Part Seven
Because I was Pregnant

"I'm sorry you were what," said Angel in near shock.

"Pregnant. You know as in with child," said Buffy, "are you happy now."

"You were what," said Angel more forcefully!

"Angel listen to me, this could not be farther from the right place and the right time to have this conversation. If we do not find some cover soon some very unpleasant creatures with lots of teeth and a taste for people are going to start popping out of the ground... like daisies. Please I promise I will explain everything as many times and in whatever form you like just not now."

Angel looked like he was about to argue with her some more when Lorne decided it was time to step in. "Maybe you should listen to the apple tart."

"Fine we can postpone this for now but as soon as we can we are going to have a very serious conversation, and no excuses," Angel said clearly seething.

"I presume you know our location Buffy," asked Wesley.

"Yes, this is the Narac Valley. Home of the delightful Naracs. If memory serves there should be a village about 3 mi. east of here. We should have about an hour to get out of the valley before the Naracs make an appearance."

"And these Naracs are what exactly," said Gunn eyeing the surrounding landscape suspiciously.

"Demons, nasty ones. They are only about a foot tall but that foot is made up of mostly teeth and claws."

"Well then can I suggest we make an exit before they arrive," said Fred nervously.

"Happily. There is a place just outside the village where we can spend the rest of the night. We can get supplies from the village and make our way home tomorrow," said Buffy.

"I believe we have a plan, lets get a move on shall we," said Wesley.

They made their way east for about an hour-and-a-half until they could make out dim lights in the distance. The trip was made in mostly tense silence. Angel couldn't get out of his mind what Buffy had said, a child, possibly his child. The more he thought about the more questions he had. Where was the baby now? How had he never known? Why didn't she say anything, and what did any of this have to do with Connor?

For Buffy's part, she tried to decide what she was going to say. She couldn't believe she had just blurted it out like that. Years of not saying anything, not even hinting, and she had told the secret she had been trying to keep for years. She was terrified of how Angel would react when he heard the truth. Would he hate her forever? What she really didn't want to think about was what the future would now hold. In just a matter of seconds everything had changed.

When they were just outside the village, Buffy led them towards a large mountain in the distance. When they reached the base Buffy began pulling foliage off the side. After a while of this she revealed an opening leading into a cave.

The cave was about the size of a two-car garage with a sloping ceiling getting lower as you walked back. After everyone had piled in Buffy immediately set about moving a large rock slab in front of the opening. The rock was heavy and when it became apparent that Buffy couldn't move it on her own easily Angel moved beside her to help.

After the rock had been moved into place Buffy and Angel shared a heated glance. It looked as though Angel was about to say something when Buffy quickly yelled, "don't touch that!"

She stepped away from Angel and moved towards Fred. Fred had been investigating an unusual patch of discolored rocks near the back of the cave. "Why what is it?"

Buffy picked up a small rock and threw it at the rocks. The small rock passed through the wall as though it wasn't there. "This place has lots of those, if you see it don't touch it."

Wesley took his glasses off and moved closer to get a better look, "and those would be?"

"Passages into a very unpleasant place called Qurtoth." This statement immediately got everyone's attention. Wesley turned around to look at Angel who for his part looked very unhappy. None of this was making any sense.

Buffy noticed the exchange between everyone, "What?"

"We have heard of Qurtoth before unfortunately."

While her experience there had been brief it was not something she wanted to reminisce about. "Look there are still a couple hours before sunrise, let's try and get some sleep and we can go to the village tomorrow and get supplies."

"Some supplies for what exactly," asked Gunn.

"The only way to get back home is to make a portal."

"And how do you plan on doing that. We have no idea where to even begin and there's no one here with the kind of power it would take to do something like that," eyeing Buffy suspiciously, "unless of course there something else you aren't telling me."

Taking a deep breath Buffy turned to face Angel away from where she had been trying to build a fire, "I told the boy to make his way to Pristine Mountain, it is about two day journey north of here. Qurtoth makes hot spots of magical energy here. Pristine Mountain is one of the most powerful hot spots in this dimension. If we can get there we will be able to make a portal with very little trouble. Even an amateur can pull off amazing things from the mountain."

"Well how do you know that," ask Fred curiously.

"Lets just say that I had a spell or two I had to do in my time."

Angel looked as though he was about to say something but decided against it. Sarcasm wouldn't help anyone at that point. His terrified rage had passed but Angel was now consumed by dread and confusion. And naturally he was a little hurt. It took falling through a portal for Buffy to tell him a huge thing like her having a child, possibly his child.

Buffy went over to a large chest sitting next to a wall on the opposite side of the cave. She started rifling through it and pulled out two pieces of clothing that look like old-fashioned peasant dresses. She handed one to Fred and told her that she could wear it tomorrow when they went to town for supplies. She then handed Lorne a set of clothing as well.

"I hope those fit they are all I have for a guy."

"They will do fine buttercup, thank you."

"Tomorrow when we buy supplies for the journey to the mountain will have to get you three some clothes as well," said Buffy speaking to Wesley, Gunn, and Angel.

Fred, Buffy, and Lorne set their clothes for the next day aside. Buffy handed out blankets for everyone to use for the night. Gunn and Fred snuggled together on the far end, while Wesley slept by the west wall. Angel slept closest to the door with Buffy on the far end. Lorne slept near the middle.

After a tiring and stressful day everyone except Buffy and Angel were asleep.

Buffy's thoughts were consumed about how she was going to explain everything that happened while he had been in hell. She didn't really know where to begin. She dreaded the conversation that was to come.

Angel was honestly at a loss as to what to think. That phrase had been circling through his mind ever sense it had past her lips, "because I was pregnant." There were so many questions he could ask and yet the one he was most concerned with was why hadn't she ever said anything.

After some time like this Angel and Buffy fell into an uneasy sleep. Neither knew what the next day would hold.

******

While Buffy, Angel, and crew had landed north of Pristine Mountain, Connor had landed south of the mountain in a forested area. Connor surveyed the surrounding area and tried to determine where he was. He knew immediately that he was in the Krim dimension.

He knew this area wasn't anything special and decided it was good enough to make camp for the night. He searched until he found a place next to a rocky slope, where the rocks created a sort of overhang.

Connor knew that this was a place of little activity so he hadn't paid much attention to anything going on around him. His focus was on finding a place to rest for the night before he made his way towards the mountain. If he had been paying better attention he would of noticed that not far from where he landed another person had landed as well. He would have noticed that that person was none other than Holtz.

Holtz took in his surroundings far more carefully than the boy had. He was very intrigued by the standoff he had witnessed in the cemetery. He was also just a little bit confused. He had decided to follow the boy not long after he had left. He had trailed him most of the way and managed to stumble upon the three-way standoff. He had gotten just close enough to hear and see what was going on without attracting any attention.

The moment Steven had seen a girl Holtz knew he was a lost cause. The boy was always too much like his father and Holtz never really expected to keep him. Holtz would have gone over and killed the boy then however there were too many unanswered questions. He needed to know more about the situation, more about that girl, before he could make any decisions. There might be a way he could use that girl to his advantage.

First thing he had to do though was locate the knights he had seen in the cemetery. They seem to be doing God's work more than the demon had been. And perhaps they could come to an understanding and help each other reached their mutual goals.

Holtz was immediately on his way to locate the knights. Unfortunately for everyone else the knights would be easy for him to locate because they were only about half a mile away setting up camp.

Mac had also landed in Krim and was busy making his own plan. He had no intentions of letting Buffy and the boy escaped this time. It was no longer about the bounty, although that was still substantial; it was more about the challenge. Mac was one of the most feared bounty hunters in the Order of Taraka and in all his years he had never found a bounty as challenging as Buffy. He would find her and the boy and he would kill them. Nothing would stop him, he would make certain of that.