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Part 7
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Author's Note: Any information regarding liquor laws for the state of Washington come from the Washington State Liquor Control Board's website, found here:
www.liq.wa.gov/default.asp
My references may not be perfectly accurate...I had no intention of reading the probably over 100 pages of laws.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~about two and a half months later~
"Ooomph!" Buffy groaned out loud as she lay in her bed, munching on pretzels and mayonnaise. She wiped off her hand on a napkin before letting it drift down to her bulging abdomen.
"Ya know, you don't have to kick so hard," she told the shifting body inside her as she lightly stroked the taut skin. "It's not like I could forget you're there."
The large bump kicked again before settling down. Buffy couldn't help but stare at her pregnant stomach in amazement. Sometimes it was still hard for her to accept that there was a little life growing inside of her. She thought that being only a couple of weeks from her due date that it would have finally hit her, but really it hadn't. No matter how many times she felt the baby kick, or found herself puking up everything in her stomach, or saw her child's image on the sonogram it was all still so unbelievable.
Maybe it was because she never thought she would be in this situation. When her Destiny had come calling, her entire focus had shifted to fighting evil, and surviving to see another day. Then...then Angel had appeared in her life. For a short while, she had wondered what it would be like to carry his children, but that dream had effectively been quelled with his 'I can't have kids' speech one dark night in a graveyard. Since then, children just hadn't been a part of her vision of the future, a future she wasn't even sure she would live to see.
Now, here she was, pregnant, and by the very vampire who had told her it wasn't possible...and who was now gone from her life. It was rather ironic, really. All of it was. Slayer and vampire fall in love, a truly paradoxical occurrence. Later, vampire leaves Slayer so that she can have a normal life, one that includes kids, only to leave her with a parting gift that had no logical explanation. A child. A little miracle created from their love. Yes, there really was some serious irony there.
Whoever pulled the controlling strings of her life was either completely evil, or just had a seriously twisted sense of humor. Regardless, it wasn't like she could change anything. Not that she wanted to. The child she was about to have was a miracle. It was created out of true, pure love. How many people got to experience that in their lifetimes? And how many of those got to bore a child from that love? Not very many, if she guessed correctly.
Her unexpected pregnancy had also forced her to pull her life together again. Maybe it shouldn't have taken something such as that for her to garner the strength to go on, but the truth was that Angel's departure had left her a broken person. She had no doubt that her death would have been imminent if things had remained status quo. Her mind had not been on slaying, and her physical state had been absolutely horrible. Sooner or later, some demon would have gotten the best of her.
But everything had changed with the realization that she was pregnant. Literally everything. Her life barely resembled what it had once been. A year ago she could have never dreamed that she would be in a new city, a new life, and living with Cordelia. No, that had definitely not been on the menu. But one of the few certainties in life was that it was never predictable.
Soon, her life would again be changing, this time because of the birth of her child. She was filled with excitement, and at the same time, deeply saddened by what was to come. Everything was as close to perfect as it could be, except that her friends, family, and her Angel weren't there to share it all with her. It was the latter that struck the deepest chord in her heart.
They should be going through all of this together. That was what couples were supposed to do. But he was gone, and she had no idea where. She couldn't help the warring emotions she felt over Angel's departure. Yes, there was a part of her that could understand his reasons, but then there was the part that was, unreasonably or not, angry with him. She should have had a say in their future, but he had taken that option away. And in the process he'd lost possibly the only opportunity to be a father.
Her heart ached at that thought. He would make a wonderful father. She knew he would. But it was not to be. Still, she couldn't help but wonder. Would he have rubbed her sore feet? Would he have held her hair back when she ran to the bathroom each morning? What would his face have looked like the first time he saw their tiny baby? She could almost picture him standing there with a blinding smile on his face as he held their child, wrapped in a soft blanket, within the safety of his arms.
A few stray tears cascaded down her cheeks as she thought of Angel and their baby. Even though he'd been gone almost nine months, he could still make her cry. He was her soulmate, though, and she'd lost him. How could she possibly ever not feel his loss?
She was surviving, though. Her friends, her real friends: Cordelia, and now Doyle and Lorne had helped her pull through and build a new life. And, thankfully, her pregnancy had progressed without any complications whatsoever. At least fate had been kind to her in that manner. If something had gone wrong with the baby, she really didn't think she'd have been able to go on, but that was something she just really didn't want to think about.
Sighing, she laid her hand back onto her stomach and rubbed her hand back and forth. As much as she loved being pregnant, she wouldn't be unhappy to have it over with. Trying to fall asleep on her back could be a real bitch half the time.
"How 'bout we get some juice, huh? Orange? Apple? Grape?" she felt a slight kick at the last option and laughed. "Grape it is then!"
With a conspicuous waddle, Buffy made her way out of her bedroom and into the living room. She couldn't help but sigh as she looked around their new apartment. Well, it wasn't really an apartment. It was an entire floor of a building, and a serious upgrade from where they had been living. They'd moved in almost a month and a half ago and she still wasn't used to the place.
Lorne and Doyle had sprung yet one more surprise on them, when a month after accepting Lorne's offer, they'd been ushered up to the third floor of their future home/place-of-business and found themselves face to face with a fully renovated, and furnished apartment. Apparently, unbeknownst to both her and Cordelia, Lorne had immediately started getting the place together after the phone call of their acceptance. His generosity still completely shocked her, but she wasn't about to question it. It was a much nicer place to live and was a lot larger which would come in handy once the baby was born.
Their floor of the building was divided up into a large living room, four bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, and a full size kitchen, plus the random closets and storage spaces. Her bedroom alone was almost the size of their old apartment. Overall, it had a bit of an industrial feel due to the fact that it was a converted warehouse, but it had been decorated in a way that you really didn't notice. Not even Cordelia had found any grievances with the décor. The piece de resistance of the entire thing, in Buffy's slightly biased opinion, had to be the absolutely fabulous king sized bed that sat dead center in her room. The thing felt like heaven to her oft-aching back. Lorne had received a very enthusiastic hug for that little detail.
All in all, Buffy had very little to complain about in her new life. She had a wonderful place to live, great friends, and once the baby was born and relatively settled she'd have a steady, well-paying job. At the moment, she was only really helping with the planning. Her condition kept her from much else. Still, even though everything was working out, there was the ever present sadness in her heart over all that she had lost. She suspected it would always be there, but she was determined to get on with her life as best she could. It was the only thing she could do, and it was what her baby deserved.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
After retrieving, and then promptly guzzling, a large glass of juice, Buffy had opted to plop herself down on one of the plush forest green sofas in their living room rather than go back to her ever-so-comfy bed. She'd been lounging in it all day and figured it was time for a change of scenery. So for the last half hour she had been reading the latest issue of Cosmo with her feet propped up on the coffee table. Now that they were no longer eating off of the coffee table she could care less if feet were on it.
Hearing the elevator door open on the other side of the living room, Buffy looked up to see a dirty and dusty Cordelia stagger in. The brunette promptly walked into the room and flung herself into one of the chairs near where Buffy was sitting.
"God! Who knew working could be so much...work!" she exclaimed in utter exasperation which prompted her blonde haired friend to giggle. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up! I don't see you helping."
Buffy gave Cordy a 'duh' look and gestured to her large belly. "I'm eight and a half months pregnant Cordelia!"
"Excuses, excuses," huffed Cordy with a wave of her hand. "Just so you know, once the baby is born, I'm making you do all my work."
"Gee, thanks ever so much," Buffy rolled her eyes.
"You're welcome," Cordy grinned at her. "It wouldn't be so bad if Lorne wasn't such a slave driver! He had me unpacking and cleaning all of the stuff he had stored away from his old club!"
Buffy instantly sobered at her words. "Cordy, we do owe him a lot. If it weren't for Lorne, we wouldn't have any of this."
"I know," she sighed dramatically. "But this manual labor crap sucks!"
As best she could, Buffy reached over and patted Cordy's leg. "It won't always be this bad. Once the club is up and running it'll be different."
"Speaking of which," stated Cordy, staring in dismay at her ruined nails. "Lorne said he's aiming to open on June 1st."
Buffy considered the date for a moment before speaking. "That doesn't sound too bad. It's about a month and a half after the baby should be born."
"Yeah, that's what he said. He could have everything ready sooner, but he wanted to give you some time to adjust," Cordy explain, giving up on the idea that she could repair her damaged nails.
"How's everything going? I haven't been down yet today," questioned Buffy, wondering if she'd missed anything important. The last week or so she'd pretty much been staying off her feet. Her doctor had told her it was better for her to avoid anything strenuous even though she was perfectly healthy.
"Not really. They finished up the last of the stage installation. Tomorrow they start on the bar area. I think the kitchen work is going to start soon now that they've walled off an area for it. Oh, and the guy who is doing the special lighting should be in later this week," the brunette recited her mental checklist. Even though the work was hard, she kinda liked being involved in something, and she did have a nose for business.
"Good. Sounds like everything is going according to plan," Buffy answered, pulling her feet off the coffee table with a minor struggle. "So...how's Doyle?"
Cordelia blushed at the question. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Uh huh. Whatever. So that wasn't you who came in at one a.m. last night from Doyle's," the blonde stated, referring to the half-demon's apartment on the floor above theirs. Since there was so much extra space Lorne had offered him a place to stay on the fourth floor, in exchange for his help with the club, of course.
"Fine, fine. You caught me!" Cordy glared at her nosey friend. "We were just talking, though."
"Yup, sure. I believe you," Buffy smiled innocently.
"Anyways," Cordy decided to change the topic. "What did you do today, other than lounge in bed watching talk shows?"
"I was not watching talk shows!" Buffy narrowed her eyes at her friend. "I was watching movies."
"Pfft, yeah, whatever!" Cordy rolled her eyes.
"Actually, I did do something today," Buffy stated proudly. "That baby book I have says I should have a bag packed and ready once I enter my eighth month so that when labor starts it'll be right there and we won't have to rush around getting ready."
"Sounds like a good idea," Cordy nodded her head. "Where'd you put it?"
"It's right inside my bedroom door. I'll have to remember to tell Lorne and Doyle its there," Buffy made a mental note to do so.
"I still can't believe you never found out the baby's sex!" Cordy looked pointedly at Buffy. "Everything we bought had to be neutral colors since we didn't know what it was going to be!"
"I want it to be a surprise," Buffy stated, slightly frustrated. She'd had this conversation with Cordelia practically every other day.
"Whatever. I'd want to know if it were me. We can't even pick a name!" she exclaimed loudly.
"We?" an amused Buffy asked.
"Well, I have to make sure you don't pick something that will scar it for the rest of its life!" Cordy explained.
"Uh, huh," Buffy chuckled slightly. "At least the baby's room is almost done. I can't believe Lorne bought all that stuff for me."
"Yeah. We'd be screwed if it weren't for him," Cordy replied gratefully. "It was funny, though, watching him and Doyle trying to put all that stuff together."
"I know," Buffy laughed for a moment before the smile fell from her face as an image of her and Angel preparing the nursery flashed in her mind.
Cordelia noticed the suddenly sad look in Buffy's eyes and knew what she must have been thinking about. She knew she needed to change the subject before her friend was a puddle of tears again. "So...what do you want to get for dinner?"
Shaking the images out of her head, and silently thanking Cordy for stopping her brooding, Buffy pondered the question. "Dunno. What do you feel like?"
"I'm up for anything. Just don't make me watch you eat peanut butter and chicken again! Ugh!" Cordy cringed, thinking of the absolutely disgusting things Buffy had been ingesting regularly because of her wicked cravings.
They both laughed at the statement before going off to raid the kitchen for food. Deciding she was done working for the day, Cordy showered while Buffy cooked the pasta they'd chosen to eat. Afterwards, they settled onto their couches and watched a movie, something they hadn't had as much time to do since taking on their new jobs.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~two days later~
The entire group, Buffy, Cordelia, Lorne, and Doyle, were seated in various places around the large office space on the second floor of the building going over some details for the club. It was the first time Buffy had been down to do some work in a couple days. Her excessively pregnant condition left her feeling exhausted most of the time, even when she wasn't really doing anything except watching tv.
"Ugh! Have you seen some of these resumes for the DJ position?" snorted Buffy, tossing down the papers on her cluttered oak desk.
"That bad?" Lorne frowned and looked up from his paperwork. For whatever reason, they were having a terrible time finding a DJ.
"Half of them are under eighteen! Can they even work in a place that serves alcohol? For that matter, can we work here considering we aren't twenty-one yet?" Buffy suddenly wondered.
"You can work in a place that serves alcohol when you are eighteen, but I'm not sure about anyone younger. I'd have to check on it," Lorne replied, shuffling around the paper work in his hands.
"Ok. Good. Still doesn't help us find a DJ, though. None of these resumes are very good. Or at least they don't look good to me, but you can check them over," Buffy placed the papers in the 'for Lorne' pile on her desk.
"Ok," Lorne answered absentmindedly, focusing on what he was reading.
"What's got you all distracted," Cordy waved a hand in front of his face.
"Oh, sorry," the green-skinned demon sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I'm just going over the liquor law information. Any place that serves alcohol has to adhere to strict rules, and of course, they differ for each state so I'm just making sure I've got everything covered."
"There are laws for serving liquor?" Cordy asked, wrinkling her nose at the tediousness of it.
"Yeah...and there aren't just a few! They have to make sure everything is done properly, and that minors can't get a hold of alcohol," he explained, setting his papers down. "For example, in the state of Washington, anyone who serves booze must be trained, apply for and carry a permit."
"Huh. Never realized there was so much to it," Buffy shrugged. "Glad you know all about this stuff."
"I got ya covered, Sunshine," Lorne laughed lightly and then got up off the couch. "Whadya say we call it a night and get some dinner? Pizza, on me?"
"Oooh! Can we get anchovies and pineapple???" Buffy's eyes twinkled and her stomach growled.
The rest of the group cringed, suddenly feeling less hungry than they had been. They'd indulge her, of course, knowing from experience that it wasn't wise to piss the hormonally unbalanced Slayer off.
"Whatever you want, Buffy! We'll, uh, even get you your very own pizza," Doyle offered gallantly even though his ulterior motive was so that he and the others could have a more appetizing pizza.
"Goody!" Buffy cheered with a grin. Slowly, she pulled herself out of her chair and turned to the coat rack behind her desk.
The door to the office area opened, revealing a muscular black man in jeans and a t-shirt. The man stopped in the doorway, waiting for someone to notice him.
"Yes, Gunn?" Lorne paused in the act of putting away his paper work when he saw the man standing there. Charles Gunn was an acquaintance of his who was familiar with the demon world and knowledgeable about safety issues. He was going to handle security once the club was open, but in the meantime, he was helping with the preparation.
"There's, uh, someone here to see Buffy," Gunn answered uneasily. Knowing all the things he knew about this world, he was suspicious of pretty much everyone.
"Huh? Me?" Buffy squeaked out in surprise, her back still to the door as she tried to get her coat on. Who the hell could be asking for her? Practically everyone she knew in Seattle was already in the room, except for Tara her former boss.
"Yeah, asked for Buffy Summers," Gunn stated, tossing a slight glance behind his shoulder and stepping out of the line of vision.
Buffy frowned, growing worried over who would ask for her by name like that. She was about to turn around when she heard Cordy gasp. Fearing what was about to happen, Buffy cautiously rotated to see whoever was here looking for her. The sight that greeted her caused her eyes to widen in shock.
"Willow?" she breathed out heavily, her heart tripling its rate.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
TBC!!
Part 7
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Author's Note: Any information regarding liquor laws for the state of Washington come from the Washington State Liquor Control Board's website, found here:
www.liq.wa.gov/default.asp
My references may not be perfectly accurate...I had no intention of reading the probably over 100 pages of laws.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~about two and a half months later~
"Ooomph!" Buffy groaned out loud as she lay in her bed, munching on pretzels and mayonnaise. She wiped off her hand on a napkin before letting it drift down to her bulging abdomen.
"Ya know, you don't have to kick so hard," she told the shifting body inside her as she lightly stroked the taut skin. "It's not like I could forget you're there."
The large bump kicked again before settling down. Buffy couldn't help but stare at her pregnant stomach in amazement. Sometimes it was still hard for her to accept that there was a little life growing inside of her. She thought that being only a couple of weeks from her due date that it would have finally hit her, but really it hadn't. No matter how many times she felt the baby kick, or found herself puking up everything in her stomach, or saw her child's image on the sonogram it was all still so unbelievable.
Maybe it was because she never thought she would be in this situation. When her Destiny had come calling, her entire focus had shifted to fighting evil, and surviving to see another day. Then...then Angel had appeared in her life. For a short while, she had wondered what it would be like to carry his children, but that dream had effectively been quelled with his 'I can't have kids' speech one dark night in a graveyard. Since then, children just hadn't been a part of her vision of the future, a future she wasn't even sure she would live to see.
Now, here she was, pregnant, and by the very vampire who had told her it wasn't possible...and who was now gone from her life. It was rather ironic, really. All of it was. Slayer and vampire fall in love, a truly paradoxical occurrence. Later, vampire leaves Slayer so that she can have a normal life, one that includes kids, only to leave her with a parting gift that had no logical explanation. A child. A little miracle created from their love. Yes, there really was some serious irony there.
Whoever pulled the controlling strings of her life was either completely evil, or just had a seriously twisted sense of humor. Regardless, it wasn't like she could change anything. Not that she wanted to. The child she was about to have was a miracle. It was created out of true, pure love. How many people got to experience that in their lifetimes? And how many of those got to bore a child from that love? Not very many, if she guessed correctly.
Her unexpected pregnancy had also forced her to pull her life together again. Maybe it shouldn't have taken something such as that for her to garner the strength to go on, but the truth was that Angel's departure had left her a broken person. She had no doubt that her death would have been imminent if things had remained status quo. Her mind had not been on slaying, and her physical state had been absolutely horrible. Sooner or later, some demon would have gotten the best of her.
But everything had changed with the realization that she was pregnant. Literally everything. Her life barely resembled what it had once been. A year ago she could have never dreamed that she would be in a new city, a new life, and living with Cordelia. No, that had definitely not been on the menu. But one of the few certainties in life was that it was never predictable.
Soon, her life would again be changing, this time because of the birth of her child. She was filled with excitement, and at the same time, deeply saddened by what was to come. Everything was as close to perfect as it could be, except that her friends, family, and her Angel weren't there to share it all with her. It was the latter that struck the deepest chord in her heart.
They should be going through all of this together. That was what couples were supposed to do. But he was gone, and she had no idea where. She couldn't help the warring emotions she felt over Angel's departure. Yes, there was a part of her that could understand his reasons, but then there was the part that was, unreasonably or not, angry with him. She should have had a say in their future, but he had taken that option away. And in the process he'd lost possibly the only opportunity to be a father.
Her heart ached at that thought. He would make a wonderful father. She knew he would. But it was not to be. Still, she couldn't help but wonder. Would he have rubbed her sore feet? Would he have held her hair back when she ran to the bathroom each morning? What would his face have looked like the first time he saw their tiny baby? She could almost picture him standing there with a blinding smile on his face as he held their child, wrapped in a soft blanket, within the safety of his arms.
A few stray tears cascaded down her cheeks as she thought of Angel and their baby. Even though he'd been gone almost nine months, he could still make her cry. He was her soulmate, though, and she'd lost him. How could she possibly ever not feel his loss?
She was surviving, though. Her friends, her real friends: Cordelia, and now Doyle and Lorne had helped her pull through and build a new life. And, thankfully, her pregnancy had progressed without any complications whatsoever. At least fate had been kind to her in that manner. If something had gone wrong with the baby, she really didn't think she'd have been able to go on, but that was something she just really didn't want to think about.
Sighing, she laid her hand back onto her stomach and rubbed her hand back and forth. As much as she loved being pregnant, she wouldn't be unhappy to have it over with. Trying to fall asleep on her back could be a real bitch half the time.
"How 'bout we get some juice, huh? Orange? Apple? Grape?" she felt a slight kick at the last option and laughed. "Grape it is then!"
With a conspicuous waddle, Buffy made her way out of her bedroom and into the living room. She couldn't help but sigh as she looked around their new apartment. Well, it wasn't really an apartment. It was an entire floor of a building, and a serious upgrade from where they had been living. They'd moved in almost a month and a half ago and she still wasn't used to the place.
Lorne and Doyle had sprung yet one more surprise on them, when a month after accepting Lorne's offer, they'd been ushered up to the third floor of their future home/place-of-business and found themselves face to face with a fully renovated, and furnished apartment. Apparently, unbeknownst to both her and Cordelia, Lorne had immediately started getting the place together after the phone call of their acceptance. His generosity still completely shocked her, but she wasn't about to question it. It was a much nicer place to live and was a lot larger which would come in handy once the baby was born.
Their floor of the building was divided up into a large living room, four bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, and a full size kitchen, plus the random closets and storage spaces. Her bedroom alone was almost the size of their old apartment. Overall, it had a bit of an industrial feel due to the fact that it was a converted warehouse, but it had been decorated in a way that you really didn't notice. Not even Cordelia had found any grievances with the décor. The piece de resistance of the entire thing, in Buffy's slightly biased opinion, had to be the absolutely fabulous king sized bed that sat dead center in her room. The thing felt like heaven to her oft-aching back. Lorne had received a very enthusiastic hug for that little detail.
All in all, Buffy had very little to complain about in her new life. She had a wonderful place to live, great friends, and once the baby was born and relatively settled she'd have a steady, well-paying job. At the moment, she was only really helping with the planning. Her condition kept her from much else. Still, even though everything was working out, there was the ever present sadness in her heart over all that she had lost. She suspected it would always be there, but she was determined to get on with her life as best she could. It was the only thing she could do, and it was what her baby deserved.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
After retrieving, and then promptly guzzling, a large glass of juice, Buffy had opted to plop herself down on one of the plush forest green sofas in their living room rather than go back to her ever-so-comfy bed. She'd been lounging in it all day and figured it was time for a change of scenery. So for the last half hour she had been reading the latest issue of Cosmo with her feet propped up on the coffee table. Now that they were no longer eating off of the coffee table she could care less if feet were on it.
Hearing the elevator door open on the other side of the living room, Buffy looked up to see a dirty and dusty Cordelia stagger in. The brunette promptly walked into the room and flung herself into one of the chairs near where Buffy was sitting.
"God! Who knew working could be so much...work!" she exclaimed in utter exasperation which prompted her blonde haired friend to giggle. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up! I don't see you helping."
Buffy gave Cordy a 'duh' look and gestured to her large belly. "I'm eight and a half months pregnant Cordelia!"
"Excuses, excuses," huffed Cordy with a wave of her hand. "Just so you know, once the baby is born, I'm making you do all my work."
"Gee, thanks ever so much," Buffy rolled her eyes.
"You're welcome," Cordy grinned at her. "It wouldn't be so bad if Lorne wasn't such a slave driver! He had me unpacking and cleaning all of the stuff he had stored away from his old club!"
Buffy instantly sobered at her words. "Cordy, we do owe him a lot. If it weren't for Lorne, we wouldn't have any of this."
"I know," she sighed dramatically. "But this manual labor crap sucks!"
As best she could, Buffy reached over and patted Cordy's leg. "It won't always be this bad. Once the club is up and running it'll be different."
"Speaking of which," stated Cordy, staring in dismay at her ruined nails. "Lorne said he's aiming to open on June 1st."
Buffy considered the date for a moment before speaking. "That doesn't sound too bad. It's about a month and a half after the baby should be born."
"Yeah, that's what he said. He could have everything ready sooner, but he wanted to give you some time to adjust," Cordy explain, giving up on the idea that she could repair her damaged nails.
"How's everything going? I haven't been down yet today," questioned Buffy, wondering if she'd missed anything important. The last week or so she'd pretty much been staying off her feet. Her doctor had told her it was better for her to avoid anything strenuous even though she was perfectly healthy.
"Not really. They finished up the last of the stage installation. Tomorrow they start on the bar area. I think the kitchen work is going to start soon now that they've walled off an area for it. Oh, and the guy who is doing the special lighting should be in later this week," the brunette recited her mental checklist. Even though the work was hard, she kinda liked being involved in something, and she did have a nose for business.
"Good. Sounds like everything is going according to plan," Buffy answered, pulling her feet off the coffee table with a minor struggle. "So...how's Doyle?"
Cordelia blushed at the question. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Uh huh. Whatever. So that wasn't you who came in at one a.m. last night from Doyle's," the blonde stated, referring to the half-demon's apartment on the floor above theirs. Since there was so much extra space Lorne had offered him a place to stay on the fourth floor, in exchange for his help with the club, of course.
"Fine, fine. You caught me!" Cordy glared at her nosey friend. "We were just talking, though."
"Yup, sure. I believe you," Buffy smiled innocently.
"Anyways," Cordy decided to change the topic. "What did you do today, other than lounge in bed watching talk shows?"
"I was not watching talk shows!" Buffy narrowed her eyes at her friend. "I was watching movies."
"Pfft, yeah, whatever!" Cordy rolled her eyes.
"Actually, I did do something today," Buffy stated proudly. "That baby book I have says I should have a bag packed and ready once I enter my eighth month so that when labor starts it'll be right there and we won't have to rush around getting ready."
"Sounds like a good idea," Cordy nodded her head. "Where'd you put it?"
"It's right inside my bedroom door. I'll have to remember to tell Lorne and Doyle its there," Buffy made a mental note to do so.
"I still can't believe you never found out the baby's sex!" Cordy looked pointedly at Buffy. "Everything we bought had to be neutral colors since we didn't know what it was going to be!"
"I want it to be a surprise," Buffy stated, slightly frustrated. She'd had this conversation with Cordelia practically every other day.
"Whatever. I'd want to know if it were me. We can't even pick a name!" she exclaimed loudly.
"We?" an amused Buffy asked.
"Well, I have to make sure you don't pick something that will scar it for the rest of its life!" Cordy explained.
"Uh, huh," Buffy chuckled slightly. "At least the baby's room is almost done. I can't believe Lorne bought all that stuff for me."
"Yeah. We'd be screwed if it weren't for him," Cordy replied gratefully. "It was funny, though, watching him and Doyle trying to put all that stuff together."
"I know," Buffy laughed for a moment before the smile fell from her face as an image of her and Angel preparing the nursery flashed in her mind.
Cordelia noticed the suddenly sad look in Buffy's eyes and knew what she must have been thinking about. She knew she needed to change the subject before her friend was a puddle of tears again. "So...what do you want to get for dinner?"
Shaking the images out of her head, and silently thanking Cordy for stopping her brooding, Buffy pondered the question. "Dunno. What do you feel like?"
"I'm up for anything. Just don't make me watch you eat peanut butter and chicken again! Ugh!" Cordy cringed, thinking of the absolutely disgusting things Buffy had been ingesting regularly because of her wicked cravings.
They both laughed at the statement before going off to raid the kitchen for food. Deciding she was done working for the day, Cordy showered while Buffy cooked the pasta they'd chosen to eat. Afterwards, they settled onto their couches and watched a movie, something they hadn't had as much time to do since taking on their new jobs.
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~two days later~
The entire group, Buffy, Cordelia, Lorne, and Doyle, were seated in various places around the large office space on the second floor of the building going over some details for the club. It was the first time Buffy had been down to do some work in a couple days. Her excessively pregnant condition left her feeling exhausted most of the time, even when she wasn't really doing anything except watching tv.
"Ugh! Have you seen some of these resumes for the DJ position?" snorted Buffy, tossing down the papers on her cluttered oak desk.
"That bad?" Lorne frowned and looked up from his paperwork. For whatever reason, they were having a terrible time finding a DJ.
"Half of them are under eighteen! Can they even work in a place that serves alcohol? For that matter, can we work here considering we aren't twenty-one yet?" Buffy suddenly wondered.
"You can work in a place that serves alcohol when you are eighteen, but I'm not sure about anyone younger. I'd have to check on it," Lorne replied, shuffling around the paper work in his hands.
"Ok. Good. Still doesn't help us find a DJ, though. None of these resumes are very good. Or at least they don't look good to me, but you can check them over," Buffy placed the papers in the 'for Lorne' pile on her desk.
"Ok," Lorne answered absentmindedly, focusing on what he was reading.
"What's got you all distracted," Cordy waved a hand in front of his face.
"Oh, sorry," the green-skinned demon sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I'm just going over the liquor law information. Any place that serves alcohol has to adhere to strict rules, and of course, they differ for each state so I'm just making sure I've got everything covered."
"There are laws for serving liquor?" Cordy asked, wrinkling her nose at the tediousness of it.
"Yeah...and there aren't just a few! They have to make sure everything is done properly, and that minors can't get a hold of alcohol," he explained, setting his papers down. "For example, in the state of Washington, anyone who serves booze must be trained, apply for and carry a permit."
"Huh. Never realized there was so much to it," Buffy shrugged. "Glad you know all about this stuff."
"I got ya covered, Sunshine," Lorne laughed lightly and then got up off the couch. "Whadya say we call it a night and get some dinner? Pizza, on me?"
"Oooh! Can we get anchovies and pineapple???" Buffy's eyes twinkled and her stomach growled.
The rest of the group cringed, suddenly feeling less hungry than they had been. They'd indulge her, of course, knowing from experience that it wasn't wise to piss the hormonally unbalanced Slayer off.
"Whatever you want, Buffy! We'll, uh, even get you your very own pizza," Doyle offered gallantly even though his ulterior motive was so that he and the others could have a more appetizing pizza.
"Goody!" Buffy cheered with a grin. Slowly, she pulled herself out of her chair and turned to the coat rack behind her desk.
The door to the office area opened, revealing a muscular black man in jeans and a t-shirt. The man stopped in the doorway, waiting for someone to notice him.
"Yes, Gunn?" Lorne paused in the act of putting away his paper work when he saw the man standing there. Charles Gunn was an acquaintance of his who was familiar with the demon world and knowledgeable about safety issues. He was going to handle security once the club was open, but in the meantime, he was helping with the preparation.
"There's, uh, someone here to see Buffy," Gunn answered uneasily. Knowing all the things he knew about this world, he was suspicious of pretty much everyone.
"Huh? Me?" Buffy squeaked out in surprise, her back still to the door as she tried to get her coat on. Who the hell could be asking for her? Practically everyone she knew in Seattle was already in the room, except for Tara her former boss.
"Yeah, asked for Buffy Summers," Gunn stated, tossing a slight glance behind his shoulder and stepping out of the line of vision.
Buffy frowned, growing worried over who would ask for her by name like that. She was about to turn around when she heard Cordy gasp. Fearing what was about to happen, Buffy cautiously rotated to see whoever was here looking for her. The sight that greeted her caused her eyes to widen in shock.
"Willow?" she breathed out heavily, her heart tripling its rate.
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TBC!!