Chapter Eight:

Gently patting her daughter's back, Buffy smiled when Olivia obediently burped in response. She couldn't believe that six weeks had passed since Olivia had been born. Little Olivia was an imperfect clone of Buffy. The mother and daughter both shared the same essential facial features, although Angelus' mark was all over their daughter. Rather than Buffy's own nose, Olivia had a tiny replica of Angelus', something that Buffy thanked God for every night; she had always thought her nose to be…weird looking. The biggest difference was Olivia's deep, intense chocolate brown eyes and dark locks.

"Oh Olivia!" Willow cried out, gently stealing the baby from her friend's arms. "What a life you must have! Do you have the gold toothbrush for her first tooth yet?"

Buffy looked around the nursery. Ever since Olivia's birth, Angelus had brought home a new present for his daughter every day. After six weeks of presents, the nursery was getting a bit full. "Ask Angelus," she answered, surprised at how bitter her voice sounded.

Sobering up, Willow sat next to Buffy, still holding Olivia in her arms. "What's wrong, Buffy?" she asked, worried eyes focused on her best friend.

What was wrong was that her husband couldn't even look her in the eye. Ever since she returned from the hospital, Angelus had been cold, distant. It was as if all his emotional warmth was for their daughter and Buffy was left out in the cold. Her deepest fear, suspicion, was that Angelus was going to try to get Buffy to leave him, and her daughter, leaving Angelus free to marry a more acceptable mother for his precious daughter.

If she didn't adore Olivia with every fiber of her being, Buffy would have resented the baby. "Nothing," Buffy answered, smiling weakly. "Just tired, I guess."

"Marriage just out of its honeymoon phase AND late-night feedings?" Willow teased, even though she knew there was more to the story than what Buffy was letting on, "I'd be tired too!"

Standing up, Buffy reached for her now-sleeping baby. "Yeah, it's hard," Buffy quietly agreed. "How's married life treating you?" she asked, knowing that asking that was the best way to change the subject.

Quietly pushing her food around her plate, Buffy found that her appetite was nonexistent. Sighing, she moved her green bean over to the left of her pot roast, completing the abstract smiley face. "Are you just going to play with your food?" Angelus said, breaking the silence.

"No," Buffy answered, voice petulant. "I want a divorce."

"Excuse me?" Angelus asked, shocked.

"I. Want. A. Divorce," Buffy slowly repeated. "We don't have a real marriage, Angelus. We're just two people who happen to live together."

"No," Angelus said easily.

"No?" Buffy glared at him. "NO!?"

"That's right; no," Angelus said, stabbing a piece of pot roast with his fork. "I will not give you a divorce so that you can take Livvy away from me. No."

Of course, Buffy thought. He didn't want to stay married because he loved her. He wanted to stay married to keep Olivia close to him. If the situation wasn't so serious, Buffy would have cried. Obviously, even thought he was well informed about various laws, Angelus thought that all divorces with children went like his own parents'; the child goes with the mother and the father never saw the child. "Angelus," Buffy started, "I would never…Olivia needs her daddy and I wouldn't take her from you."

"No divorce," Angelus absently said, gently setting his fork down.

"Damnit Angelus!" Buffy snapped, pushing away from the table and storming up to her room. She flung herself onto her bed, fuming with anger and confusion.

The door creaked open. "We're not getting a divorce," Angelus silkily announced, stalking over to her bed. "Our lonely nights are now fast ending. I gave you six weeks; that is an adequate amount of time for you to heal, correct?"

Wordlessly, Buffy nodded, watching as her husband got closer and closer. What was she doing? Why wasn't she screaming her lungs out? She did not want Angelus; they were going to be getting a divorce. She did not want to be treated like an inferior person any longer. Helpless, Buffy returned the kiss Angelus had gently placed on her lips. Returned it and then some.

Their kisses grew more and more passionate, until Buffy finally regained some of her resolve. "Stop," she whispered, her voice husky with lust.

"Never," Angelus countered, silencing her further protests with another kiss. Buffy melted into him—for a moment. Lashing out, she put all of her weight into pushing Angelus off of her. "What?!" he finally snapped.

"Do you really think that…this," Buffy said, motioning between them and the bed, "will make me not want a divorce?! Angelus, I didn't marry you for sex!"

"You didn't marry me for love, either," Angelus pointed out, "Just a name for your, our, child and financial support!"

Her jaw dropping, Buffy could only stare, dumbstruck, at her husband. Finally the full implication of his words struck her. Throwing her hands in the air, Buffy made a sound in the back of her throat that was half-growl, half-sigh. "You are an idiot," she lashed out, before turning sharply and opening the door. "Get the hell out of here!"

"I'm the idiot!" Angelus' temper finally broke, his carefully controlled emotions breaking free. "Damnit, Buffy, I love you! I've always loved you!"

"Then why do you keep shutting me out?! Why are you such a-a…poophead?!" Buffy stammered, Angelus' confession shocking her. She vaguely remembered telling him that she loved him, the night of Olivia's birth, and commanding him to do the same, but had just thought that it was just her imagination.

"Because I damned near killed you! Twice!" Angelus burst out, his voice growing louder, almost matching Buffy's own volume.

"What are you talking about now?!" Buffy screeched.

"If I wouldn't have let my hormones get out of control, you wouldn't have been pregnant, you wouldn't have had such issues with the surgery, you wouldn't have had eclampsia…"

"I wouldn't have had Olivia," Buffy pointed out, her voice quiet. She never realized that Angelus blamed himself for all the complications during her pregnancy. "That wasn't your fault, Angel."

Suddenly weak, Angelus sat, heavily, down on the bed, sighing as he did so. Buffy stared at him, looking at the seemingly strong, apathetic man with new eyes. She finally admitted to herself that she loved Angelus, had loved him ever since they had first met, all those years ago. Biting her lip, Buffy sat down next to him and wondered if she should grab his hand. She was in the process of reaching for his much-larger hand, when he broke the silence.

"Do you know you call me 'Angel' when you're caught off guard or not thinking straight?" Angelus questioned, not looking at Buffy.

"Did you know that you never used to call me 'Buffy,' until we first…you know," Buffy said. "It was either Buff or nothing at all."

"It was my fault," Angelus softly said, changing the subject, "I wanted you to have a normal life, not…a freak show with me, the man the media chases."

"As opposed to the boy who lived?" Buffy quipped, smiling slightly. She wasn't surprised when Angelus gave her a blank stare. Up-to-date with pop culture, her husband was not. "Angel, if you haven't noticed…I'm not exactly the least-famous person on the planet."

"No, it's not the same. The whole thing with Abrams, that was your first real media circus. Your face on magazine covers, advertisements, billboards, that's nothing."

The couple sat in silence again. Buffy grabbed Angelus' hand at the start of the silence and, to her surprise, he held her's in return. "I love you, Angelus," Buffy softly said, breaking the silence. "I want my life to be with you, but I refuse to be shut out of your life. I'm giving you my everything; I want the same in return."

Angelus was silent for a moment. "I don't," he said, "and you already are."

Stunned into silence, Buffy blinked back tears, pulling her hand away from his, not looking at him. "Oh," she softly, hoarsely, replied. "I understand. I-I'm going to my mom's," she swallowed, hard, "I'll be in contact."

"Buffy," Angelus called out, stopping her in her tracks. "What did you think I just said?"

"Damn you," she cursed, whirling around, not hiding her tears, "You don't want to share a life with me! You're already shutting me out! You asshole!"

Incredibly, Angelus laughed. Buffy could only stare, dumbstruck, at her husband as he laughed when her world was crumbling around her. She always thought Angelus was cruel; she never imagined that he was this bad! "Good-bye," she softly said, holding her head high.

She had barely touched the doorknob when a strong hand grasped her arm and forcibly turned to around. "Beloved, I don't want you to want your life to be with me and you already are my world," he softly repeated, this time being succinct and to the point. "I love you, Buffy."

"I-I…don't understand," Buffy wailed, "It's like you're trying to tell me something—something important!"

Snickering softly, Angelus gently lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the bed. "Beloved, I love you. You love me—even though I wish that you could have a normal life, one that includes a house in the suburbs, a normal, average joe-husband, 2.5 kids, and, maybe, a dog, I'm glad you chose me. Because I've loved you ever since your fifteenth birthday.

"Then Tuscany happened…oh God, I wish I would have handled that differently, Buffy. I thought that, if I had you once, I'd be 'cured' of the feelings I've felt for you for forever. Imagine my surprise when, rather than going away, they become a hundred times worse," Angelus said, smiling down at Buffy, "But then I realized how much I took from you; your virginity, your career, your opportunities, and, almost, your life.

"I was becoming Jenny," Angelus softly, almost too quietly for Buffy to hear, said. Buffy's heart wrenched. She knew that Angelus loved his mother dearly, but, at the same time, resented her for what she had done to Giles. Angelus had felt that his mother had robbed his father of Giles' family, his life. "I don't want that—I don't want Olivia to become a headline. Stay. With me."

Staring into her husband's watery eyes, Buffy smiled, slightly. Leaning forward, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She pulled away, slightly, before answering.

"Always."

Epilogue:

"Daddy, higher!" Olivia Giles regally commanded as her father struggled to push his daughter to an appropriate height. "Dad-dee!"

"Livvy, sweet," Angelus huffed, "We've been doing this for three hours. Daddy's tired."

Laughing, Olivia turned in the swing. Angelus smiled at his daughter, as he, for the millionth time, marveled at how much she looked like her mother. "Silly, Daddies don't get tired!" Olivia rebuked.

At a loss for words, Angelus just continued to push his firstborn. Buffy watched, from the shadows, as her little princess continued to call out commands to Angelus. Olivia's chestnut hair streamed out behind her and Buffy frowned at the grass stains visible on Olivia's clothing. Angelus had promised that they wouldn't wrestle on the lawn! Not today, at least!

"Moooooooommmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeee!"

Buffy turned, just in time for her youngest to leap into her arms. Baby Connor was in tears and Buffy was immediately on the lookout for their middle children, twin terrors named Dawn and Liam. "Hush, sweetie," Buffy quieted her four-year-old and finally spotted the five-year-old twins. "Dawn! Liam!"

Their quiet 'alone-time,' as Olivia called it, destroyed, she jumped off of the swing, much to Angelus' dismay, since said swing was still swinging. "Mother!" the seven-year-old scolded. "I thought you said that Daddy and I got to be alone today!"

"Olivia," Buffy sighed, in the middle of handling another battle of the youngers, "Not now. Angel, please."

Swooping down, Angelus motioned for Olivia to jump on his back. "Hang on, Livvy," he said, before letting her go, happy that his eldest clung to him like a monkey. He gathered the three youngest in his arms and calmly walked to the house. "Guys, what did I tell you about Mommy?"

"She's a poophead?" Dawn asked, giggling.

"No, stupid, she's an ogre!" Liam matter-of-factly said. Buffy, two steps behind her family, simply raised an eyebrow at the comments.

"Ogre!" Connor agreed.

Knowing that Buffy was listening to every word, Angelus winced. Obviously the younger three forgot exactly what he had said. Luckily Olivia, being older, saved him from an uncomfortable night on the floor. "No," she said, her tone bored, "Daddy said that Mom needs quiet, especially when she starts acting like a poopheaded ogre. Oh, and, we're supposed to be on our best behavior!"

"Ahem," Buffy cleared her throat and Angelus turned to look at his wife. Maybe he would be on the floor tonight. "This poopheaded ogre would like to say the following: Last one in is a rotten egg!"

With that she took off running towards the house, where dinner was waiting on the table. The footsteps behind her told her that the children had liberated themselves from Angelus' arms. She slowed down and let her children catch up, and then pass her.

Angelus swept his wife of seven years up in his arms, jogging behind the children. "I thought you were tired, Daddy," Buffy mocked, slightly.

"I'm never too tired for you, beloved," he replied, stopping and thoroughly kissing her. "I love you."

"I love you," Buffy answered, pulling him down for another kiss.

"Ewwwwwwwww! Mom!"

"Daddy…gross!"

"I think our spores have issues with us kissing," Angelus whispered against Buffy's lips.

"Too bad," Buffy replied, kissing him once more, before leaping out of his arms and chasing after their children.

Angelus watched them run into the house with a smile on his face. Seven years had passed and he still loved his wife as much, if not more, as the day they had first said 'I love you.'

"Angel! Dinner is getting cold!" Buffy called out.

"Coming, love!" Angelus answered, jogging into their medium sized house in the suburbs, smiling as the family dog caught up to him. Life was exactly how he had hoped it would be.

"I love you," he whispered into his wife's ear, as he hugged her from behind.

"I love you," she replied. "Always."

END!

Thank you to everybody who has reviewed! I'm not at all satisfied with the last couple chapters and plan on rewriting them in the near future. So keep an eye out for that!