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Another new part :) This one is also extremely angsty. The remaining parts are angsty as well, but not as bad as parts 3 and 4. And just to give people and idea of where this fic/series is headed (I've gotten lots of comments and questions)...this series will probably be 5 fics. Buffy will be trying to rebuild her life, Angel is trying to live without his soulmate...they will be separated until probably the 4th fic...or the end of the 3rd (I haven't decided yet), but the pair is still the focus of the series. I just didn't want anybody expecting Angel to ride in on a white horse to save Buffy in *this* fic. If anyone has questions, feel free to email me and ask.
Thank you to everyone who sent me feedback on part 3! You guys are awesome and I really appreciate your comments!!!
Isis
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Part 4
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Nearly an hour later, Buffy slowly walked up the stairs to her house. It had taken all of her strength to pull herself together enough to get off the ground and walk home. Her tears had finally ceased and a numbing coldness had settled throughout her body. And along with that coldness was a burgeoning anger.
She was angry with them. With all of them. In a time when she needed them most, they'd berated her and shut her out. Yes, she'd made a mistake that could have proven deadly, but she was only human. She knew she shouldn't have begged Angel to make love to her, but at the time all she could feel was a dire need to be with him. Didn't they understand how badly she was hurting because of Angel leaving?
Obviously not. They all expected her to just push his memory aside and go on with her happy life, but that wasn't possible. How could it be when her soulmate had just up and left her life? They could have tried to understand. They could have comforted her and given her time to, in a sense, grieve for her loss. Instead they expected her to be a robot, to push her emotions aside.
Well fuck them! She wasn't perfect. And if they couldn't accept it then fuck them! But despite her building rage, she still felt a deep sting in her heart at the loss of the people she loved. They were her world, they'd been like a family for over two years, and now they'd no longer be there. Who would she turn to now?
Dejectedly she walked into her house and slumped back against the now closed door. As she was trying to push aside the painful memories of the confrontation with her friends she heard a noise from the kitchen. She suddenly realized her Mother was home, and more importantly that her Mother had no idea what was going on.
The thought hadn't even occurred to her to tell her Mom. They weren't exactly close. The fact that her Mom hated Angel didn't help either, but she was all that Buffy had left now. And she was really going to need her Mom to help her get through the pregnancy. After all, she was only eighteen. What did she know about having a baby?
"Buffy? Honey? Are you hungry? I was thinking that we cou-.Oh my God! What happened?" shrieked Joyce when she entered the hallway and took in Buffy's puffy red eyes, and the gashes on her forehead and arm.
"I-I'm fine," Buffy answered, her voice hoarse from crying.
"Sweetie, you don't look fine. Was there trouble with your slaying?" questioned Joyce worriedly.
"No, it wasn't anything with slaying," Buffy replied, her mind flashing back to what had happened in Giles' apartment.
"Here," Joyce took Buffy's arm. "Come sit down on the couch and I'll go get something to clean those cuts up with."
Buffy followed and sat down on the sofa, curling her feet underneath her. She stared down at the no longer bleeding cuts on her arm that her Mother was referring to, idly wondering when she had gotten them. She realized they must have come from when she fell on the stairs.
In her daze she didn't even notice her Mom scurry out of the room and then come back again with a first aid kit. She didn't even flinch when the disinfectant touched the broken skin. The numbness that had taken over her body seemed to have deadened the sensation.
Joyce cleaned and bandaged the cuts quickly. Her worry increased with each passing second from her daughter's reaction, or lack there of. Finally finished, she set the kit on the coffee table and turned to face Buffy.
"Honey? What's wrong? Please, talk to me," pleaded Joyce, smoothing the hair off of Buffy's face.
Looking at her Mom, Buffy spoke the first thing that came to mind. "I'm pregnant."
Joyce stared at her, mouth agape in shock. "Y-you're what?"
"Pregnant," repeated Buffy softly, no longer able to look at her Mom.
"I heard you the first time," Joyce snapped causing Buffy to flinch from the sharpness in her voice. "I'm sorry. It.It's just a shock."
"I know." Buffy whispered as she tried to stave off the trembles she could feel starting up again.
"How did this happen?" Joyce tried to demand gently but came off forcefully anyways.
Before explaining, Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, her hands rubbing up and down them to try and cease the coldness settling in her body. Finally, she looked up at her Mom and began telling her about what had happened with Angel.
Through the rather short explanation, Joyce remained silent, emitting only a few shocked gasps as well as throwing a couple accusatory glares at her daughter. Buffy had just finished recounting the night with Angel and was about to relay the events at Giles' and how her friends had abandoned her when her Mom interrupted.
"How could you be so irresponsible and careless?!?!" Joyce yelled at her daughter. To say she was angry was an understatement. She was furious. Not only had her daughter gotten pregnant at eighteen, but she'd gotten pregnant by that vile, useless creature.
"I'm sorry," Buffy stated for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"You better be sorry, young lady!" spoke Joyce hotly. "Did you even think about the consequences of your actions?"
Buffy hung her head in shame. She knew her Mom, as well as everyone else, was right. She'd been irresponsible, but she couldn't help but wish that they'd comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be all right.
"I-I.," began Buffy, but was cut off by her Mom.
"Well, you obviously didn't. I'm so disappointed in you," said Joyce with a demeaning shake of her head. Jumping up off the couch, her Mother began pacing the room. "Didn't I teach you anything? I mean, I read all the parenting books. I told you about safe sex."
Still pacing, Joyce continued her ramble. "And Angel? Don't even get me started on him. He should have left when I told him too."
"What?" Buffy's head snapped up at her Mother's last statement. "What did you do?"
"I told him to leave. He was no good for you," she told Buffy proudly.
"I can't believe...no actually I can...how could you do that to me?" Buffy cried out in disgust.
"Well, you obviously weren't thinking logically about the situation and neither was he, so somebody had to." Joyce explained, not feeling the least bit of regret.
"And that somebody was you, right?" Buffy replied sarcastically, growing more furious by the minute.
"Yes, and obviously he didn't listen to me or you wouldn't be in this situation," she shook her head in disappointment. "But don't worry, we'll get this taken care of."
Buffy's eyes widened at her Mother's words. "W-what do you mean 'taken care of'?"
"There's a clinic in the next town over. One of the women who works at the gallery told me about it." Joyce explained, already making plans about how to make things right again.
"Clinic? What are you talking about?" Buffy asked, although she knew somewhere inside what her Mother was suggesting.
"I will call them tomorrow and set up a consultation appointment," continued Joyce, ignoring Buffy's previous question.
"You want me to get an abortion?" Buffy shrieked as she jumped up off the sofa, her arms moving to wrap protectively around her still flat abdomen.
"Why, yes, of course. You certainly cannot have this baby," Joyce stated matter-of-factly. "Now, I'll make the appointment. I'll have to borrow money from the gallery to pay for it. And we certainly can't tell your fath-"
"NO!" Buffy interrupted her Mother's rambling loudly.
"No what?" Joyce questioned, confused at her daughter's statement.
"No, I'm not getting an abortion," Buffy answered forcefully. There was no way in Hell she was going to abort her baby.
"You can't be serious," her Mother argued, moving to stand directly in front of her daughter.
"I'm dead serious. I'm keeping this baby," Buffy repeated, looking her Mother straight in the eyes.
"Oh, no you're not, young lady. You will do as I tell you to!" demanded Joyce, wondering how her daughter could even contemplate having a baby at such a young age and a baby fathered by a low-life demon, no less.
"I'm eighteen years old, Mom! You can't tell me what to do!" Buffy yelled back.
"If you plan on keeping this baby then you can find yourself somewhere else to live." stated Joyce, not feeling an ounce of shame at the ultimatum. She had to get Buffy to cave in to her demands.
"What?" said Buffy, almost whispering. This couldn't be happening. Her Mother couldn't be doing this to her.
"If you want to ruin your life by having this baby, a *vampire's* baby, you can do it somewhere else and without my help." Joyce stated, leaving no room for argument.
Buffy stared at her in wide-eyed shock. At a time when she needed her Mom the most she was being turned away and kicked out. Not only had she lost her friends, now she'd lost her Mother, too. There was no way, though, she was going to give up her baby.
"Well?" asked Joyce, fully believing her daughter would yield to her ultimatum.
"I'm not going to get an abortion," Buffy answered softly, her arms tightening around her belly.
Joyce stared at her for a minute, honestly surprised that Buffy would go against her, before speaking again. "Fine. I expect you to be out of this house before I get back," she ordered and then stormed out of the room and out of the house.
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TBC!
Another new part :) This one is also extremely angsty. The remaining parts are angsty as well, but not as bad as parts 3 and 4. And just to give people and idea of where this fic/series is headed (I've gotten lots of comments and questions)...this series will probably be 5 fics. Buffy will be trying to rebuild her life, Angel is trying to live without his soulmate...they will be separated until probably the 4th fic...or the end of the 3rd (I haven't decided yet), but the pair is still the focus of the series. I just didn't want anybody expecting Angel to ride in on a white horse to save Buffy in *this* fic. If anyone has questions, feel free to email me and ask.
Thank you to everyone who sent me feedback on part 3! You guys are awesome and I really appreciate your comments!!!
Isis
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Part 4
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Nearly an hour later, Buffy slowly walked up the stairs to her house. It had taken all of her strength to pull herself together enough to get off the ground and walk home. Her tears had finally ceased and a numbing coldness had settled throughout her body. And along with that coldness was a burgeoning anger.
She was angry with them. With all of them. In a time when she needed them most, they'd berated her and shut her out. Yes, she'd made a mistake that could have proven deadly, but she was only human. She knew she shouldn't have begged Angel to make love to her, but at the time all she could feel was a dire need to be with him. Didn't they understand how badly she was hurting because of Angel leaving?
Obviously not. They all expected her to just push his memory aside and go on with her happy life, but that wasn't possible. How could it be when her soulmate had just up and left her life? They could have tried to understand. They could have comforted her and given her time to, in a sense, grieve for her loss. Instead they expected her to be a robot, to push her emotions aside.
Well fuck them! She wasn't perfect. And if they couldn't accept it then fuck them! But despite her building rage, she still felt a deep sting in her heart at the loss of the people she loved. They were her world, they'd been like a family for over two years, and now they'd no longer be there. Who would she turn to now?
Dejectedly she walked into her house and slumped back against the now closed door. As she was trying to push aside the painful memories of the confrontation with her friends she heard a noise from the kitchen. She suddenly realized her Mother was home, and more importantly that her Mother had no idea what was going on.
The thought hadn't even occurred to her to tell her Mom. They weren't exactly close. The fact that her Mom hated Angel didn't help either, but she was all that Buffy had left now. And she was really going to need her Mom to help her get through the pregnancy. After all, she was only eighteen. What did she know about having a baby?
"Buffy? Honey? Are you hungry? I was thinking that we cou-.Oh my God! What happened?" shrieked Joyce when she entered the hallway and took in Buffy's puffy red eyes, and the gashes on her forehead and arm.
"I-I'm fine," Buffy answered, her voice hoarse from crying.
"Sweetie, you don't look fine. Was there trouble with your slaying?" questioned Joyce worriedly.
"No, it wasn't anything with slaying," Buffy replied, her mind flashing back to what had happened in Giles' apartment.
"Here," Joyce took Buffy's arm. "Come sit down on the couch and I'll go get something to clean those cuts up with."
Buffy followed and sat down on the sofa, curling her feet underneath her. She stared down at the no longer bleeding cuts on her arm that her Mother was referring to, idly wondering when she had gotten them. She realized they must have come from when she fell on the stairs.
In her daze she didn't even notice her Mom scurry out of the room and then come back again with a first aid kit. She didn't even flinch when the disinfectant touched the broken skin. The numbness that had taken over her body seemed to have deadened the sensation.
Joyce cleaned and bandaged the cuts quickly. Her worry increased with each passing second from her daughter's reaction, or lack there of. Finally finished, she set the kit on the coffee table and turned to face Buffy.
"Honey? What's wrong? Please, talk to me," pleaded Joyce, smoothing the hair off of Buffy's face.
Looking at her Mom, Buffy spoke the first thing that came to mind. "I'm pregnant."
Joyce stared at her, mouth agape in shock. "Y-you're what?"
"Pregnant," repeated Buffy softly, no longer able to look at her Mom.
"I heard you the first time," Joyce snapped causing Buffy to flinch from the sharpness in her voice. "I'm sorry. It.It's just a shock."
"I know." Buffy whispered as she tried to stave off the trembles she could feel starting up again.
"How did this happen?" Joyce tried to demand gently but came off forcefully anyways.
Before explaining, Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, her hands rubbing up and down them to try and cease the coldness settling in her body. Finally, she looked up at her Mom and began telling her about what had happened with Angel.
Through the rather short explanation, Joyce remained silent, emitting only a few shocked gasps as well as throwing a couple accusatory glares at her daughter. Buffy had just finished recounting the night with Angel and was about to relay the events at Giles' and how her friends had abandoned her when her Mom interrupted.
"How could you be so irresponsible and careless?!?!" Joyce yelled at her daughter. To say she was angry was an understatement. She was furious. Not only had her daughter gotten pregnant at eighteen, but she'd gotten pregnant by that vile, useless creature.
"I'm sorry," Buffy stated for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"You better be sorry, young lady!" spoke Joyce hotly. "Did you even think about the consequences of your actions?"
Buffy hung her head in shame. She knew her Mom, as well as everyone else, was right. She'd been irresponsible, but she couldn't help but wish that they'd comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be all right.
"I-I.," began Buffy, but was cut off by her Mom.
"Well, you obviously didn't. I'm so disappointed in you," said Joyce with a demeaning shake of her head. Jumping up off the couch, her Mother began pacing the room. "Didn't I teach you anything? I mean, I read all the parenting books. I told you about safe sex."
Still pacing, Joyce continued her ramble. "And Angel? Don't even get me started on him. He should have left when I told him too."
"What?" Buffy's head snapped up at her Mother's last statement. "What did you do?"
"I told him to leave. He was no good for you," she told Buffy proudly.
"I can't believe...no actually I can...how could you do that to me?" Buffy cried out in disgust.
"Well, you obviously weren't thinking logically about the situation and neither was he, so somebody had to." Joyce explained, not feeling the least bit of regret.
"And that somebody was you, right?" Buffy replied sarcastically, growing more furious by the minute.
"Yes, and obviously he didn't listen to me or you wouldn't be in this situation," she shook her head in disappointment. "But don't worry, we'll get this taken care of."
Buffy's eyes widened at her Mother's words. "W-what do you mean 'taken care of'?"
"There's a clinic in the next town over. One of the women who works at the gallery told me about it." Joyce explained, already making plans about how to make things right again.
"Clinic? What are you talking about?" Buffy asked, although she knew somewhere inside what her Mother was suggesting.
"I will call them tomorrow and set up a consultation appointment," continued Joyce, ignoring Buffy's previous question.
"You want me to get an abortion?" Buffy shrieked as she jumped up off the sofa, her arms moving to wrap protectively around her still flat abdomen.
"Why, yes, of course. You certainly cannot have this baby," Joyce stated matter-of-factly. "Now, I'll make the appointment. I'll have to borrow money from the gallery to pay for it. And we certainly can't tell your fath-"
"NO!" Buffy interrupted her Mother's rambling loudly.
"No what?" Joyce questioned, confused at her daughter's statement.
"No, I'm not getting an abortion," Buffy answered forcefully. There was no way in Hell she was going to abort her baby.
"You can't be serious," her Mother argued, moving to stand directly in front of her daughter.
"I'm dead serious. I'm keeping this baby," Buffy repeated, looking her Mother straight in the eyes.
"Oh, no you're not, young lady. You will do as I tell you to!" demanded Joyce, wondering how her daughter could even contemplate having a baby at such a young age and a baby fathered by a low-life demon, no less.
"I'm eighteen years old, Mom! You can't tell me what to do!" Buffy yelled back.
"If you plan on keeping this baby then you can find yourself somewhere else to live." stated Joyce, not feeling an ounce of shame at the ultimatum. She had to get Buffy to cave in to her demands.
"What?" said Buffy, almost whispering. This couldn't be happening. Her Mother couldn't be doing this to her.
"If you want to ruin your life by having this baby, a *vampire's* baby, you can do it somewhere else and without my help." Joyce stated, leaving no room for argument.
Buffy stared at her in wide-eyed shock. At a time when she needed her Mom the most she was being turned away and kicked out. Not only had she lost her friends, now she'd lost her Mother, too. There was no way, though, she was going to give up her baby.
"Well?" asked Joyce, fully believing her daughter would yield to her ultimatum.
"I'm not going to get an abortion," Buffy answered softly, her arms tightening around her belly.
Joyce stared at her for a minute, honestly surprised that Buffy would go against her, before speaking again. "Fine. I expect you to be out of this house before I get back," she ordered and then stormed out of the room and out of the house.
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TBC!