa. I want to, but.."
"Oh! Sorry. Habit. You're not even my fiancé.. Technically. I need to get back home. Back to my Angel and Dawn and Lita and Spike and Giles."
"Did Giles go back to Sunnydale where you came from?"
"He came back to Sunnydale before you and I left for Ireland. God, it's so pretty there. I wanted to stay there so bad and just be alone out in the country with you." Angel smiled lightly at her and Buffy stopped rambling. "I'm sorry. Obviously in this.. Whatever this is, you can't be with me."
"Is there another Buffy here?"
"I don't think so. Maybe.. I think I ended up in her body. Or at least my memory did. I don't know exactly what happened. Like I said: the only thought I had was to get to you."
"We're engaged where you come from?"
"Yeah. You asked me last summer.. The summer before I died. You asked my dad if it was ok, you two are buddies and I make fun of you for that sometimes because you're not used to having a dad.. He sees you like a son, he told me that. You asked me to marry you in front of everyone. Lindsey made dinner and it was a huge deal. Supposed to be our Fourth of July party. We decided to make it a long engagement when Glory came to town. We never got to get married. I want to so bad. I just don't know how to tell him.. You."
"Well, seeing as how I'm me.. Just come right out and tell him.. Me. This is confusing. And who's Lindsey?"
"My step-mom."
"You don't have one. Not here anyways."
"Really? My dad is so in love with her. It wigged me out at first and I didn't like her, but she was cool after a while."
"And you're mom? Is she alive?"
"No. She died of an aneurysm almost a year ago."
"She died here too."
There was a long pause and then Buffy asked, "Why are you here in LA?"
"What?"
"Why are you here? Did you leave when I died?"
"Buffy, I left after your graduation." Buffy stared blankly at him. "I didn't break up with you where you're from?"
"Yes. You did and you went to LA. But I followed. I beat up Willy the Snitch just to find you. That was after I moped. I found out that my mother talked to you that morning after I stayed the night at the mansion. I was so mad at her.. And you."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm sure the Buffy here has had a great life."
"Don't be so positive."
"She doesn't? I don't?"
"She.. You were miserable when I saw you."
"When was that?"
"About a month or two ago. Your friends had just brought you back and you were so miserable. I was the one you opened up for.." Angel stopped.
"What?"
"Everything that happened here happened to you where you're from. Only I wasn't there here. You didn't come after me here. You stayed in Sunnydale. You slept with Parker. You dated Riley. Riley left. And then you were interested in that Ben guy, but he turned out to be Glory."
"I slept with Parker!? EW! That's so gross! He hit on me a few times, but I always brushed him off because I was with you. And Riley.. He's just a friend. The Initiative offered him his old job back and he left for South America."
"Same here, only you two had a fight because he was going to vamp whores and letting them suck his blood."
"So it was his fault we broke up?"
"It was sort of both of you. You were distant because you missed me so much and Riley felt that he couldn't live up to what you really wanted."
"He could never live up to you Angel."
"You seem like the same Buffy I know, only a lot happier right now."
"It's because of you. After I got back, my friends shot question after question at me and I couldn't handle it. Everyday after that they watched me like hawks. Every move I made that was wrong.. They'd ask if I was ok. I'd be richer than you if I got a dollar for every time I got asked that." Angel chuckled. "You got so mad at Willow. You yelled at her and told her she was selfish. Then a week later, you swept me off to Ireland. We talked and.. stuff. You showed me where you used to live and your humungous room that had never been violated by a girl until you took me up there and.. on the bedpost and on the bed, then on the door and back on the bed. It was interesting. If it weren't for Doyle we would never have found out that your soul was bound to you."
"Doyle?"
"Irish guy. Half demon from what you told me. I'm guessing he wasn't here."
"No. H-he was. He died saving me and everyone else on a ship full of half demons. I would have.. But he wouldn't let me."
"You became friends?"
"Yeah. He was my best friend after I left you."
"He told me that.." Buffy was cut off by a soft knock at the door.
Angel walked over to it and opened the door. The girl with long brown hair stood there. She was taller than Buffy, but much skinner. She'd be prettier if she put on a little makeup and took her hair out of the ponytail. "What is it Fred?" Angel asked.
"Charles is back. He needs to talk to you." Fred said.
"Ok. I'll be down in a second."
Fred looked over at Buffy. "Hi. I'm Fred. Cordelia told me about you while you were up here talking. Did I interrupt anything?"
"No." Buffy and Angel said.
"Give us a second." Angel said.
Fred nodded and left. Angel was about to speak, but the baby screaming cut him off. He started to go to the other room, but Buffy held out her hand and stopped him. "Go on downstairs. I'll take care of him." Angel looked at her warily. "Go. I'll be fine. I'm a woman. I have that whole 'mother's touch' thing." Angel stared at her a moment and then walked out the door. Buffy walked into the little room and went to the bassinette. The baby laid there and cried. "Hey there. What's the matter?" Buffy felt his temperature. "You're not warm." She felt his diaper. "But you are wet. Come on. Let's get you changed."
After a quick change, Buffy walked downstairs with the baby cradled in her arms. Everyone turned to stare at her. A smile spread across Angel's face. To him, it was all a dream. Buffy, the love of his life, walking down the stairs holding his son and cooing and talking to him as if her were her own. Their own.
"All he needed was a change." Buffy said to Angel.
"You let her hold him!?" Cordy asked.
"She made me." Angel said.
"Well, that was a five-year-old's excuse! Let me see him." Cordy said, walking over to Buffy.
Angel intervened. "No. Let Buffy watch him for me. Tell me about these people outside."
"Not all of them are people." Gunn said.
"Gunn?" Buffy asked. "You work for Angel?"
"With. And how do you know my name?"
"Oh, right.. I keep forgetting that things are different here."
"Gunn, this is Buffy Summers." Angel said, moving to stand behind her shoulder. He looked down at his son in Buffy's arms and cooed. "Yes she is little guy."
"So you're the infamous Buffy." Gunn said.
"That would be me." Buffy said.
"We hear a lot about you. First time I ever met you."
"Well, here anyways."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Long story. You were saying."
"Two blacked out cars of what I'm betting is a vampire cult. And a biker gang I recognize from back in the day are outside."
"Did they see you?" Angel asked.
"Nah. I saw them, kept on going, doubled back and came in through the sewer."
"Biker gang. Are they humans?"
"Yeah. Into extortion and kidnapping. There are also some funky fellows in a van I didn't recognize, wearing hooded cloaks."
"Lilliad demons." Wesley said. "Their fun is making a magical broth from the bones of human children. They probably want to find out how the child born of a vampire effects the recipe. They use strong magic. They may be able to break the furies spell."
"What are they waiting for?"
"Night. Their power is linked directly to the lunar cycle."
"So, we're safe for now, but when the moon rises.." Cordy said.
"And tonight's a full moon." Fred said.
"No matter what kind of weapons we have, we're not gonna be able to fight off the whole world, once that force field comes down." Gunn said.
"I don't see that we have a choice." Wesley said.
"Don't worry. We have extra backup." Angel said looking at Buffy.
"Huh?" Buffy asked. "What did I do?"
