As expected, it wasn't long until Xander, Cordelia and even Giles had made their way to Oklahoma as well.

The proud parents were quickly showered with gifts for the new arrival, everyone getting a chance to meet Lindsay, and be filled in on what the little family was doing as the next steps in their life.

Buffy was sure she cried every single time she talked about it and she knew it worried Angel every time as well but she couldn't help it. It was a perfect mixture of bittersweet to think of leaving Sunnydale behind, of starting over here, making sure she and Angel would get that happily ever after they'd been messing up and trying time and time again for.

She was excited to get settled once the house was ready, but at the same time it felt like there was a lot to do here and back home. And she and Angel were still far from being one hundred percent but it was at least promising.

Willow and Tara had loved the idea of taking over residence of the house, promising they would take care of it for them, not that they had to do much convincing about it. Buffy and Angel made it clear they didn't have to rush if they didn't want to move in and it was all at their own pace but Buffy wasn't surprised to overhear Willow whispering about it to Tara a handful of times. She was sure them having a place all of their own was a dream come true, and she knew Willow had always rather loved the Summers' house.

Xander had pretty much already put a crew together with some of his guys from work to help pack their bigger belongings up and how to get it all transported across state lines. He'd also gone out to their new house with Angel for a couple hours one day to show him around and get his professional opinion about the place and his opinion about some of the plans he had to get it ready for them to move in.

"So, can we assume all of your future children will be named after the rest of us?" Xander cheekily asked as they all gathered together for one of their final meals all together before people had to start getting back to their lives.

"Oh hell no," Lindsey said, pointing a finger his way. "I earned that shit. In too many ways that are not suitable to be at a dinner table I might add."

Angel shot him an angry look while Buffy smacked at his shoulder as she passed him by. "You're going to be a lot of fun living mere minutes from, I can already imagine." Lindsey still wasn't shy about voicing his concern but as the days wore on and a few too many talks with either of them he seemed to be slowly coming around. "Also, I don't think Angel and I are exactly in any rush to bring a sibling for the Little Miss into the world just yet. We have enough on our plate in this exact moment."

"Are you planning on going back to work?" Tara asked. "I mean, in general... finding a new school out here maybe to teach at?"

Buffy shrugged. "I haven't thought much about it. I doubt it, at least for now, for awhile... I think I just want to focus on figuring this whole mothering thing down and working on getting the house set up, working on fixing this marriage to my perfect husband and all."

"What about you, Angel?"

Angel nodded his head. "Eventually. I haven't found a new career just yet though since leaving Wolfram and Hart, haven't even gave much thought to it really. Been a little otherwise occupied with things... but I guess maybe once we get settled in the house I can start looking again and maybe find something that'll work for us."

Buffy still had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact he actually quit. She was pretty sure Angel could do just about anything and he would be great at it, she just hoped he would find something he loved. She knew he would want to be home with her and Lindsay but eventually he would need more and she didn't fault him for it. She knew he needed that, he liked keeping himself busy, he liked feeling like he was helping the world somehow or another.

OoOoO

Later that night after they had said their final goodbyes to everyone, and she'd gone through another round of tears, they were finally crawling into bed. Luckily Lindsay went to sleep easily, probably due to all the passing around she'd gone through over dinner. Angel had to step in at one point when Xander attempted to pass her over the freaking dinner table, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen him move so fast, needless to say he lost his baby holding privileges for the rest of the night.

Angel curled his body around her as he began planting soft kisses on the back of her neck. His fingers trailed beneath her shirt, reaching around he softly cupped her engorged breast, his thumb tracing the outline of her nipple through the thin fabric. The evidence of his desire was pressed firmly between them, his control was slipping.

Rolling over, she managed to slip beneath him, as she guided him over. It had been nearly two weeks since the baby was born, and their little make out sessions had only escalated, especially these last few days. It reminded her a lot of those last days they were together before everything fell apart.

"I missed this," she whispered, her hands attempting to pull him closer.

His only response was a small grunt as he fully settled on top of her. Capturing her lips, he ate up every sound that escaped. "I need you," he finally groaned as he began making his way down the smooth column of her neck. He was done with rules, he was fucking over this off limits bullshit. The only thing stopping him from stripping their clothes and sinking into her was the fact that he was absolutely terrified to hurt her.

Four to six weeks, that's what her doctor had said, which meant he only had to make it fifteen more days, because there was no way in hell he could last like this another month. As it was he was basically a walking case of fucking blue balls. Especially since she'd begun to feel more like herself.

"I stopped bleeding," she murmured, her fingers finding their perch around his neck. A week ago she couldn't even imagine making love again, still too sore and traumatized from birth, but now that her stitches were dissolved, and everything had started to heal she was feeling more like herself and closing her eyes to fall asleep next to him was becoming more difficult than she ever imagined.

He sighed as he raised his face back to hers again, "Don't tempt me woman."

She pulled him back to her, "We could try," she panted desperately.

Shaking his head, he resumed his trail down her neck, "You know we can't, Beautiful."

Her eyes burned with tears of frustration, she couldn't fucking take this ache inside of her for another second. Feeling her tense, he once again raised his eyes to meet her own. "Don't be upset," he pleaded, teasing her lips with his own.

She groaned, snaking her hands between them to wipe at moisture that escaped the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry," she managed. "I just can't do this anymore, I'm so tired of not being able to touch you. Of knowing were okay, I miss making love to you every night, I want to feel you inside me," she pleaded, slowly rocking her hips against him.

He knew she hadn't meant it too, but she just had absolutely no idea what her words did to him, but they couldn't risk it, no matter how badly they wanted too. Even if she felt she was ready, and it wasn't painful, the risk of infection was still there. His eyes nearly rolled back as he allowed her to grind up against him for a few moments more, the flimsy material of her panties doing little to hide the moisture seeping from her core.

One of these days he was sure she was going to be the death of him.

Seeing the desperation in her eyes, he flashed back to that first night back in the shower, he couldn't leave her like this. Prying her hands away from her face, he used one of his own to pin them above her head. Not giving her time to react he pressed his lips back to hers, swallowing whatever words she'd been about to say.

Her chest heaved beneath him as he released her arms to make his way down her. Pulling his own discarded shirt over her head, he quickly tossed it to the side, taking care not to throw it on top of Lindsay's bassinet.

Returning his attention to the beauty before him, he wasted no more time trailing down her shrinking abdomen, choosing to leave her bra in place, he wasn't sure he trusted those just yet.

Hooking his thumbs into the elastic of her underwear, he guided them over the curve of her hips, inching them down the smooth expanse of her still toned legs. Coming back to rest between her soft thighs, his fingers dug into the flesh of her hips as he urged her legs around him. Nipping his way up her inner thigh, he paused while he took a second to drink her in, even in the low light he could make out her glistening sex, his own cock throbbing, he already knew it was going to take a miracle not to blow in his boxers.

Her hands grasping at the edges of the pillowcase, she tried not to make a sound, terrified that he would change his mind, or Lindsey would come busting in and end everything before it really got started. Though at this point she could honestly say she didn't much care what the fuck he saw, as long as Angel didn't stop the way he was circling her clit. Grabbing one of the abandoned pillows beside her, she threw it over her face just as he dipped down to taste her.

"I want you inside me," he heard her plead, and it took everything in him not to give in to her desires. Purposely ignoring her, he rolled her swollen nub between his lips, praying it was enough to distract her from thoughts of more.

Snaking one of his hands down, he worked his own boxers down, before kicking them off, the confines too much for his angry shaft.

It was too much and not enough all at the same time, shoving the pillow away from her face, she was over caring about what the hell Lindsey heard. She knew she was climbing towards oblivion, but tried to hold off, the things he was doing with his mouth were absolutely miraculous, but she needed more, she felt so empty, so hollow.

"Please," she moaned, her fingers clenching at his hair.

He groaned against her, he knew what she needed, he knew her body almost as well as he knew his own. Loosening his grip on her, he softly ran his thumb up her warm slit, taking a few seconds he watched in fascination, massaging her aching bundle of nerves, he felt the first beads of moisture slipping from his own throbbing tip. Sliding his hand down her wet folds, he gasped as one of his fingers disappeared inside her hot center, doing his best to be as careful as he could, and she was already pleading for more. "A-angel," she moaned. "I want you," Buffy whined again.

In his head, Angel swore that the second she was given an all clear to resume their regular activities in the bedroom he was doubtful they would leave the doctor's office without christening some bathroom stall or a janitor's closet or, hell the waiting room area for all he cared.

Slipping another finger inside of her warmth, Buffy moaned, her hips bucking up to meet him and drive him in deeper. "Careful, Beautiful," he whispered, trying to get her to relax again but it didn't take long for him to realize it was really no use, she was too desperate right now to even have the ability to control what she was doing and he couldn't blame her. It had been too fucking long since he had been buried inside of her as they both craved.

Increasing his pace, it wasn't long until her whole body was shaking under him, the whole bed seeming like it was going to start moving in a minute as she crashed into oblivion.

His tongue continued to lap at her until the quivering stopped and she was about ready to push him away from her, too sensitive to handle anything more.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a little chuckle in his voice as he took the sight of her in.

"Mmm, it was hardly enough but I suppose that will do," she panted and Angel rolled his eyes.

"And I guess I will take that and try not to be offended?"

"Mmm, you know you are amazing in all the ways," she whispered, grabbing around his neck again, pulling him back to her. "It's just not the same. I want more and this is killing me."

Angel kissed her again. "I know," he promised then he groaned as her hand ventured back between their bodies, wrapping around his aching cock. "I do miss you," he whispered. His eyes closed as she began nipping at the side of his throat, her hand squeezing him just a little tighter.

OoOoO

Since Lindsay was here with them now and Buffy was planning to move in as well, Angel really got his ass in gear about the house and trying to get it at least live in ready. Xander had been a lot of help pointing him in the right direction about some places to check for manpower and having left him with plenty of ideas about how to make sure everything could be done faster but still done effectively so he wouldn't be worrying about something falling apart in a matter or months or something along those lines.

Buffy had also been a great help with her vision for the place as she had always been endlessly better at turning a house into a home than him. She could apparently already picture it, some of their things from back home exactly where she wanted them in the new house, along with some of the new items they had been picking up here and there along the way. Buffy wasn't keen on being out and about too much but she had asked to come with a couple of times when he had to run out to do this, that or the other and he hadn't minded the extra company one bit.

Fatherhood might have scared him to think about and imagine, but surprisingly he felt like this was exactly as it was always meant to be. Nothing made his heart swell more than that tiny creature... although Buffy was a close second now, he was pretty sure there was nothing on this planet that he wouldn't do for either one of them. He couldn't imagine life without them and he hoped he'd never have to find out what that would be like.

He had been so convinced he would have handled split custody fine and dandy when things were still a mess with him and Buffy but he knew he had been kidding himself now. He would have taken one look at her and been unable to do any of it, to be away from her that often, that long.

He found being at Lindsey's during all of this wasn't the worst thing in the world, Lindsey and Buffy were more or less on better terms lately, and he was much more of a help than he was sure any of them would have imagined, but he was ready to be in his own place, to see Lindsay in her nursery, Buffy filling up every inch of the house with memories and love.

And once they were able to be intimate again... properly anyhow... he was sure Lindsey would want to be as far from them as possible for awhile. He had already half joked about taking on a babysitting job with the baby and setting them up with a hotel room or making sure they at least had a bed at the new place come time for her to go to her next check up. Buffy had told him she would think about it, still worried about leaving their little one just yet for long periods of time. Angel had his own fears about it but he told her it was ultimately up to her.

OoOoO

Buffy groaned as another minute ticked by on the clock on the far side of the wall. She had been warned they were running just a little behind schedule when she checked in but it was utterly ridiculous that it had already been over fifteen minutes and she was already antsy as hell to get this over with.

When the door opened and her name was finally called by the nurse, she nearly ran the poor woman over trying to get through the doorway.

"You seem to be feeling a lot better," the nurse commented.

Buffy smiled and nodded her head. "Surprisingly."

The nurse made some small talk about Lindsay and about how she was doing as they walked down the hall and she got settled into the exam room. Buffy was pretty sure if anything was out of order today she simply would not give a damn, she just wanted to have sex with her damn husband again.

"Have you thought about birth control?" the nurse asked her, catching her off guard. Truthfully, that hadn't crossed her mind at all with everything that had been going on in their lives. "We can discuss different options if you want, we have some paperwork you could take home and everything," the nurse told her. "You don't have to decide on anything today of course, it just might be something you want to take into consideration if you aren't planning on getting pregnant right away... or perhaps not planning on another one for awhile... some last up to a couple of years even if you aren't in any sort of rush to add to the family..."

Buffy just blinked, taking the first little brochure from her. Her eyes glanced over it while she waited for her new OB to come in, greeting her with a bright smile.

Doctor Robert's wasted no time going over all the contraceptive possibilities with her. Having no idea there were so many options, all she'd ever really been familiar with was the pill, which had worked fine for them in the past, but the whole two week waiting period made her a little leery. Their track record with condoms wasn't the greatest, obviously.

Still, she felt a whole lot more comfortable taking a pill than she did having some foreign object shoved somewhere inside of her. She had read way too many horror stories about those, not to mention the complaints from all the boyfriends and husbands saying how the strings would stab them. She could see it now, that damn thing probably wouldn't last a week before he would be demanding it be removed.

After the doctor completed what would hopefully be her last internal exam, she lowered the stirrups and waited for Buffy to get dressed as she asked her a few more questions in regards to how she was feeling. Being somewhat aware of her situation, and the fact that she'd abruptly moved halfway across the United States days away from giving birth, it was to be expected that she worried about any symptoms that could be signs of postpartum depression.

"And that husband of yours," she looked up to Buffy from her clipboard, "I'm assuming he's on Dad duty."

She shook her head, "He's actually on house duty," she smiled. "He had to meet a couple of the contractors today, they're finishing up some of the final touches before we move in." She blushed, not sure why she was embarrassed about anything when this woman had literally pulled a child from her vagina. "My appointment wasn't supposed to be until the end of the week, I was kind of hoping to surprise him actually."

A flicker of realization crossed the old woman's features, "Ah, yes well, I suppose this will be quite the surprise," she smiled again. Tearing the top page from her prescription pad, she held out between them, "Here is a new prescription for your birth control, now you must remember that it takes two weeks to become effective, so you should use it in combination with condoms until then. Also, if you change your mind about the IUD's just call the office and we can get you switched over, like I said I know the idea of one can be a bit scary, but they are very effective at what they do."

Taking the piece of paper from her fingers, Buffy nodded. "So, I know you probably have to tell all of your patients about it, but…" she paused, trying to summon the words she was looking for. "Say we didn't use the condoms, what would you say my chances of pregnancy were exactly?"

"Exactly," the doctor's brow rose. "Well I couldn't say exactly Buffy, even as advanced as medical science has become some of these things in particular are still a bit of a guessing game. You are breastfeeding, so that automatically lowers your chances some, though contrary to popular belief that method is far from full proof. Each year I see a handful of women who are already expecting again by their final postpartum check, if you are really against another child right now, then I strongly urge you to be cautious."

"Cautious," she repeated, "Got it."

OoOoO

Looking at the clock again, she couldn't believe how long it was taking to fill one simple prescription for fucking birth control. She had half the mind to just come back for it some other time, but the longer she waited to start taking it, they longer they were going to have to deal with the stupid ass condoms. Other than feeling the baby move around, that was one of the few good things she could say about pregnancy, at least they hadn't needed to worry about birth control.

Pulling out her phone, she sent Lindsey a quick text, asking him about the baby, and letting him know that she was going to stop by the house for a few minutes on her way home. Lindsey thought she was out looking at paint samples for the house, and as far as she knew Angel still thought she was back at Lindsey's with the baby.

It wasn't that she couldn't have told him that she was leaving, but despite the fact that she'd made the road trip from California to Oklahoma alone, he still seemed to get a bit anxious when he knew she was out alone. Not that she could blame him after everything they had been through, but she was trying to surprise him, and she couldn't exactly do that if he were coming up with some excuse to call every ten minutes.

She was hoping to make it over the house before she got caught in some sort of lie, but with the rate everyone seemed to be moving today she wasn't sure that was possible.

Hearing her name called, she had to stop herself from nearly sprinting back to the window. She still couldn't believe that this moment was finally here, that their daughter was here and no longer in danger, that she herself had finally been deemed healthy again, or that Angel had really given them, given her, another chance. Some days she still found herself wondering just what in the world she did to deserve him.

ButImBroken:

Cowritten with Scribes1015!