Thanks for the Reviews! Sorry about the jumps, i tried to make them as clear as possible... there shouldn't be much more of them.
"Buffy?"
She looked up from the bundle in her arms slowly; she hadn't heard that voice in such a long time. Buffy smiled lightly, other than the funeral; to which she went out of respect; she hadn't seen her ex mother-in-law since then.
The elder woman was standing timidly a few feet away, she shifted from foot to foot "Hi, it's been a long time"
Buffy nodded "Yeah" she cleared her throat then blushed at how rude she was being "Jenny, It's nice to see you" Jenny nodded towards the empty chair at the table "May I?" when Buffy nodded in acceptance she slid into the seat.
The two women looked around the table awkwardly for a moment before Jenny took a deep breath "How have you been? And congratulations… how old is the baby?" she nodded to the baby then before twiddling her thumbs.
"Thank you! Oh he's three month old now" That day that Angel had came home from LA she didn't realise that she was in labour, fortunately by the time they got to the hospital and checked they were told everything was okay.
Although the birth lasted for what seemed hours and hours, it went smoothly and he arrived with no complications; making her and Angel the happiest people in the world.
Buffy looked to her little boy then back to Jenny, she saw the longing in her face and felt bad. Although Riley was a bastard, he was her only child and she would never be able to have a grandchild of her own.
Buffy cleared her throat "Would… would you like to hold him?" she saw the surprise written all over the older woman's face then smiled kindly when she began to stutter.
"Wow, yeah I'd be honoured Buffy" she scooped the baby carefully into her arms and sat back down, making sure that the hat was blocking some of the sun from his face "He is beautiful, what is his name?"
Taking a sip of soda she beamed brightly "its Liam… yeah, he doesn't get his looks from me that's for sure" she shrugged her shoulders then sighed.
Jenny shook her head at the comment, typical Buffy, playing down her own worth. When Liam babbled and looked at her she made a face and chuckled "Oh he has your eyes" looking down at the precious bundle in her arms her heart constricted.
When he was growing up she thought that she had raised the perfect gentleman, she had taught him to treat others as he would want others to treat himself but she knew she had failed. Although Riley treated her well, she knew that wasn't the case for Buffy.
She had questioned him and tried to dig deep about why her daughter-in-law was becoming less bright and bubbly and enclosing in on herself – Riley had always said that's just how she was and left no doubt that the line of questioning was over.
"Buffy, I want to say that I don't hold it against you…" when she got a confused look she continued "You know, for finding someone so soon after losing Riley" Buffy looked to the table, unsure of how to answer.
Jenny stroked Liam's cheek softly then looked back at the blonde "I want to apologise for his behaviour, I am ashamed to say that he was my son… I might not know everything that happened but I knew towards the end you weren't happy and more than likely wanted out"
"You are a lovely woman Buffy, I've always been honoured that I was a part of your life and I could always see how much you longed to be a mom when you held other children… I'm glad you found someone who cares for you"
Buffy took a deep breath and whispered "Thank you" to hear his mom say these things was like a weight being lifted off her shoulders. When she was in the hospital having Liam, one of Riley's cousins was in labour at the same time.
What she hadn't told anyone was that his cousin had been a grade A bitch, making comments at how terrible a person she was for shacking up and getting pregnant so soon after her loving husband had passed – they tried to make Liam's birth a not so happy occasion.
She had always respected and cared for Jenny, now she felt like she could let go of that part of her past "I appreciate that Jenny" the two women shared a look before Liam started to cry. Jenny handled the bundle back to his mother.
Buffy hushed him before a tantrum could start and not before long he had drifted off to sleep, Jenny stood up from the chair then placed her hand on top of Buffy's "Your partner is lucky to have you dear, If you need anything you can always call on me"
Jenny gave her one last look before wandering off down the street and out of sight; Buffy watched her go then lingered on the corner where she turned.
If anyone out of the family she expected to hate her, she thought it would have been Jenny. Riley was a momma's boy, he lived and breathed for Jenny; at one point she was jealous from it but then it astounded her when he acted harsh towards her.
It was nice to know that IF she needed her, that Jenny would be there for her. She snapped out of her day dream when Willow sat down at the table "Hey Buffy! Hope you haven't been here for too long" she smiled to her friend and shook her head.
"Nope" she grabbed a menu then made a face "I am starving though!" the red head nodded in agreement then looked at the menu herself. The waiter took their order and brought another soda out for the pair.
The pair of them were in a conversation about Willows new job when she was hit with some food "Oh you!" she wiped her hand then scowled playfully at her daughter "Ava is acting like she's in her terrible twos and she is not even two yet!"
Buffy chuckled then tapped Ava on the nose with her pointer finger "I think she's just bored with our talk about work… it supposed to be a day off" Willow then scowled at her then thanked the waiter for their food.
"I know… but the project that I'm working on just now is so exciting!" she beamed brightly before taking a bite of food, Buffy sniggered, work was work but to Willow it was everything. Sometimes she reminded her of how she was in high school – getting thrilled over homework.
Willow made a face "Okay, okay, talk of work is done" she nodded once "So… have you came to a decision on what to get Angel for his birthday?"
Buffy frowned "No, he's not exactly share guy when it comes to what he wants, it's usually a 'I have you and Liam, I don't need anything else' and I'm like okay I love you too but?" Willow giggled at Buffy's weak attempt of Angel's voice.
"Why don't you surprise him with a night away" she wiggled her eyebrows at her "I mean, you two haven't had a lot of alone time since this little guy showed up" Liam babbled as if to agree and she ran her finger over his chubby little cheeks.
The idea sounded tempting, really tempting but she frowned "It does sound good but… I don't know if I could leave him yet…" although she was the motherly type, she'd never thought that she would turn down alone time with Angel.
Willow gave her a knowing look, that was something she struggled with when Ava was still only a few month old "It's so hard thinking of leaving them for the first time… but trust me, you'll be okay, especially if it's for some alone time"
Buffy bit her lip then smirked "Okay, okay I'll think about it… who knew you'd be excited about looking after two babies huh?" the red head froze then mumbled something under her breath before picking up her phone.
"Oh, that's Oz… the van still hasn't been fixed so I'll have to pick him up" Willow frowned, usually she didn't mind car sharing but not when it was her day to be with her friends, it was a rarity as it was.
Buffy wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her tight "Thanks for today Will, I'll see you soon" she leaned over to Ava and waved goodbye to her before securing Liam in his stroller.
She knew that Angel was at home, he worked a lot more from his office at home that he did in the actual office since they became a family of three but she didn't want to disturb him, with it being a nice day she didn't mind the walk home.
The more she thought of Willows idea the more she liked it; Angel was a difficult person to buy for, although their house was well decorated, he wasn't that much of a material person. Any homemade gift or even meal she managed to cook without burning was what he thanked her for the most.
She was in high spirits at all the ideas swirling in her head about what to do and what to surprise him with she was practically grinning from ear to ear – looking a little bit crazy as she was on her own. As she turned the corner onto their street the smile slipped from her face.
At the end of the cul-de-sac, in front of their house, was an ambulance with its lights flashing harshly. She picked up the pace with the stroller and willed her heart to stop beating so wildly "Angel?"
By the time she got to the ambulance the doors were being slammed shut and the paramedics raced around to the front cab before tearing away. Her eyes followed the vehicle before she spun around to be faced with Angel.
He was soaked to the bone, his clothes were like a second skin and his hair a mess; he looked dumbfounded as she stared to the ground "Angel! What happened?!" as she closed in on him he didn't even look at her.
Securing the lock on the wheel she stepped to the side and ran her hands over his chest and up to cup his jaw "Tell me what happened?" he blinked a few times before looking her in the eyes, a moment passed before he clicked on that it was Buffy.
"I heard arguing… I didn't think anything of it, the door slammed and not long after the crying stopped" he took a shaky breath and cleared his throat "…she was face down in the pool"
Buffy felt sickness rising, she hadn't seen him this shook up in such a long time; she knew immediately who he was talking about. Lately their arguments had got worse, despite not being fond of her, she didn't want harm to come to her "Will she be okay?"
Angel looked at her and shrugged "I don't know how long she was down there… she wasn't responding" he shook his head again then his gaze settled on her warm green eyes, he ran his arms around her little waist and gripped her tight.
She knew that he always tried to be the brave one, the one with the calm exterior who could handle anything life threw at him, however, deep down he was a worrier, he always hated the thought of any harm coming to anyone, especially if he was powerless.
"Come on… we'll get inside and get you out of those clothes" she smiled carefully at him then turned to the stroller and pushed it to their house, her other hand was still linked with his as she led him inside.
Angel walked up to their bedroom in a daze as she took Liam to the nursery; thankfully it looked like he was out for the count so she placed him in the bassinet and grabbed the baby monitor. She placed the monitor on the bedside cabinet then jumped "Angel!"
He spun her around - One hand slid up to the nape of her neck and his fingers wound through her hair, the other traced her jaw lightly; the raw emotion in his eyes started to scare her "I can't imagine what Linds' is going through… if that happened to you…"
Although he didn't know exactly what he was going through, he'd been close to it – all those feelings of when Buffy went missing came rushing to the surface and it scared him.
His mouth crushed down on hers as he pulled her into his iron clad grip, she could feel the urgency behind his kiss, the fear of something happening fuelling his need for her. Angel tugged her shirt over her head and made quick work on her jeans.
He shimmied out of his boxers as he picked up her nude form and laid her gently on the bed, he looked down into her emerald eyes "I don't ever want to lose you" the next kiss was so gentle she could barely feel his lips.
"Angel, I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me too" she ran her fingers through his damp hair and smiled up at him. He nuzzled his nose against hers before peppering her face with kisses; Buffy ran her hands over his muscled back and let out a gasp when he sucked on her neck.
It didn't take long for the urgency to come back, his fingers worked on her quickly but stopped just before she came; she glared up at him playfully. Angel linked his fingers through hers and laid her hands on the pillow beside her head.
Buffy bit her lip as she stared up into the darkness of his eyes, the look he was giving her made her spine tingle in excitement; he nudged her legs wider with his thighs to which she wrapped her legs around his waist.
He leaned down to kiss her as he rubbed against her intimately, one of his hands clasped both of her dainty wrists together carefully "Buffy" she looked back up at him then placed a kiss on his thumb as it swiped over her lips.
Angel trailed his fingers down between her breasts then skimmed her belly before gripping her hip "You. Are. Mine!" he used that moment to thrust deep inside of her, her breath caught in her throat but that didn't stop her from arching up against him.
"I'm yours!" he started a punishing rhythm that was unlike anything he had ever done before; she broke free of his hand and pulled him down to kiss him deeply.