A/N I am NOT putting Wesley in for quite some time in my story. I have a
whole other plot that's going on that has nothing to do with the ex-
Watcher. He will be there for a little bit towards the end, but that will
be it. In this version, Wesley isn't a major player. Now, as for Dawn and
Cordy. Cordy's dead. Angel staked her towards the beginning of this story.
Dawn will be coming back soon. She'll be much cooler and a lot less whiny.
But please, let me and my friends Jennifer and Lauren (who are also writing
this story with me; Lita belongs to Lauren) do our thing. You all can still
enjoy the story without Wes for awhile. If you want more Wes, I'll be
updating "My Own Version 2" soon. Thank you.
2005- 1 year later
"The warriors are angering the Powers with their insolence." The Oracle woman said.
"They wish to motivate them into coming back to the fight?" The Oracle man asked.
"Yes. They have a gift for them. Not only will it benefit their wishes, but the Powers also."
"And what, dear sister, will they send?"
"A child. A warrior of the light made in love. He will fight in the End of Days alongside his parents."
"But the Slayer, she is a mortal. The End of Days will come without her."
"She will live."
"How is that, pray tell?"
"The Slayer will no longer age with the birth of her son. She will forever be the age she is now. It is a reward from the Powers."
"Reward?"
"Yes. She is the longest living Slayer. No Slayer has ever matched her capacity and the Powers wish to have her for the End of Days for she will surely win."
"And when will the child arrive to bring about the Slayer's immortality?"
"Late June of the year 2006."
"So then it has already been done? The child is in the Slayer's womb."
"You don't miss a thing brother."
Buffy gagged into the toilet again, but this time there was nothing to come back up. She had thrown everything else up. Angel held her long hair in one hand and flushed the toilet with the other. It had been the same routine for the past two weeks. Wake up, vomit, more sleep, wake up and be perfectly fine, and then around dinnertime, vomit some more. She wiped her mouth and allowed Angel to help her to her feet. Her legs were so wobbly that she pretty much collapsed in Angel's arms.
"Baby, I'm taking you to a doctor." Angel said.
"No. I'm good. It's just a stomach virus." Buffy said, sitting on the couch. "It'll pass."
"I'm not so sure it's just a virus. Buffy, it could be something a lot more serious."
"Would you feel better if I went to see a doctor?"
"You know I would."
"Fine. I'll make an appointment tomorrow."
"Today."
"I won't get in until tomorrow."
"As long as you call today." Angel handed her the cordless.
"I don't have the number."
"It's on the memory. I think number three."
"You put the doctor on speed dial?"
"Just in case of emergencies. It was on speed dial back in Sunnydale."
"That's because we were constantly in danger."
"Well, call now. I don't want you to die of something."
Buffy rolled her eyes and started to dial. Just as she was about to push 3, her stomach turned and she dropped the phone, running to the bathroom. Angel started to go after her, but she slammed the door. He sighed and called the doctor. Turns out that if they hurried, they could get in at 1:30. One of the doctor's patients had dropped their appointment and rescheduled. Angel helped Buffy get dressed in some yoga pants and a sweater. It was fall and sometimes it could get cold in Ireland. Today was one of those days. He drove into Galway and pulled up to the doctor's office.
As soon as Angel filled out the small amount of paperwork, Buffy's name was called. Angel escorted her in despite her protests. The nurse took Buffy's weight and temperature and then left saying the doctor would be in soon. Buffy gripped Angel's hand tightly.
"I hate coming to the doctors." Buffy said.
"I know. But it's not a hospital, so ease up." Angel said. Buffy smiled weakly and loosened her grip. "How are you doing? No needed trips to the bathroom?"
"Not right now, but if this guy doesn't hurry up it will be."
"Or woman." Angel said as the door opened and a woman walked in.
"Hello." The doctor said. She was pretty. She had long curly red hair that was pulled tastefully into a ponytail at the base of her neck. "My name is Dr. McClintock. And you must be Mrs. Callaghan."
"Buffy." Buffy said. "Hi."
Dr. McClintock sat down in a chair facing Buffy who was sitting higher up on the table. "Ok Buffy, tell me what's wrong."
"Well, I.. Uh, I've been.."
"She's been throwing up for the past two weeks." Angel said. "She wakes up in the morning and that's the first thing that she does. Sometimes it'll last all the way through the day, sometimes it'll be sporadic, other day's she's just fine."
"What he said."
"Hmm, the nurse said you didn't have a fever. Do you have any allergies? History of illnesses in the family?" Dr. McClintock said looking at a folder in her hand.
"No on both accounts. Unless you count my mom having cancer a while back, but I told Angel that it was probably just a stomach virus. I don't have cancer."
"Is there anything else?"
"Like what?"
"Fatigue? Cravings? Frequent urination?"
"Um, yes, yes, and yes."
"Ok, I need you to take this cup and go to the bathroom. Bring it back with the lid on it when you're done."
"You want me to pee in a cup?"
"Precisely."
"Ok.." Buffy took the cup and walked into the bathroom.
Angel watched the door for a minute then looked at the doctor. "So, uh, Dr. McClintock.."
"Moira."
"Uh, Moira, what do you think is wrong with my wife?"
"Four words: She could be pregnant. I'm running a urine test to be positive."
"Pregnant? That's not possible. I mean, I can't."
"You're infertile?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Well, it's not THAT uncommon for an infertile male to impregnate a female. Sometimes he just gets one good batch and you get a baby."
"The last time I had to do that was my physical for cheerleading freshman year." Buffy said, handing the cup to the doctor.
"Ok, I'll be right back with your results." Moira got up and left the room.
"My results? Results for what?" Buffy asked, turning to Angel. He looked utterly shocked. "Hey earth to Angel? Results? What is she talking about?"
"She thinks you might be.." Angel said, a small smile playing at his lips.
"Ok Angel, spill. You know a lot more than I do right now."
"Pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Angel nodded. "How? You're a vampire. You can't.. You told me you couldn't."
"I can't."
"Is it the ring?"
"No. It doesn't make me alive. Just truly immortal. Indestructible."
Buffy was speechless. There was nothing she could think of to say or do except go sit on the table and wait for the doctor to come back. It was another ten minutes before she actually did.
"Ok, I guess Mr. Callaghan has given you the news and I'm here to confirm it. Congratulations, you're pregnant. Now, I can recommend some prenatal doctors to go to. You need to get to one within the next week or so. The best OB-GYN doctor in Galway would be Dr. Mehta. She's excellent to have through the whole thing. She was my doctor when I had my first child."
"A-are you positive?" Buffy asked.
"99 percent. Our tests rarely if ever fail. Congratulations. I'll put in a call to Dr. Mehta right away."
"Thank you." Angel said.
After the doctor left, Buffy and Angel just sat there staring at each other. Every now and then they would look down at Buffy's stomach in wonderment. They knew this wasn't a natural pregnancy. It couldn't be. Nothing about a Slayer and a vampire having a baby was remotely natural.
"I wonder if it's a boy of a girl." Angel said softly.
"What?" Buffy looked at him.
"Well, if it's a boy I want him to look like me. If it's a girl, she'll be as beautiful as her mother."
"Are you accepting this? Are you accepting that we're having a child that's not really supposed to happen."
"Buffy," Angel stood and cupped her face with his hands. "I don't care how it happened. All I know is that it happened and I'm not doing anything to stop this baby from coming. I love you and I will love this baby that WE created."
Buffy started to cry. "I've always wanted this and now that it's happened, I don't know what to think."
Angel wrapped his arms around Buffy's slender from and let her cry into his shoulder. She was just confused and scared because a supernatural event had just happened and she had been running from anything supernatural for the three years. They both had. But this event, this life that had been created by them was the best thing either of them could have ever asked for. "Come on baby. Let's go home and get you into bed." She nodded and they left the doctor's office.
Later that night, Angel sat in his big lazy boy staring at the roaring fire. Buffy was asleep in their huge bed in the bedroom. Thoughts of a long ago conversation between them raced through his head.
"And I still have to go home and fill out my egg diary." Buffy said.
"Your what?" Angel asked, following Buffy as she led him through the graveyard by the hand.
"I told you. That faux parenting gig I'm doing in school. Like I'm really planning to have kids any time soon. Someday, when I'm done having a life maybe. A kid would be too much to deal with now."
"I wouldn't know. I don't.. Well, you know, I can't."
Buffy stared at him a moment as it sunk in. "Oh." She blinked. "Well, it's totally okay. I figured there are all kinds of things vampires can't do like, you know, work for the telephone company, volunteer for the red cross. Have little vampires.."
"So you don't think about the future?"
"No."
"Never?"
"Nope."
"You really don't care what happens a year from now? Five years from now?"
"Angel, when I try to look into the future, all I see is you. All I want is you."
Angel stared at her for a moment. "I know the feeling." He drew her into his arms and they started to kiss passionately, leaning against the headstone and sinking to the ground.
This was the best, but weirdest thing that had ever happened to him. He had never thought that he and Buffy could have kids. They had both accepted it. Knew that it wasn't meant to be, but how in the world was it happening now?
Buffy knew the answer to that question. In her and Angel's bedroom, Buffy dreamed. But it wasn't really a dream, was it? She was in a big ancient Greece type place with high marble columns and arches. Two people stood in front of her. One was male, the other female. They were dressed in black velvet robes and their skin was gold with blue streaks everywhere. His hair was short and blonde while hers was long, black, curly and up on top of her head. When they spoke their voices echoed, but Buffy's didn't.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.
"We are the Oracles." The man said.
"We speak for the Powers That Be." The woman said.
"We have summoned you here to give you answers."
"Answers? Answers to what?" Buffy asked.
"To the child you carry in your womb." The woman said. Buffy placed her hands over her stomach protectively.
"You seek to know how it has happened." The man said.
"The Powers are angry with you and the vampire."
"Angry? What did we do?" Buffy asked.
"You have ignored your callings. You are the warriors of light, the Powers' best chance of winning the End of Days."
"What does Angel and I quitting have anything to do with this baby? You do realize that it's not natural for a vampire to be able conceive a kid?"
"The Powers do realize, but this child is of utmost importance to the world." The man said.
"Are you saying the kid is going to be a Slayer?"
"No. This child will be the ultimate warrior of the people. He will fight by your side in the End of Days battle." The woman said.
"He? It's a boy?"
"Yes. Congratulations by the way."
"Thanks, but this wasn't exactly how I planned on having kids. Well, actually I never planned on having kids."
"This does not matter to the Powers. They need you and the vampire at the End of Days battle to fight alongside your son."
"Now why in the hell would I put my kid through that kind of torment? I put up with being the Slayer for seven years. There is no way I would EVER put another person through that, let alone my kid."
"You have no choice."
"I'm tired of you people interfering in my life. Why can't you just leave us alone?"
"That is not possible." The man said.
"You are the Slayer. You cannot ignore your calling." The woman said.
"I have for three years now." Buffy said angrily. "What gives you the right to butt in now?"
"Slayer, this is no longer in your hands. There is nothing you can do to stop the End of Days and the overwhelming instincts within you to fight. And your son will not be able to either. He will know of your heritage and he will want more. His natural instinct will be to fight evil."
"No, it won't."
"Why do you fight this?"
"Because it's unfair! It's unfair to rip a person out of their life and throw them into hell for seven years! It's unfair to make a child between two people who love each other more than life itself and then tell them that the kid was only created to fight!"
"As you say on Earth, life isn't fair."
"Well guess what! I'm not a fair person. My son will NOT know about vampires or demons or the Hellmouth! He will NOT know that I was once a Slayer and that his father is a vampire."
"And how do you plan to stop him from knowing?"
"I'm his mother, I can do anything." Buffy turned to go.
"He will know. He will notice that neither of you ages. He will notice his father's need for blood and why his father hardly ever eats food like he does."
"Wait." Buffy turned back around. "Not age?"
"Yes. This is another tactic of the Powers to get you to fight in the End of Days."
"You will not age. You will go on living never changing." The man said.
"Why?" Buffy asked.
"You are the Slayer, the best there has ever been. No Slayer has ever lived this long. Your reward is eternal life." The woman said.
"I don't want eternal life."
"Do you not wish to be forever with the vampire?"
"Oh, I wish, but I don't want. Take it away, now."
"I cannot."
"Why?" Buffy started to cry. "How can the Powers do this to me? Haven't I suffered enough for you people?"
"Sister, maybe there is something we could do." The man said.
"There is nothing. The Powers do not take back their gifts."
"But they do alter them. It has always been this way. If a person is given a present by the Powers and it does not suit this person, the Powers will alter the gift to the person's satisfaction."
"And what, dear brother, do you suggest the Powers alter?"
"If she and the vampire with a soul are to defeat the darkness, she will begin to age again along with the vampire."
"He will be human?"
"Precisely and so will she. They may have their life together. They may have their wishes fulfilled. Do the Powers oblige?"
The woman paused and tilted her head as if she were listening to someone whispering in her ear. "Yes. Yes, the Powers are pleased with this proposition and it is done."
"So, what? I'm going to not age until the End of Days and if I win, IF I win, then I get to age again?" Buffy asked.
"And so shall the vampire." The woman said.
"Angel will be human?"
"Yes. Can you live with this?" Buffy stared at the woman and nodded slightly. "Good, then all is settled. Go back to your world Slayer and wake up."
The woman clapped her hands and Buffy woke up in her bed. She looked around in panic at first, but then slowly eased down. Had the dream been real? Of course it had. There was no way she would have imagined all that. Then it all hit her. The baby, immortality, Angel's humanity, the End of Days battle.
"Angel!" Buffy screamed.
2005- 1 year later
"The warriors are angering the Powers with their insolence." The Oracle woman said.
"They wish to motivate them into coming back to the fight?" The Oracle man asked.
"Yes. They have a gift for them. Not only will it benefit their wishes, but the Powers also."
"And what, dear sister, will they send?"
"A child. A warrior of the light made in love. He will fight in the End of Days alongside his parents."
"But the Slayer, she is a mortal. The End of Days will come without her."
"She will live."
"How is that, pray tell?"
"The Slayer will no longer age with the birth of her son. She will forever be the age she is now. It is a reward from the Powers."
"Reward?"
"Yes. She is the longest living Slayer. No Slayer has ever matched her capacity and the Powers wish to have her for the End of Days for she will surely win."
"And when will the child arrive to bring about the Slayer's immortality?"
"Late June of the year 2006."
"So then it has already been done? The child is in the Slayer's womb."
"You don't miss a thing brother."
Buffy gagged into the toilet again, but this time there was nothing to come back up. She had thrown everything else up. Angel held her long hair in one hand and flushed the toilet with the other. It had been the same routine for the past two weeks. Wake up, vomit, more sleep, wake up and be perfectly fine, and then around dinnertime, vomit some more. She wiped her mouth and allowed Angel to help her to her feet. Her legs were so wobbly that she pretty much collapsed in Angel's arms.
"Baby, I'm taking you to a doctor." Angel said.
"No. I'm good. It's just a stomach virus." Buffy said, sitting on the couch. "It'll pass."
"I'm not so sure it's just a virus. Buffy, it could be something a lot more serious."
"Would you feel better if I went to see a doctor?"
"You know I would."
"Fine. I'll make an appointment tomorrow."
"Today."
"I won't get in until tomorrow."
"As long as you call today." Angel handed her the cordless.
"I don't have the number."
"It's on the memory. I think number three."
"You put the doctor on speed dial?"
"Just in case of emergencies. It was on speed dial back in Sunnydale."
"That's because we were constantly in danger."
"Well, call now. I don't want you to die of something."
Buffy rolled her eyes and started to dial. Just as she was about to push 3, her stomach turned and she dropped the phone, running to the bathroom. Angel started to go after her, but she slammed the door. He sighed and called the doctor. Turns out that if they hurried, they could get in at 1:30. One of the doctor's patients had dropped their appointment and rescheduled. Angel helped Buffy get dressed in some yoga pants and a sweater. It was fall and sometimes it could get cold in Ireland. Today was one of those days. He drove into Galway and pulled up to the doctor's office.
As soon as Angel filled out the small amount of paperwork, Buffy's name was called. Angel escorted her in despite her protests. The nurse took Buffy's weight and temperature and then left saying the doctor would be in soon. Buffy gripped Angel's hand tightly.
"I hate coming to the doctors." Buffy said.
"I know. But it's not a hospital, so ease up." Angel said. Buffy smiled weakly and loosened her grip. "How are you doing? No needed trips to the bathroom?"
"Not right now, but if this guy doesn't hurry up it will be."
"Or woman." Angel said as the door opened and a woman walked in.
"Hello." The doctor said. She was pretty. She had long curly red hair that was pulled tastefully into a ponytail at the base of her neck. "My name is Dr. McClintock. And you must be Mrs. Callaghan."
"Buffy." Buffy said. "Hi."
Dr. McClintock sat down in a chair facing Buffy who was sitting higher up on the table. "Ok Buffy, tell me what's wrong."
"Well, I.. Uh, I've been.."
"She's been throwing up for the past two weeks." Angel said. "She wakes up in the morning and that's the first thing that she does. Sometimes it'll last all the way through the day, sometimes it'll be sporadic, other day's she's just fine."
"What he said."
"Hmm, the nurse said you didn't have a fever. Do you have any allergies? History of illnesses in the family?" Dr. McClintock said looking at a folder in her hand.
"No on both accounts. Unless you count my mom having cancer a while back, but I told Angel that it was probably just a stomach virus. I don't have cancer."
"Is there anything else?"
"Like what?"
"Fatigue? Cravings? Frequent urination?"
"Um, yes, yes, and yes."
"Ok, I need you to take this cup and go to the bathroom. Bring it back with the lid on it when you're done."
"You want me to pee in a cup?"
"Precisely."
"Ok.." Buffy took the cup and walked into the bathroom.
Angel watched the door for a minute then looked at the doctor. "So, uh, Dr. McClintock.."
"Moira."
"Uh, Moira, what do you think is wrong with my wife?"
"Four words: She could be pregnant. I'm running a urine test to be positive."
"Pregnant? That's not possible. I mean, I can't."
"You're infertile?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Well, it's not THAT uncommon for an infertile male to impregnate a female. Sometimes he just gets one good batch and you get a baby."
"The last time I had to do that was my physical for cheerleading freshman year." Buffy said, handing the cup to the doctor.
"Ok, I'll be right back with your results." Moira got up and left the room.
"My results? Results for what?" Buffy asked, turning to Angel. He looked utterly shocked. "Hey earth to Angel? Results? What is she talking about?"
"She thinks you might be.." Angel said, a small smile playing at his lips.
"Ok Angel, spill. You know a lot more than I do right now."
"Pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Angel nodded. "How? You're a vampire. You can't.. You told me you couldn't."
"I can't."
"Is it the ring?"
"No. It doesn't make me alive. Just truly immortal. Indestructible."
Buffy was speechless. There was nothing she could think of to say or do except go sit on the table and wait for the doctor to come back. It was another ten minutes before she actually did.
"Ok, I guess Mr. Callaghan has given you the news and I'm here to confirm it. Congratulations, you're pregnant. Now, I can recommend some prenatal doctors to go to. You need to get to one within the next week or so. The best OB-GYN doctor in Galway would be Dr. Mehta. She's excellent to have through the whole thing. She was my doctor when I had my first child."
"A-are you positive?" Buffy asked.
"99 percent. Our tests rarely if ever fail. Congratulations. I'll put in a call to Dr. Mehta right away."
"Thank you." Angel said.
After the doctor left, Buffy and Angel just sat there staring at each other. Every now and then they would look down at Buffy's stomach in wonderment. They knew this wasn't a natural pregnancy. It couldn't be. Nothing about a Slayer and a vampire having a baby was remotely natural.
"I wonder if it's a boy of a girl." Angel said softly.
"What?" Buffy looked at him.
"Well, if it's a boy I want him to look like me. If it's a girl, she'll be as beautiful as her mother."
"Are you accepting this? Are you accepting that we're having a child that's not really supposed to happen."
"Buffy," Angel stood and cupped her face with his hands. "I don't care how it happened. All I know is that it happened and I'm not doing anything to stop this baby from coming. I love you and I will love this baby that WE created."
Buffy started to cry. "I've always wanted this and now that it's happened, I don't know what to think."
Angel wrapped his arms around Buffy's slender from and let her cry into his shoulder. She was just confused and scared because a supernatural event had just happened and she had been running from anything supernatural for the three years. They both had. But this event, this life that had been created by them was the best thing either of them could have ever asked for. "Come on baby. Let's go home and get you into bed." She nodded and they left the doctor's office.
Later that night, Angel sat in his big lazy boy staring at the roaring fire. Buffy was asleep in their huge bed in the bedroom. Thoughts of a long ago conversation between them raced through his head.
"And I still have to go home and fill out my egg diary." Buffy said.
"Your what?" Angel asked, following Buffy as she led him through the graveyard by the hand.
"I told you. That faux parenting gig I'm doing in school. Like I'm really planning to have kids any time soon. Someday, when I'm done having a life maybe. A kid would be too much to deal with now."
"I wouldn't know. I don't.. Well, you know, I can't."
Buffy stared at him a moment as it sunk in. "Oh." She blinked. "Well, it's totally okay. I figured there are all kinds of things vampires can't do like, you know, work for the telephone company, volunteer for the red cross. Have little vampires.."
"So you don't think about the future?"
"No."
"Never?"
"Nope."
"You really don't care what happens a year from now? Five years from now?"
"Angel, when I try to look into the future, all I see is you. All I want is you."
Angel stared at her for a moment. "I know the feeling." He drew her into his arms and they started to kiss passionately, leaning against the headstone and sinking to the ground.
This was the best, but weirdest thing that had ever happened to him. He had never thought that he and Buffy could have kids. They had both accepted it. Knew that it wasn't meant to be, but how in the world was it happening now?
Buffy knew the answer to that question. In her and Angel's bedroom, Buffy dreamed. But it wasn't really a dream, was it? She was in a big ancient Greece type place with high marble columns and arches. Two people stood in front of her. One was male, the other female. They were dressed in black velvet robes and their skin was gold with blue streaks everywhere. His hair was short and blonde while hers was long, black, curly and up on top of her head. When they spoke their voices echoed, but Buffy's didn't.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.
"We are the Oracles." The man said.
"We speak for the Powers That Be." The woman said.
"We have summoned you here to give you answers."
"Answers? Answers to what?" Buffy asked.
"To the child you carry in your womb." The woman said. Buffy placed her hands over her stomach protectively.
"You seek to know how it has happened." The man said.
"The Powers are angry with you and the vampire."
"Angry? What did we do?" Buffy asked.
"You have ignored your callings. You are the warriors of light, the Powers' best chance of winning the End of Days."
"What does Angel and I quitting have anything to do with this baby? You do realize that it's not natural for a vampire to be able conceive a kid?"
"The Powers do realize, but this child is of utmost importance to the world." The man said.
"Are you saying the kid is going to be a Slayer?"
"No. This child will be the ultimate warrior of the people. He will fight by your side in the End of Days battle." The woman said.
"He? It's a boy?"
"Yes. Congratulations by the way."
"Thanks, but this wasn't exactly how I planned on having kids. Well, actually I never planned on having kids."
"This does not matter to the Powers. They need you and the vampire at the End of Days battle to fight alongside your son."
"Now why in the hell would I put my kid through that kind of torment? I put up with being the Slayer for seven years. There is no way I would EVER put another person through that, let alone my kid."
"You have no choice."
"I'm tired of you people interfering in my life. Why can't you just leave us alone?"
"That is not possible." The man said.
"You are the Slayer. You cannot ignore your calling." The woman said.
"I have for three years now." Buffy said angrily. "What gives you the right to butt in now?"
"Slayer, this is no longer in your hands. There is nothing you can do to stop the End of Days and the overwhelming instincts within you to fight. And your son will not be able to either. He will know of your heritage and he will want more. His natural instinct will be to fight evil."
"No, it won't."
"Why do you fight this?"
"Because it's unfair! It's unfair to rip a person out of their life and throw them into hell for seven years! It's unfair to make a child between two people who love each other more than life itself and then tell them that the kid was only created to fight!"
"As you say on Earth, life isn't fair."
"Well guess what! I'm not a fair person. My son will NOT know about vampires or demons or the Hellmouth! He will NOT know that I was once a Slayer and that his father is a vampire."
"And how do you plan to stop him from knowing?"
"I'm his mother, I can do anything." Buffy turned to go.
"He will know. He will notice that neither of you ages. He will notice his father's need for blood and why his father hardly ever eats food like he does."
"Wait." Buffy turned back around. "Not age?"
"Yes. This is another tactic of the Powers to get you to fight in the End of Days."
"You will not age. You will go on living never changing." The man said.
"Why?" Buffy asked.
"You are the Slayer, the best there has ever been. No Slayer has ever lived this long. Your reward is eternal life." The woman said.
"I don't want eternal life."
"Do you not wish to be forever with the vampire?"
"Oh, I wish, but I don't want. Take it away, now."
"I cannot."
"Why?" Buffy started to cry. "How can the Powers do this to me? Haven't I suffered enough for you people?"
"Sister, maybe there is something we could do." The man said.
"There is nothing. The Powers do not take back their gifts."
"But they do alter them. It has always been this way. If a person is given a present by the Powers and it does not suit this person, the Powers will alter the gift to the person's satisfaction."
"And what, dear brother, do you suggest the Powers alter?"
"If she and the vampire with a soul are to defeat the darkness, she will begin to age again along with the vampire."
"He will be human?"
"Precisely and so will she. They may have their life together. They may have their wishes fulfilled. Do the Powers oblige?"
The woman paused and tilted her head as if she were listening to someone whispering in her ear. "Yes. Yes, the Powers are pleased with this proposition and it is done."
"So, what? I'm going to not age until the End of Days and if I win, IF I win, then I get to age again?" Buffy asked.
"And so shall the vampire." The woman said.
"Angel will be human?"
"Yes. Can you live with this?" Buffy stared at the woman and nodded slightly. "Good, then all is settled. Go back to your world Slayer and wake up."
The woman clapped her hands and Buffy woke up in her bed. She looked around in panic at first, but then slowly eased down. Had the dream been real? Of course it had. There was no way she would have imagined all that. Then it all hit her. The baby, immortality, Angel's humanity, the End of Days battle.
"Angel!" Buffy screamed.
