***Just a couple quick things...A) I am calling this a series, as in a
bunch of fics that are all tied together (versus a really long fic which is
sometimes considered a series), B) I said in the first part of this fic
that at the end, nothing would be resolved...by that I mean, this fic will
not have a happy ending, the series though will, C) canon is about to be
jumped in a serious way with a big shocking revelation, and before you ask
the who, what, how, why, etc...it'll all be explained eventually, and
finally D) CLIFF! *g*
Thank you to: Teri Best, sobad97, Jade, blueturtle, Allie, Christine, Sarah, Wendy, Tariq, Meg586, Lauren, Meghan, b/a always, TK, and caitlyn (and anyone I missed) for the wonderful feedback on Part 1!!!
***
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Part 2
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~three days later~
"Angel! No!" Buffy screamed, her mind quickly waking from the fitful sleep she'd been in.
Disoriented, Buffy looked around her room and realized that she had been dreaming, that she hadn't been back in the mansion watching the swirling vortex swallow Angel. This particular dream was one of her most frequent. Her subconscious seemed to like to replay that horrible night over and over, sometimes verbatim, sometimes changing the events slightly.
Glancing at her clock, Buffy realized that she'd only been asleep for forty- five minutes. Frustrated tears clouded her vision as she ran a hand through her hair. She contemplated trying to go back to sleep, but it was likely that the dreams would only return. Plus, she had to get up early anyway.
Her eyes drifted over to look at the window near her bed. Vivid memories played in her mind of all the times Angel had snuck into her room. She smiled slightly as she remembered the time she'd found him holding Mr. Gordo. The smile quickly faded when reality pushed back into her mind reminding her that Angel was gone from her life.
Dragging her tired body out of her bed, Buffy walked across her room and grabbed some clean clothes. Quietly, so she wouldn't wake her Mother, she made her way to the bathroom. Maybe a hot bath would help release some of her stress. She frowned at the idea. There probably wasn't a bath soothing enough to get rid of all her stress. At least it would get her clean, though.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~later that day~
Buffy nervously walked down the stairs toward Giles' apartment. She stopped at the bottom, her uncertainty over what she was about to do overwhelming her. The fact that she hadn't slept at all in the past three days wasn't helping either. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to sleep. In fact, she was exhausted, but she just hadn't been able to. There were too many things going on in her mind to allow her any rest.
Attempting to gather her courage, Buffy looked toward the door to Giles' apartment. She knew they were all in there waiting for her. She had called them all an hour before asking them to meet her here. But now she wasn't so sure she was ready to do this.
Her eyes closed as she tried to block out the scenarios that had plagued her thoughts for the last three days. Unfortunately, though, she knew they probably weren't all that far-fetched. And that was what was scaring her the most. She knew that what was about to happen wasn't going to be pretty.
She had to do it though. She had to tell them. It wasn't like she could hide it forever. That was impossible. But she couldn't help but fear what would happen once she told them the reason for the meeting. They would all undoubtedly be angry with her. And honestly, there was no way she could blame them for that.
Taking a deep breath that didn't in the least calm her nerves, Buffy forced herself to walk toward the door. She paused momentarily when she reached it, trying to shake off the foreboding feeling suddenly assaulting her senses. Finally, she turned the knob and entered the apartment, inwardly praying to whatever higher being there was that everything would be all right.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
Entering the apartment, Buffy saw all of her friends waiting for her, Willow, Oz, Xander, and Giles. The only one missing was Cordelia, whom, even though they'd not been on particularly good terms, Buffy had tried to contact anyway. When she had tried to call her though, she'd found that the number was no longer in service. Not that it really mattered, Cordy probably wouldn't have cared anyway.
"Hey Buffy!" chirped Willow from her seat on the couch next to Oz.
"Hello, Buffy. How are you?" Giles questioned as he ignored the dark circles under his Slayers' eyes, and her overall gaunt, sickly look.
"Hey guys. I'm fine Giles," Buffy answered quietly as she tried to gather all her inner strength.
"Hey Buffster! So what's the what?" asked Xander in his typical goofy tone as he munched on a bag of potato chips.
"Um.. I.. Uh.. called you here because.. uh.. There's something that I.. uh.. need to tell all of you." Buffy stated without looking any of them in the eye.
Everyone in the room suddenly stopped the extraneous things they had been doing. The serious, nervous tone of Buffy's voice had taken them all by surprise. Each and every one of them were now staring at the Slayer who was fidgeting from their eyes all on her.
Looking down for an instant, Buffy closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. It's now or never, she spoke internally. Pulling her eyes back to her friends, she gazed around at each of them for a few seconds before speaking again.
"I'm pregnant," she finally blurted out.
Their initial reactions were about as expected. Giles sat harshly down in the chair he'd been standing next too. Xander nearly choked on the chips he had been stuffing into his mouth. Willow could only stare at her, mouth hanging open while Oz just looked curiously at her.
"You-you're.," Giles started to repeat, unable to finish the sentence. He knew he must have misheard her statement.
"Pregnant, yes," Buffy finished for him, knowing full well that her news was a big shock considering what had been going on in her life recently.
"But.but," Xander stuttered, but stopped not knowing what exactly to say.
"A-are you s-sure?" asked Giles, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his handkerchief.
"Yes, I'm sure," Buffy replied. Sensing their need for more confirmation she explained further. "I took one of those home tests a few days ago, and this morning my doctor confirmed it."
Silence reigned in the room for a few minutes, everyone too shocked by the revelation to speak. Buffy remained standing next to the kitchen counter at the edge of the living room, nervously twining her fingers along the hem of her shirt. So far, so good, she thought to herself, but she knew the worse was yet to come.
Willow was the first one to find her voice and speak. "How far along are you," she questioned, a hurt expression on her face due to the fact that Buffy had obviously been with someone and hadn't told her best friend.
"A-about two months," Buffy stated softly, waiting for them to move on to the next question, which would undoubtedly be about who the father was.
Xander's brow scrunched at the revelation as he did the math in his head. It only took a moment for him to eye her suspiciously. "That would have been around graduation. We didn't know you were seeing anybody."
All eyes focused on Buffy causing her to squirm under their glares. This was the part she had been dreading. "I wasn't," she answered and then looked down at her feet.
"You had a one night stand?" Willow yelped in surprise. That was just not like Buffy at all, but it would have sort of explained why she hadn't told anyone.
"Um, n-not really," Buffy hedged, trying to avoid giving her friends the real answer to their question.
"Buffy, I think it would be best if you told us exactly what happened," prodded Giles a little more forcefully than intended. His mind was reeling from the news that his Slayer, the girl he considered to be his daughter in many ways, was with child.
"It happened the night of graduation," Buffy told them, still avoiding saying exactly what they wanted to hear.
"Who?" Willow asked, looking strangely at her friend. She knew full well that that particular day had been tough on Buffy because it had been the last one that she'd seen Angel. What had she done that had led to her being pregnant?
Who? indeed thought Buffy. That was the question that she feared the most. Taking a deep breath, she looked up, tears glistening in her eyes, and studied each of her friends for a second before answering their question.
"Angel," she barely whispered, and then waited for the inevitable explosion that was to follow.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
TBC! ...my apologies for the cliff, and for such short parts, that's just the way they worked out for this fic.
Thank you to: Teri Best, sobad97, Jade, blueturtle, Allie, Christine, Sarah, Wendy, Tariq, Meg586, Lauren, Meghan, b/a always, TK, and caitlyn (and anyone I missed) for the wonderful feedback on Part 1!!!
***
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Part 2
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~three days later~
"Angel! No!" Buffy screamed, her mind quickly waking from the fitful sleep she'd been in.
Disoriented, Buffy looked around her room and realized that she had been dreaming, that she hadn't been back in the mansion watching the swirling vortex swallow Angel. This particular dream was one of her most frequent. Her subconscious seemed to like to replay that horrible night over and over, sometimes verbatim, sometimes changing the events slightly.
Glancing at her clock, Buffy realized that she'd only been asleep for forty- five minutes. Frustrated tears clouded her vision as she ran a hand through her hair. She contemplated trying to go back to sleep, but it was likely that the dreams would only return. Plus, she had to get up early anyway.
Her eyes drifted over to look at the window near her bed. Vivid memories played in her mind of all the times Angel had snuck into her room. She smiled slightly as she remembered the time she'd found him holding Mr. Gordo. The smile quickly faded when reality pushed back into her mind reminding her that Angel was gone from her life.
Dragging her tired body out of her bed, Buffy walked across her room and grabbed some clean clothes. Quietly, so she wouldn't wake her Mother, she made her way to the bathroom. Maybe a hot bath would help release some of her stress. She frowned at the idea. There probably wasn't a bath soothing enough to get rid of all her stress. At least it would get her clean, though.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~later that day~
Buffy nervously walked down the stairs toward Giles' apartment. She stopped at the bottom, her uncertainty over what she was about to do overwhelming her. The fact that she hadn't slept at all in the past three days wasn't helping either. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to sleep. In fact, she was exhausted, but she just hadn't been able to. There were too many things going on in her mind to allow her any rest.
Attempting to gather her courage, Buffy looked toward the door to Giles' apartment. She knew they were all in there waiting for her. She had called them all an hour before asking them to meet her here. But now she wasn't so sure she was ready to do this.
Her eyes closed as she tried to block out the scenarios that had plagued her thoughts for the last three days. Unfortunately, though, she knew they probably weren't all that far-fetched. And that was what was scaring her the most. She knew that what was about to happen wasn't going to be pretty.
She had to do it though. She had to tell them. It wasn't like she could hide it forever. That was impossible. But she couldn't help but fear what would happen once she told them the reason for the meeting. They would all undoubtedly be angry with her. And honestly, there was no way she could blame them for that.
Taking a deep breath that didn't in the least calm her nerves, Buffy forced herself to walk toward the door. She paused momentarily when she reached it, trying to shake off the foreboding feeling suddenly assaulting her senses. Finally, she turned the knob and entered the apartment, inwardly praying to whatever higher being there was that everything would be all right.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
Entering the apartment, Buffy saw all of her friends waiting for her, Willow, Oz, Xander, and Giles. The only one missing was Cordelia, whom, even though they'd not been on particularly good terms, Buffy had tried to contact anyway. When she had tried to call her though, she'd found that the number was no longer in service. Not that it really mattered, Cordy probably wouldn't have cared anyway.
"Hey Buffy!" chirped Willow from her seat on the couch next to Oz.
"Hello, Buffy. How are you?" Giles questioned as he ignored the dark circles under his Slayers' eyes, and her overall gaunt, sickly look.
"Hey guys. I'm fine Giles," Buffy answered quietly as she tried to gather all her inner strength.
"Hey Buffster! So what's the what?" asked Xander in his typical goofy tone as he munched on a bag of potato chips.
"Um.. I.. Uh.. called you here because.. uh.. There's something that I.. uh.. need to tell all of you." Buffy stated without looking any of them in the eye.
Everyone in the room suddenly stopped the extraneous things they had been doing. The serious, nervous tone of Buffy's voice had taken them all by surprise. Each and every one of them were now staring at the Slayer who was fidgeting from their eyes all on her.
Looking down for an instant, Buffy closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. It's now or never, she spoke internally. Pulling her eyes back to her friends, she gazed around at each of them for a few seconds before speaking again.
"I'm pregnant," she finally blurted out.
Their initial reactions were about as expected. Giles sat harshly down in the chair he'd been standing next too. Xander nearly choked on the chips he had been stuffing into his mouth. Willow could only stare at her, mouth hanging open while Oz just looked curiously at her.
"You-you're.," Giles started to repeat, unable to finish the sentence. He knew he must have misheard her statement.
"Pregnant, yes," Buffy finished for him, knowing full well that her news was a big shock considering what had been going on in her life recently.
"But.but," Xander stuttered, but stopped not knowing what exactly to say.
"A-are you s-sure?" asked Giles, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his handkerchief.
"Yes, I'm sure," Buffy replied. Sensing their need for more confirmation she explained further. "I took one of those home tests a few days ago, and this morning my doctor confirmed it."
Silence reigned in the room for a few minutes, everyone too shocked by the revelation to speak. Buffy remained standing next to the kitchen counter at the edge of the living room, nervously twining her fingers along the hem of her shirt. So far, so good, she thought to herself, but she knew the worse was yet to come.
Willow was the first one to find her voice and speak. "How far along are you," she questioned, a hurt expression on her face due to the fact that Buffy had obviously been with someone and hadn't told her best friend.
"A-about two months," Buffy stated softly, waiting for them to move on to the next question, which would undoubtedly be about who the father was.
Xander's brow scrunched at the revelation as he did the math in his head. It only took a moment for him to eye her suspiciously. "That would have been around graduation. We didn't know you were seeing anybody."
All eyes focused on Buffy causing her to squirm under their glares. This was the part she had been dreading. "I wasn't," she answered and then looked down at her feet.
"You had a one night stand?" Willow yelped in surprise. That was just not like Buffy at all, but it would have sort of explained why she hadn't told anyone.
"Um, n-not really," Buffy hedged, trying to avoid giving her friends the real answer to their question.
"Buffy, I think it would be best if you told us exactly what happened," prodded Giles a little more forcefully than intended. His mind was reeling from the news that his Slayer, the girl he considered to be his daughter in many ways, was with child.
"It happened the night of graduation," Buffy told them, still avoiding saying exactly what they wanted to hear.
"Who?" Willow asked, looking strangely at her friend. She knew full well that that particular day had been tough on Buffy because it had been the last one that she'd seen Angel. What had she done that had led to her being pregnant?
Who? indeed thought Buffy. That was the question that she feared the most. Taking a deep breath, she looked up, tears glistening in her eyes, and studied each of her friends for a second before answering their question.
"Angel," she barely whispered, and then waited for the inevitable explosion that was to follow.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
TBC! ...my apologies for the cliff, and for such short parts, that's just the way they worked out for this fic.