By: Tater
Title: Strength
Disclaimer: I own Lily and Liam. And I guess the idea, nothing else.
Rating: PG-13 or R
Summery: Buffy is 22, in LA and in hell with twins. Not really, but life is horrible. She ran into the LA gang and now she has help.
AN: Please R&R. Also, look over my other fics!
CHAPTER 5:
Buffy looked at each of their faces, but couldn't seem to manage the courage or strength to look them in the eye. Especially Angel.
"Buffy are you gonna talk or do I have to beat it out of you?" Cordeila said, with a small smile on her face.
She forced a smile. "I only talk if I want to talk," she started half jokingly "Ask Wolfman N Hart they've tried just about everything to get the name of their father. Even told me they'd kill my children."
"Why is it such a secret B? Why are you protecting him? They might kill you're kids!"
"No they won't. They can't, not atleast for several years. There's a prophecy, I don't know it, or the context exactly - just that when they reach a certain age they will chose to fight for Good or Evil. If they chose Good, then the firm will kill them, but they won't touch them until then. It doesn't make much sense on why they don't get rid of the now, but I guess it is all in the master plan of things."
"And their father?" Angel asked coldly. He hadn't meant to show that much emotion.
Just then there was a knock on the door. Buffy watched as the door opened by itself, and a tall blonde woman walked in. Her outfit was nice, and she was beautiful. Buffy looked at Cordy for explanation.
"Dennis, he's a ghost in my apartment, long story. Kate is a cop. I don't like her, and neither does anyone else, but Angel...."
Buffy watched as Angel got up and welcomed Kate, she kissed him tenderly. Everyone could see the pain and jealousy in Buffy's eyes. There was more pain and sorrow in them than there ever was, and especially now.
"Hey." She said greeting everyone. "I got you're message, Angel, something about children, abuse, mother? I can take them to the station, Social Services could take them in ten minutes. So where are they?"
Buffy jumped up, and stood in front of the door, which lead to where her children lay sleeping peacefully.
"Look lady I don't know who the hell you think you are, but under no circumstances are you going to touch my children. Understood?"
Kate turned to her. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but if they are..."
"Kate, don't." Angel and Cordeila both warned. "You don't have the full details."
"No I got this." She wanted to prove she could handle Angel's type of life. She'd waited too long to get him.
"Now if they're being abused I have to take them. It's my job, so if you'll please step aside." She ordered stepping closer to the slayer and the door.
"Kate..."
"Angel I got it." Angel knew, she'd have to learn on her own.
Kate continued advancing.
"You think you could get past me? That's funny. You take one more step to try and take them..."
"You'll what?" Kate asked mockingly. "I am an officer of the law."
Kate made the step. She grabbed Buffy's wrist and tried to get by. Angel had known Buffy, and knew she might go off, but never like this. Everyone was caught by surprise.
Buffy had grabbed Kate's throat and threw her up against the wall, and had her in a position where she could easily kill her.
"Buffy, calm down." Angel said running to her panicked.
"Angel, that's all you're gonna say?!" Kate screeched out with what little air she had.
Buffy let her go, letting her drop to the floor and walked into the room she had been guarding.
She sat down on the bed, looking at Lily and Liam. They were her whole life. Her everything. A mother was supposed to protect her children, keep them safe and she couldn't even manage that.
"She could have killed me! Who the hell is she?! She's crazy, a killer like Faith used to be!" Kate accused.
Before anyone could respond Buffy entered the living room again.
"I gave you more warnings than I'd have given to anyone else trying to get to them. Be fair warned, you won't get another chance to try."
Kate stood there waiting for someone to say something, especially Angel.
"Look lady I was only trying to help."
The slayer ignored the cop and went back to the couch.
"This is all so crazy. When I found out I was pregnant I was shocked, couldn't believe it. Yet I was so thrilled." She said letting every know she was ready to talk.
"I mean God." She said sniffling a little. "Who'd have thought I'd live to see the day I'd have a baby, much less two. I remember it like it was yesterday – the excitement I felt, it was all so over whelming and amazing, you all have no idea.
She sighed.
"Giles wanted the council to have them. He told me it was too dangerous for a slayer to have and keep a child. The scoobies got angry because I refused to name the father."
"Why didn't you?" Fred asked.
"Too much hassle, pain in the ass, and I thought all parties involved would be safer."
They each heard crying coming from the bedroom Liam and Lily slept in. Buffy smiled.
"Perks of motherhood."
Buffy walked away for a second and brought both kids into the living room and put them on her lap and looked at Angel.
"You all know too, it's right infront of you and yet you refuse to believe it."
The A.I. Team looked confused.
"It's impossible." Angel said.
His former lover shook her head. "No, no it isn't."
"Yes it is, there was only your birthday."
"Everyone else was supposed to forget Angel, but you weren't."
He was shocked to hell. Everything was supposed to be taken back – EVERYTHING.
"How-"
She cut him off "Do I remember?" Buffy just smiled. "It was too much of a precious day to forget Angel. A whole 24 hours together with no birth control. They did take my memories, but they came back within days of leaving you. Apparently, as you can tell," she kissed both of them on the forehead, "They never erased this."
"No, it's no." He said.
"Angel, how else do you explain the vampire part in them? You still had the jeans. I haven't been with anyone else willingly since that day. Do you need details? Try the kitchen table, and that stupid ice cream we ate. When you got back from seeing them I made a joke about orange juice and the deli. You told me it was ending when we only had a minute left."
One lone tear escaped Angel's eyes as tears streamed down Buffy's face. Everyone else sat there really really confused with the exception of Cordeila and Doyle, both whom Angel had told about the day but neither of them could remember.
"There was a day." Angel said, his voice a bit shaky. "The forgotten day… I'm sorry." His voice choked and he stepped out of the room.
"Mommy why are you and Mr. Angel crying?" Lily asked.
She wiped her tears. "Sometimes grown ups cry because we are being silly." Buffy explained, forcing a smile. "Are you two ready for bed now? I told you there were no monsters in the room."
"Otay." Liam said sighing. "Lets go!" He said laughing. "Come on Lily!"
The two jumped off of Buffy's lap and held hands as they ran into the bedroom. The slayer quickly tucked them in and came back as Angel did to finish the story.
"So let me get this straight," Faith said, "Angel is the father of Buffy's children from some forgotten day. She wasn't supposed to remember, and someone erased time."
"Sort of." The blonde slayer replied, still a little choked up.
"It was a Morah Demon. My blood mixed with his that day and made me human. Buffy came to tell me to stay away because I had spied on her Thanksgiving due what Doyle had seen. It just through the window and we couldn't kill it so we went looking for it, she went to the surface, I stay in the sewers. When I realized I was human and would stay that way I found Buffy and we – we made love all day and all night."
He took a deep breath, this was harder then what he thought.
"Doyle had a premonition that the demon had come back stronger then ever. So I went to kill it on my own against Doyle's warnings. Buffy was sleeping so peacefully, she was so happy I couldn't disturb that. It beat me, the demon did, and if Buffy hadn't showed up who knows what would have happened. As she killed it, it mentioned the end of days and the slayers death so I –"
"So he went to the PTB and decided to buy me more time in life by getting his strength back and erasing the day without discussing it with me" she said angrily " He took the day back so that he could kill the demon before their blood mixed. No one but Angel was supposed to remember, however, incase you all can't tell I got my memories back."
"OMG." Kate said. "I can't believe you have children."
"Me either." Gunn said. "It's only been recently we've found out you could have sex without becoming Angelus again."
"You can?" Buffy asked shocked. "Are you sure? How do you know? Nevermind." The slayer blushed. She knew how he knew.
"We were able to get a hold of the curse Willow placed on him and re read all the context, things were changed and it was redone to bind his soul. Wolfam and Hart kept trying to remove his soul, so we re worded parts of it and had someone do it. Now there is no more Angelus." Cordeila explained.
Everyone noticed the pain on Buffy's face, including Angel.
"I'm sorry." He said.
She just smiled at him. "I'm not, I got two beautiful children it of it."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Too painful, you gave it up with the conditions I'd never know and I knew it'd kill you. I also thought they'd be safer if I never named you as their father. 'Figured it was better for all parties involved."
The gang sat there, no one saying anything, they should have probably excused themselves but in Cordeila's simi small apartment there was no where to go, not to mention they still had a lot to figure out.
"What do we do now?" Faith asked.
"I don't know." Buffy replied.
"Well, I say we take down that bloody firm once and for all." Spike said.
"If things were as easy as you keep making them I wouldn't be in this situation." The slayer replied.
Angel continued to sit there quietly, next to a simi happy Kate. Perhaps now things would work out for them because he COULD have children. She could have his babies, bare them in her own womb.
"It's obvious we can't do anything tonight." Doyle said. "We all need some rest and should start fresh in the morning. Not to mention both Angel and Buffy have plenty to discuss concerning Lily and Liam."
"Yes we do." Angel replied standing up. "You three will stay with me."
The vampire walked into the bedroom where they small children laid and picked one of them up. Buffy didn't have a chance to argue with them.
"Everyone go home and rest I'll meet you back in the office first thing in the morning." He said whispering when he walked back into the living room.
They all nodded Buffy and Kate both stood at the same time. Angel's girlfriend followed him out to the car and Buffy went to go get her daughter.
"I'm sorry." Buffy said as she was heading out the door.
"Don't be." Faith said. "We're here to help, we are all friends. Go get some rest, everything will be fine."
The slayer left leaving Doyle, Cordeila, Fred, Gunn, Faith, and Spike to sit there and take a breather from all the information they had just absorbed. Worst of all, that wasn't even breaking the ice.
TBC…
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