Buffy woke the next morning, with Angel spooned tightly around her. His hand still splayed across her abdomen, as his finger rubbed lightly tracing invisible patterns. Moving her hand down to cover his own, she groggily told him good morning, a smile instantly lighting up her face. Trying to turn in his embrace, he stopped her from turning fully towards him, not wanting to break the contact he'd kept with her tummy all night.
Shifting to get comfy on her back, she turned to face him noticing how utterly exhausted he looked. "Oh my god, Angel. Have you even been to sleep," she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
She was right he was exhausted, and he hadn't slept, not a wink. He had spent the entire night, thinking, talking, praying, to whatever Gods or Powers that might listen. "Mmm, I'm deliriously happy," he told her his voice husky and deep, kissing her temple, he laid his head against her own. "I just couldn't sleep, everytime I tried to close my eyes I would picture you or her, I would think of something we would need to get or have done before she gets here…" Buffy looked at him strangely from the corner of her eye.
"Her?"
"Hmm-mmm, she's a girl," he stated matter of factly.
Buffy couldn't help but chuckle, she had never seen this side of him. "Is that what you were up all night trying to figure out? What if it's a boy? He's going to be hella offended whenever I tell him that his Dad was convinced he was a she."
Angel returned to lightly tapping across the bottom of her belly, "I'd be fine if it were a boy, but she's a girl… You'll see. By the way do you know how soon you should see a doctor? Do you even have a doctor for this?".
Sometimes he really let himself get carried away, worrying about everything all at once. She should have known he wouldn't be able to sleep last night. "Yes Angel I have an Ob, most girls do," she sighed, stroking his hair back from his forehead. "I'll call first thing Monday and set an appointment, I'm sure they deal with this all the time. I mean it is kind of their specialty."
Angel pulled her closer to his side, "I love you," he whispered as he adjusted them so that he was once again spooning her, his hand still not moving from its perch on her belly.
"Angel, you do realize that you're going to have to let me up eventually, I kind of have to pee."
Just as she was about to disentangle herself from his arms, a loud pounding sounded from their door. "I swear to God, he better fucking know or I'm telling."
"Really Linds? Angel grumbled in annoyance at the racket.
Buffy sighed, hurrying to set up. She groaned as she saw the gears turning in Angel's head as she got out of the bed.
"Wait. How in the hell does Lindsey know?"
"We will get to that," she told him a rush. "First, I'm so not joking about the whole needing to use the bathroom stuff." Buffy sighed again as she could hear on the other side of the door Angel having put some clothes on quickly and gone to open the door. She could perfectly picture Lindsey's annoyed face that had to greet him.
"How in the hell does Lindsey know that you're pregnant?" was the first thing she heard stepping back into the bedroom.
"You didn't tell him?!"
"I told him that I was pregnant. Not the rest, I didn't exactly get to it."
"What rest?" Angel asked.
Lindsey made a very annoyed noise. "You shoulda had this shit handled, Summers."
She glared at him before looking at Angel. "I... I kind of told Lindsey on accident last night. When you two got back with the food and everything."
Angel's eyes narrowed, trying to put everything together. "How exactly would that happen?" His face and tone were confused.
"You two left and I took the pregnancy test. I was all excited and I heard someone and I wasn't paying any attention... I ran toward the body and I thought it was you and I announced the news."
"You confused Lindsey for me? Seriously?"
"No. Yes. I wasn't paying a lot of attention! I was excited and tears were there and I was looking more at the test than anything else. I just went toward the figure and assumed it was you."
"And that wasn't even the worst part!" Lindsey broke in. Buffy rolled her eyes and Angel just turned to look at him. "All I wanted to do was show her those giant donuts and cheesecake wheel thing and instead I got pee shoved in my hand and in my pocket."
Angel only looked more confused. "I have no idea what is happening."
"She decided it wasn't such a good idea to just blurt the news out after all and goes shoving evidence into my damn hand and has to hide in my pocket."
"I didn't think it would be the best time given everything..."
"So. I had the damn stick in my pants and all this information and it wasn't my information to fucking have and.. it all made for a terrible fucking time."
OoOoO
By the time everything was out in the open Buffy was never more thankful for her short time at the preschool. Here she'd thought her training would help her when the time came for her own children but really she figured it might be better for the adult males she surrounded herself with.
"So. Here's what's going to happen. You're both going to go lay down for awhile since it doesn't look like either one of you had a good night. You're going to actually sleep and not worry about who knew what when, you're not going to worry about every possible thing about the baby... you're going to sleep. And when you wake back up there will be food and coffee and everyone will just be happy about this little bundle of joy. Alright? And then you two can make it to your appointment for the tuxes. And all will be okay in the world again."
OoOoO
While the boys caught up on their beauty rest, Buffy let her own mind run wild about everything. She knew Angel would get over the fact of Lindsey's having known before him and everything soon, if not by the time he got some rest in. Lindsey would eventually use it to his advantage to tease him and it would all be a funny story one day.
Her face lit up as she thought about the baby, about the journey they finally found themselves on. She danced a little on the stool as she ate a bite of eggs. Her mind went to wanting to call Willow but she wasn't sure if she wanted to just shout it from the rooftops and tell everyone she came across or if she wanted to wait. She thought about ways to perhaps announce it with the wedding, maybe at the restaurant when everyone was gathered afterward, but she just couldn't make up her mind right now.
She was just too excited to settle on anything right now. She thought about shopping, the nursery, baby showers, announcements... everything. She loved every bit of it.
Finally daring to, Buffy went and grabbed the set of journals she'd bought a few weeks ago and tore the plastic off. One was for pregnancy, one for after the baby was born to keep track of their milestones and such. There were also two more for mom and dad to fill out about their lives, it had places to fill out questions or put photos in and such. Her hand smoothed over the pregnancy one and she flipped the cover over and began looking over the first few pages.
In the back of her mind she knew something could happen, but her heart wouldn't let those dark thoughts cloud her as she grabbed the closest pen and began filling a few lines about what had happened last night on the page before her.
OoOoO
After waking up, Angel was still too groggy at first. He grabbed the phone and called Buffy - who was just downstairs - and asked her to come join him in the shower to help boost his energy. A few minutes later she was in the door frame and as expected he quickly found new life pumping through him.
He had to admit he wasn't overly thrilled with the whole Lindsey situation but it wasn't as big of a deal as he was certain they expected it to be. He was just happy there was the news at all.
After getting something quick to eat, he and Lindsey bid his favorite woman goodbye for a few hours so they could finally get their outfits for the wedding. Lindsey spent the entire time explaining how he fully planned to wear his cowboy boots with his tux and was absolutely not cutting his hair just for their wedding.
Getting out of the car, Lindsey told him to go ahead and he'd join in a few. He pointed to the small donut shop across the road.
OoOoO
Lindsey watched the people inside flock to Angel for a moment once he entered the store before turning the opposite way and walking with purpose as quick as he could. He swore he'd seen Darla a few streets back and he was about to go confront the fucking witch. He'd never once laid his hands on a woman but thought when it came to that certain one he might change his mind. And it would be justified.
The car and she were gone by the time he got back there, though. He said a few curse words under his breath before hurrying back to the little shop to rejoin Angel.
It wasn't hard for either of them to find the perfect tux, unlike shopping for a wedding dress there really were only so many options when it came to a tuxedo. The longest and most arduous process was the tailoring, Angel dreaded the ordeal, standing still for nearly an hour with straight pins stuck every which way through his arms and legs.
Lindsey on the other hand seemed to be more than enjoying himself. The seamstress that was helping him, some young brunette, was the first girl he had ever seen cause Lindsey to go speechless. He could almost swear he'd seen a blush creep down the man's neck.
When they were finally finished, and had changed back into their normal clothes, Angel was beyond anxious to get back to Buffy. She basically had to force him out the door this afternoon. Reminding him that she was pregnant, not dying and she didn't need a sitter.
Angel stood at the front counter waiting on Lindsey, per usual. When he finally emerged from the fitting rooms, his hair was disheveled, and it certainly wasn't from changing clothes. "It's about damn time," Angel grumbled once he was in hearing distance.
Lindsey simply looked up, and shot him a quick wink, "Sorry man, Faith decided she needed to make a few last minutes... adjustments.".
"Faith huh," Angel raised a brow curiously. Why wasn't he surprised, "You know one day you're going to catch something.".
Lindsey let out a hearty laugh as they stepped out the doors, walking over to Angel he patted him on the back, "Nah, cause unlike you brother, I know how to wrap my shit up.".
OoOoO
Thankfully with it being a Saturday, traffic was light on their way home. When they were about half way back to the house, Angel glanced at Lindsey in the passenger seat. "What?"
Returning his eyes to the road, Angel just shrugged his shoulders not really knowing how to bring the subject up. "No if you've got something to say then say it," Lindsey grouched.
Sighing, he had been trying to figure out the best way to say this for days. " I need you to do me a favor."
Lindsey crossed his arms over his chest, this was never a good start to their conversations. "If it involves sneaking around or lying to that babymama of yours, consider me out." He'd already been in the middle of their bullshit once this weekend, no way in hell he was going to willingly sign up for it again."
"It's nothing like that, why would I ask you to lie to Buffy," Lindsey glared at him pointedly from the passenger seat, "I don't know Angel, why would you ask me to lie to Buffy?".
"Look I need you to ask around," taking a deep breath, he briefly took his eyes off the road to look at his friend, his expression serious. "About Darla."
Lindsey ran a hand through his long locks, "Man," he blew out a deep breath before turning once again to face Angel. "What the fuck. I take time off work to come out here, play the roll of the best man, get my tux, and get the fuck out of this God forsaken town," his voice continued to rise, as he further twisted within the confines of his lap belt. Angel never amazed at how much of a flare he had for dramatics just sighed.
Shaking a finger in his direction, Lindsey continued,"Instead I'm violated by your damn wife, my favorite jeans are ruined, I have to adjust to the idea of being a damn Uncle with absolutely NO warning, and now you want me to go hunt down the fucking wicked witch of the west!?".
Flicking the glove box open, Lindsey pulled out the pack of cigarettes he had stashed there the night before. He looked at Angel as he lit one just daring him to object.
"I wouldn't ask if I had another option. She was at our house Lindsey, and like you said, Buffy's pregnant now. I can't risk something happening to her, and I can't go asking around about Darla myself either."
He knew that Angel was right, the bitch needed to be squashed and it was too risky for him to go seeking her out. No telling what Darla would do if word got back that O'connor was asking around about her. Taking a long drag, he slowly exhaled before answering."Fine, I'll fucking ask around. But I swear to God that bitch better not come after me, and if she does, you better be there to bail me out, woman or not, she's been asking for a beating."
OoOoO
After the boys had left, Buffy had ran to the grocery store to get the things she needed to prepare dinner for the night. She didn't think she could handle another night of take out, even from a restaurant. Instead she had decided to prepare what she remembered to be Lindsey's favorite, hoping that he would forgive her for ruining his pants.
Lindsey had to fly back out tomorrow, and after all the stress of last night, she just wanted tonight to go smoothly. She felt as though she'd been standing in the kitchen for hours when she finally placed the last dish into the oven. Glancing at the clock she noted that the guys should be arriving back home soon. Setting the timer on the oven, she untied the polka dotted apron from her waist, before grabbing a water from the fridge, and making her way to the couch to rest for a few minutes.
Turning on an episode of a baby story, for the first time she felt a sense of excitement seeing the reality show flash across her screen. As she watched the happy couple bring their very own tiny miracle into this world, she couldn't help but imagine the day her and Angel would do the same.
OoOoO
Angel and Lindsey pulled into the driveway, as they walked in the front door panic immediately coursed through both of them. The alarm from the oven could be heard from the door, and there was the distinct smell of something burning. Racing to the kitchen, they had to fan the smoke from their eyes, as Angel made his way over to the oven pressing buttons to silence the alarm and turn the machine off. Opening the oven door, he jumped back, whatever had been cooking was now consumed in burning flames. Instructing Lindsey to grab the fire extinguisher from the pantry, he turned to go find Buffy.
A wave of relief washed through him as he ran into the living room, and spotted her curled up under her favorite blanket sound asleep. Crouching next to her, he gently stroked the hair back from her face, kissing her forehead in an effort to wake her.
OoOoO
Darla sat in her car parked a few houses down, furious that her plan had been a failure. She had spotted Angel and Lindsey in town earlier, driving around contemplating her options, it suddenly dawned on her that if they were both there, then Buffy must have been at home. Alone.
Just as she was preparing to exit her car and make a move, she noticed the headlights of Angel's old car slowly pulling into the driveway. Totally thwarting her devious plans.
Darla growled under her breath as she watched the two men talk for a few moments more inside the car before starting to climb out. Her eyes lingered on Angel while she tried to think of her next move.
OoOoO
Buffy's eyes blinked a few times but as soon as the fogginess cleared up she sat up quick. "Oh, no!"
"Are you okay?" Angel asked her, clearly concerned.
Buffy nodded. "I had the alarm set on the oven. I was just so suddenly tired and came to rest for a few minutes. I must have been more tired than I realized, I'm sorry."
"I'm going to stop coming to visit the lot of you!" Lindsey called out from the kitchen. "Ain't nothing but drama every day in this house!"
Buffy spent the next half hour talking Angel out of rushing her to the hospital just to make sure she was okay, apologizing to Lindsey as the final part of the meal that was obviously ruined, and apologizing for worrying them. Truth be told she was a little scared, too, by the fact she hadn't woken up and things could have gone a lot worse if the boys hadn't arrived when they had. She promised she'd mention it to every single doctor she would ever see in her lifetime to get Angel to calm down a little.
He sent her upstairs to rest in bed a little while longer and she couldn't disagree. She still felt exhausted.
OoOoO
Checking his e-mail briefly, Lindsey sighed and let his body fall back onto the large mattress. One thing Angel wasn't aware of was that he hadn't needed to ask him to help try to figure out what Darla Pratt was up to, he had been trying to use any and every resource he could think of since the first time Angel had even mentioned seeing her. He knew there was no way in hell that her hanging around again all of a sudden was some sort of accident, especially after weeks later when Buffy happened to see her ass at their house.
He'd been trying to piece together everything he possibly could about her and her life since the last time Angel had seen her trying to figure something out from that. He knew Angel hadn't heard from her since that night so he'd long since gave up worrying about her some time ago. Now, there was this shit.
He's been at Wolfram and Hart for a couple hours after his arrival in LA and had even flirted around the office trying to get a feel for things and knew he would again tomorrow when they stopped in before he boarded the plane back home. He'd found out quite a bit but it all felt empty for the most part, nothing that would truly help him get to the bottom of whatever the damn woman was up to.
He wondered if she wasn't just some crazy woman they make those documentaries about that he liked to watch so much. Whatever the case was, he was determined to figure it out and make sure she didn't come between the two of them ever again. Especially now when there was an innocent baby in the mix.
OoOoO
"You sure you're okay?"
Buffy nodded, cuddling close to Angel's warm body. "I promise I'm calling my OB first thing on Monday, even before I get ready for class. And I have a regular ol' check up next week already scheduled anyway so it's okay."
"You scared me."
Buffy closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"I know," he whispered back. He was quiet for a few then mentioned he was asking for Lindsey's help about Darla. "He went out a little while ago... he didn't really tell me his plan... part of me thinks he's actually meeting up with the girl he hooked up with earlier today though."
"Oooh. What girl?" Buffy asked then got to hear all the details of this Faith girl Lindsey had taken an interest in. Turning over onto her back, she placed her hands on top of Angel's which were in their new found favorite place on her stomach. "I'm fine," she assured him. "The baby is fine - I even did another test to make sure I wasn't imagining the whole thing or got a false read or something. Everything is okay."
"I noticed the line of tests on the back of the toilet."
She blushed a little. "Okay, so maybe there's like four now. I wanted to make sure."
Angel kissed her cheek. "I can't wait until I can feel her little kicks. Or just learning how she grows over this nine month journey, preparing for when she's actually out here in the world with us."
"Or he."
"She."
Buffy rolled her eyes. He was determined it was a girl, she thought it was cute. It was harder for her to picture a boy with all his determination that they were having a daughter ever since finding out. "You're going to be such a good dad."
He smiled a little. "Hopefully. As excited as I am, it is a little overwhelming and I feel very unprepared."
"Me too," she admitted. "But we got time and we will figure out as much as we can. I looked up some random things today about... when you can find the gender out, when we might start feeling those kicks and little movements. I took some pictures of my pregnancy test and of my stomach to document it all. It's silly, I know but even little things like that made me feel excited."
"It's not silly. This is the best thing that's ever happened to us, I love that you want to hold on to every moment of it. I want the pictures, the little notes to look back on years down the road."
Buffy reached a hand up to his face, pulling him back down to her. "You know how much I love you?"
OoOoO
Sunday morning, Buffy went downstairs to find quite the surprise. Her face lit up and she knew she had never loved Lindsey more, her heart wanted to burst and tears threatened to fall as she looked over the beautiful crib, the books.. one about baby names, some staples of expecting parents, the set of onesies with jokes about uncles on it.
Shaking her head, Buffy grabbed the little white envelope that sat atop of the largest box and went to go sit on the sofa and read it and the little note he left with well wishes about the baby and their future together. For as much crap as he gave them over even trying to add to their family of course he would pull something like this. It was classic Lindsey.
She was going to miss him when he left today but she knew it wouldn't be long until he was back for the wedding. Angel had joked - she thought - that she wasn't allowed to cook anymore unsupervised but she ignored that as she headed toward the kitchen after looking over everything once more and started working on a big breakfast before they left for LA.
She had just placed the biscuits in the oven, and sat the skillet on the stove. As she was grabbing the eggs down from the top of the fridge, Angel's arms wrapped around her waist, his hand instantly reaching under her shirt to cover her belly.
"Mmm, no cooking unsupervised remember?" Buffy giggled in his arms, turning just enough to meet his lips with her own. "I told you I'm fine, besides you were just upstairs if anything else caught fire," she joked sitting the eggs on the counter.
His hands moved to the counter top, trapping her between his arms. Spinning around, she looked up at him through her long lashes, "Have you seen the living room, seen what all Lindsey had delivered? Honestly I'm not sure if he had it delivered or picked it all up himself, but it's perfect Angel… and way too much."
Lindsey hadn't mentioned going shopping or having anything delivered to them. Scratching his head he followed her out of the kitchen. She was right, Lindsey had gone completely overboard, but when it came to him what could you really expect. Go big or go home, that had always been his motto.
Angel admired the crib, which was way too expensive of a gift. Then he looked through the onesies, that asshole, all of them were designed for a boy. There were green, blue, and brown ones, even an orange one that said Uncles are like Dads, only better.
Just then Lindsey came bounding the stairs freshly showered, Buffy immediately flew into his arms, thanking him for everything. She had tried to tell him that it was too much but he wasn't trying to hear it. She was practically jumping up and down, as she squealed about how much she loved everything, how absolutely perfect it all was.
Angel just watched the two as he held up the orange onesie with brown trim, "My daughter is not wearing this," he deadpanned. Lindsey couldn't help but burst out laughing, moving his hand down to rub Buffy's stomach he shot Angel a wink in the process. "No shit, my nephew's gonna love it though."
The sound of the oven timer going off caught all their attention, Buffy took off towards the kitchen remembering the biscuits. Luckily, they hadn't burnt this time. Not long after she sat them on the counter, Angel came in ordering her to sit. Grabbing her by the waist, he lifted her up onto the counter next to him while he began preparing the eggs, stealing a kiss ever so often, while Lindsey shouted to get a room.
Once Angel was finished with the eggs, he allowed Buffy to use the toaster albeit with a bit of reluctance, while he fried the bacon. He had always been protective over her, but this-this need he had to keep her safe was overwhelming. He wasn't sure if it was because they were so close to being husband and wife again, if it were due to the pregnancy, or the fact that Darla was lurking around.
Honestly, it was probably a culmination of all three.
When everything was finally finished, Angel sat it all on the table, as Buffy grabbed the butter and jam from the fridge. "Oj or Milk," she yelled to the guys from the fridge.
For once that weekend they were actually able to sit and have a peaceful meal. No secrets, Lindsey didn't sound like a neanderthal, and she hadn't burnt the house down. Which was definitely a win in her book, they attempted to thank Lindsey again, but in typical Lindsey fashion he just shrugged them off. Once again commenting about how shocked Angel would be, when he came out with Uncle Lindsey's throwing arm.
OoOoO
OoOoO
After breakfast Lindsey had returned upstairs to finish getting ready, and pack the last few remaining things he had lying around. He didn't figure it would be the biggest deal if he forgot something, being that he would be back in just a few weeks time, but still. He was glad that the Amazon order he had made Friday night had actually made it, even though he payed for expedited delivery he'd had his doubts. They were right, he probably had gone overboard, but the look on Angel's face when he saw those outfits had been worth every penny.
Downstairs Angel stood locked between Buffy's thighs as she once again sat atop the counter. His gentle kisses had quickly turned into something else. Reminding himself that Lindsey was upstairs, he broke away from her lips, but continued nibbling down her neck and across her throat.
"Why don't you come with us to L.A., we can drop Lindsey off at the airport together."
Grabbing onto the hairs at the nape of his neck she forced him to look at her. "Are you asking me to go with you because you want me there, or because you don't want me here alone?"
Nuzzling the side of her nose, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "I always want you with me," he was smooth she would give him that.
Knowing he was full of shit, she sighed into his mouth, " Do you still have the same office," she questioned, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Hmmm, actually no. I moved to Lorne's office a while back when he transferred to Vegas," glancing down to the floor he nearly whispered, "I couldn't work there, in my old office-I mean, everywhere I looked I saw you.".
A rush of sadness briefly flooded through her, they had spent many hours locked away inside that office. "Well, then it sounds like we need to get busy making memories in this new office. I can't very well have you so far away, and not think of me everywhere you look."
OoOoO
The car ride to L.A. had been uneventful, again since it was still the weekend, traffic was minimal. She hated how long his commute was from Sunnydale, some days she felt like it was selfish of her, wanting to stay in her mother's old house. They could very easily sell it and find something closer to his office, perhaps not in Los Angeles, but somewhere else, not as far as Sunnydale.
Though every time she thought about it, she couldn't help the deep sadness she felt. It wasn't just her mother's house, it was theirs too. It was the place they had built their life before, but those walls had also been witness to their downfall. Maybe she should bring it up to Angel, see where his thoughts were on the subject.
She had insisted that Lindsey take the front seat, knowing how uncomfortable he would be squished in the back. He and Angel were once again carrying on as they typically did, only now they were arguing over baby names. For more than one reason she was beginning to regret her decision of offering to take the back.
Another wave of nausea rolled through her, just as Lindsey popped off that if junior came out with Angel's forehead they might as well name him Roufus. Normally she would be laughing at their antics, but right now all she could focus on was not spewing her breakfast across the back seat.
With a glance back at her, Angel's face quickly grew concerned. "Buffy? Are you okay?"
She held up a finger signalling to give her just a moment. She rolled her window down a little and tried to let the fresh air do its thing while both men anxiously waited. "I'm fine," she finally said, breathing out of her nose. "Just... a sudden bout of nausea. That's all."
"You want me to pull over?"
"She's right behind me so yes please!" Lindsey quickly said. "I've had enough of sharing bodily fluids and anything else with this woman of yours!"
Buffy closed her eyes and battled between the sick feeling taking over her body and not being able to stop from chuckling at him this time.
Thankfully, she was able to get it all under control for the rest of the trip after pulling off to the side of the road for a couple minutes. Getting out, standing, and stretching some had helped. It was a weird mixture of being happy for the new sign of the pregnancy but also really unhappy it had to be this one.
OoOoO
"You sure you want to go in there?" Angel asked, nervously fiddling with his hands. "You know you can take the car and drive around if you would rather. You could go shop, eat, see the beach..."
Buffy smiled at him then winked. "It's fine, Angel.I'm okay. Besides, we have new memories to make in your new office... remember?"
"You two just can't behave yourself anywhere, can you? You're worse now than when you two first got together. And that is saying somethin'."
"And shouldn't you be offering the car over to Lindsey? I don't see him enjoying the halls of W and H."
Lindsey smirked. "Oh, please. I can go harass his higher ups, co-workers, screw up some job he's working on. This is exactly where I want to be," he covered smoothly.
True to his word, Lindsey had disappeared, finding a young blonde to flirt with minutes into being inside the building. Buffy couldn't help but shake her head at him before letting Angel lead her around. She waved and made a little small talk with a few familiar faces, ignored the entirely shocked look on some of their faces upon seeing her here, and finally let herself be locked away in his large office with only him once they reached it.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Mmhmm. It came and it passed," she assured him, pulling him by the tie until she was back between her thighs as she sat atop his desk. With no need to worry about someone walking in on them, she started to undo his long black tie, unbuttoning his shirt and sliding it down his strong arms. Untucking the plain white tee he wore underneath, she then switched to undoing his belt and pants.
She had a lot of christening to do in this room.
OoOoO
Lindsey let Angel know he'd call him later about what he knew so far about the Darla situation. He didn't want to end his visit on discussing that woman so he pushed her out of his mind while they grabbed something to eat inside the airport and waited for time for him to get the fucking hell out of this place.
It had been a hell of a trip.
Buffy nearly had him passing out once the time did come, squeezing him with all her might. For a tiny girl, she certainly was stronger than one might give her credit for. "Thank you for everything, Lindsey," she whispered. "For coming out, for supporting us, for the pregnancy test, for-"
"You're welcome, Buf," he cut in. "I'm always here for you both, you know that."
He smirked as he and Angel hugged as well. "Take care of Lindsey Junior and Mama for me, huh?" Angel rolled his eyes. "Or, if you are right and it is a girl, we can always name her Lindsay. I could deal with that."
"You can fuck off is what you can do."
Lindsey chuckled, grabbing his bag up. "I will see you both in a few weeks." And with that, they said one final round of goodbyes to one another and Buffy made him promise to shoot one of them a text when he arrived home safe and sound before Lindsey started walking in the opposite direction.
OoOoO
The couple spent the next several hours in LA just enjoying some of their favorite spots around the area before finally heading back home. Buffy mentioned that she hated he had to do so much driving on the days he had to come in to the office. It was nice he got to work from home so much more now but it was still a lot in her opinion.
Angel shrugged. "It's not too terrible, it's doable anyway. I was toying with the idea of maybe trying to find something a little closer down the road."
Buffy's eyes widened. He loved Wolfram And Hart, he was loved there, she would joke that when the old man passed away he was going to leave the damn place to him. "You love it there!"
He shrugged again. "It's just a job. I like it, I always have but it can be a lot, too. I keep thinking maybe it's time."
"Sunnydale isn't exactly pouring out great opportunities for your type of work either, Angel. Anywhere for something like that would still be a bit of a drive for you."
"It's not something set in stone yet, it's just a thought. And maybe I'd find something completely different to get interested in. My skill sets can spread out to other things. I'm sure there's something closer out there I could fit in at."
Buffy was silent for the next few miles. "Earlier I was actually thinking about the what ifs of us moving."
"To LA?"
"Maybe. I love that house, I love the majority of memories we've made there, I love Sunnydale... but kind of the same...I was just toying with what might wind up being best for us. If that means finding somewhere else to start raising a family I'd be okay with that. I'd also be okay with staying."
"Well, we can always look into options and see what we want to do. Nothing has to be decided on right now, I think we have enough on our plates at this exact moment. I want my home and my life with you... doesn't matter where to me that winds up being."
OoOoO
"You know what my favorite part of when Lindsey comes out to visit?" Angel murmured once they were back home.
Turning, Buffy gave him a half smile. "When he goes home?"
"When he goes home," he confirmed. Buffy laughed as he pulled her into his arms, his lips finding their place against hers. It wasn't long before the living room was decorated with discarded articles of clothing everywhere, neither of them having to worry about their guest walking in on them any longer.
ButImBroken:
Cowritten with Scribes1015!