Chapter 5

"Joy stop it, put your clothes back on this instant" Buffy ran a hand through her now brown hair and grabbed at the squirming bundle of naked flesh. "Mamma don" "Oh I will now come here and get dressed". Buffy grabbed a towel and starting drying the one and a half year old. She had grown so quickly and looked so much like her father that she had a hard time saying no to the child. Her eyes had indeed changed but not to brown like she thought but instead were like her own with the specks of green but her hair did go dark brown which is why Buffy died her hair. She had her nose thank god but Angel's lips. She smiled as she bent and placed a kiss on the now dry child. Joy looked up at her and smiled cheekily and said "No cloth" Buffy rolled her eyes and said "And how am I supposed to get you to play group without cloth missy?" She earned a shrug but Joy stood still and let her dress her in pink, her new favorite color.

She dropped her off at play group and doubled back to the gym. Walking in the door Katrina said "Hey Anna you up for a double date?" Buffy rolled her eyes and said "Another blind date I don't think so, I think I will stick with Joy thank you very much" Ever since Joy had turned 1 Katrina had been trying to get Buffy to date much to her disgust. She went on one once two months ago, never again. He was dull and boring and all he wanted to talk about was sports. She had ended pretending she had an emergency at home with Joy and ditching it 1 hour into it. She didn't trust Katrina's dates anymore. Katrina shrugged at her and said "Your loss but you don't know what you're missing". Buffy kept walking and yelled behind her shoulder "That's life".

Her classes had grown enormously and she didn't have to scrounge up money anymore. Joy was getting pretty much anything a 1 and a half year old could want and Buffy felt like she had a normal life.

Although as said before she was pregnant she still went on patrol. Late at night when Joy was tucked in bed and Buffy was sure she wouldn't wake up, she would patrol the neighborhood for half an hour. It kept the itch at bay and let her not be out of practice. The vamps were still as stupid and the demons she ran across were mostly harmless. If she went further she knew she would most likely run into scarier things but she didn't want to take the risk of leaving Joy motherless as well as fatherless.

Chapter 6

"Joy put your clothe back on this instant" Buffy once again was scrambling to put the clothes back on the toddler. She went from running around the house trying to get clothes back on a 1 and a half year old to running around a pool trying to get bathers back on a nearly 3 year old. Terrible twos were in full blow and Buffy was literally running around in circles. She stopped suddenly an idea in her head "Well I guess Joy won't be able to have an ice cream with me if she can't be dressed."

The toddler running around suddenly stopped and peeked out from behind a chair and said "Peppermint choc chip?" Buffy smiled and said "Only little girls about yah high with curly brown hair and the adorable Blue eyes with green flecks in them that are dressed can have Peppermint choc chip". Joy suddenly runs out and snatches her bathing suit from Buffy's hand and pulls it on nearly tripping over but she manages. She grabs Buffy's hand and starts dragging her and says "Come on then let's go momma".

Buffy smiles at her baby girl and lets herself be dragged to the car, where dutifully straps Joy into the brand new red beetle in her brand new tigger seat. She climbs into the driver's side and is for once happy she took the lessons and got her license under her new name. She still gets that slight twinge of guilt when she thinks of the guy she beat up to get the new identity but puts it behind her because she knows he was half demon and she didn't really hurt him.

She is off and driving very safely and pulls up at their favorite ice creamery. She ahs barely unbuckled Joy before she is running in shouting "Jimmy Jimmy Ice cream time". She watches as Jimmy smiles at her and tips his hat at Buffy. Buffy goes over gives him some money and says "Can you watch her while I go make a call." He laughs and says "Since when do you ask Ms Anna" She smiles and says "Since I became a mother and since I always answer you the same way". He smiles and goes and sits with Joy. Buffy smiles at them and goes to the phone booth to make her monthly call to Willow.

Lately they had started making calls more regularly because she was starting become closer to Will again. Will had started college this year and had filled her in on all the news. She had cried with her when told about Oz and they both had talked about him being a jerk and what not. When Willow told her she was Gay and wasn't sure how everyone would react she had told her that whatever anyone said didn't matter as long as it felt right to her. She had wanted to bite her tongue because she hadn't told her about Joy but it was too late. She couldn't just say "Oh and by the way I have a 3 year old daughter". Yeah right. But they had gotten close over the years even if she had called only once a month and when important things happen, like birthdays and anniversaries and so on.

Today was just an update day. Willow told her about the initiative and how they only just found out about them and that Spike was chipped and chained to Giles' bath tub. She laughed so hard when she told her this. When she hung up the phone she had a smile on her face and even the sight of Joy's ice cream covered face couldn't take it off.

**************************************************************************** Author note: Wait till you see the next chapter, beats me how I thought it up but I like it so hopefully you will keep reading and like it too.