First night home with Joan.
After the events of the day, Angel thought the routine of putting the toddlers to bed had been soothing. Their cries to stay up, watch just one more movie, read one more book, not take a bath, or not get out of the bath were a familiar pattern.
After two hours more, it was getting tiring.
After reading a 'GET ME OUT OF HERE!' text from his wife, he'd decided to liberate Buffy and their newborn from the Med-Ward.
When their father returned with their mother, both restless children had stolen out of bed and been very interested in the little bundle in their mother's arms, but after a few minutes of crying, the awe wore off and their toys quickly became more interesting then the small noisy creature their parents were fawning over.
"You were both the same way." Angel had commented, remembering very clearly the anxiety felt when Katie first came home, then the stress following Liam's homecoming.
At least Joan hadn't had any issues finding Buffy's nipple, and had suckled eagerly as the seasoned mother rested in bed, letting her spouse put the kids back to bed.
Admitting it would be treason, but despite slayer healing, Buffy still felt terrible.
Everything between her legs felt sore and bruised, during an inspection of herself in the bathroom mirror it looked the part too. "Ugg, if I were Angel, seeing this would put me off sex for a year." She muttered, horrified that her lady bits had taken such a beating this time around.
Slow healing was not something she was used to, but this delivery had taken a lot out of her and she was angry she wasn't recovering as quick as she would have liked. Hell, right after Katie was born she'd been rearing for a go-round with her spouse, of course Liam was the result of that urge.
Another overlapping pregnancy was so not on the menu this time.
When the kids were in bed, Angel trudged into their bedroom, also looking worse for wear, despite having physically healed already from the injuries sustained in the explosion, there was still a lot of mental overload that hadn't had time to decompress.
Both had napped periodically while in the Med-Ward, but now that they were home, the true depth of the exhaustion was coming to the surface.
Angel took a quick shower, brushed his teeth and changed into his pajama bottoms before taking a now fed Joan from Buffy. He took the squirmy little thing into the nursery for a sponge bath, a change of diaper and switch from the Med-Ward blanket into her first onesie.
Upon his return to the bedroom, he brought the little one over to mommy for a bunch of good-night kisses before tucking her into the bassinet by their bed. It took a while before the baby fell asleep, Angel rocking the basket and talking softly until the babe dosed, then he flipped off the lights and flopped down into bed beside his wife, who was already snoring.
With a grin, he nuzzled in behind her, snuggled close and fell right to sleep.
…...
Something wasn't right.
Angel's eyes slid open.
He listened, trying to decipher what was setting off his alarm system.
All he could hear were the familiar sounds of his home at night. The crickets outside, the water moving though the pipes, the buzz of electricity in the wires, the soothing sounds of his children's heartbeats across the hall, his wife's beside him, her breath on his chest.
Angel's heart suddenly constricted.
It wasn't what he was hearing, it was what he wasn't.
Leaping off the bed, his eyes easily penetrated the dark silence to the bassinet.
For a second, he'd hoped it was empty.
It wasn't.
That meant the silence wasn't for the baby not being there, it was because the little heart wasn't beating and she wasn't breathing.
'Oh no, no!' Was all he could think before scooping the limp body into his arms and starting infant CPR.
The body was warm, the lips only slightly blue.
There was time, there had to be time.
His thumbs positioned over the little chest, pushing down and releasing to pump the heart, to try and force the little muscle back into rhythm. After about 15 compression, he placed his mouth over the tiny face, covering both nose and mouth and gave two quick shallow breaths.
Somewhere off behind him, Buffy had stirred awake as he'd jumped off the bed and fumbled the light switch on when her spouse hadn't responded to her questions.
At first, Buffy couldn't understand what he was doing to their baby, then it hit her. 'No, Not Joan, Not Joan!'
Time seemed to pause, the only movement was Angel's fingers, the small puffs of air.
Angel's legs buckled under him when the lax body in his arms suddenly convulsed, a strangled cry followed by a deep wail.
The little heart switching back to full power.
Relief flooded his system as Joan screamed her fury, tiny fists flying and legs kicking.
Buffy was already off the bed, practically tackling her husband to get to the infant.
The young woman was frantic, rocking the crying newborn as she repeated, "My baby, my baby."
Angel just sat there on the floor where he'd dropped, his body numb from shock at what could have just happened had he not heard the baby's heart stop. His eyes following Buffy as she paced with Joan in her arms, the panicky mother checking the little body for any defect or injuries that could have caused this.
He felt sick, nausea was threatening to bring his dinner up when Buffy declared she was going to the Med-Ward. The young slayer was already out the door and heading down the stairs towards the garage by the time Angel picked himself up off the floor. He would have followed her immediately save for the two other youths in the house couldn't be left alone.
Changing directions, he quickly scooped up a sleeping toddler into each arm from their beds before rushing off to the portal in the garage.
When Angel arrived at the Med-Ward, Liam sleepily asking what was going on as Katie slept thought the action on her father's other shoulder. "Joan is sick, Mommy and I need to talk to Cassidy about her." He explained softly as he laid his son and daughter onto a cot. Liam nodded sleepily and snuggled up to his sleeping sister.
Angel kissed them both before hurrying across the open space into the exam room Buffy had already dragged Cassidy into, very likely out of her own bed down the hall.
The medic, still in her animal print Pj's, was examining Joan on the table, checking heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, and about to draw blood for testing.
"What's wrong?" Angel asked as he entered the room, looking and feeling just as exhausted and anxious as the two woman in the room
"Nothing immediately visible, let me run my tests and I'll get you a real answer." The medic replied.
Almost an hour crawled by, running multiple tests, ultra sounds, checking blood test results.
The nervous parents were sitting with Joan, the little one sleeping fitfully on the table between them when Cassidy come in with her results of her tests.
Shaking her head, the couple sealed themselves for bad news when the medic said, "I can't find anything wrong with Joan, medically speaking she seems to be perfectly healthy."
Silence lingered in the room for a few pregnant seconds before "What do you mean nothing's wrong?" Buffy demanded, shocked and confused. "How can there be nothing wrong! My baby stopped breathing! That doesn't happen when nothing's wrong!" Buffy nearly screamed in her distress, horrified the reason she almost lost her baby couldn't be determined, which meant it could happen again.
The red headed medic put down her stethoscope, asking calmly,"Buffy, please stop screaming, you're frightening Joan."
The infant was indeed now crying again at the loud sounds.
"I'm frightening her?! How the hell do you think I feel? Waking up to find your baby is..." She almost said dead. Then it hit her like a truck.
The slayer lost it then, absolutely and totally before Angel wrapped his arms around his flailing wife and squeezed her into a smothering bear hug.
"Shh Buffy, It's okay. It'll be okay. We didn't lose Joan, we won't." He whispered to her, struggling to keep her pinned against him as she fought and raged and cried.
She'd had a miscarriage before, and it had torn her apart inside... the thought of losing a live baby...
Cassidy was extremely grateful Angel was there and being the rational one, she wasn't sure she'd have been able to handle Buffy without a powerful sedative had he not grabbed her. And both of them freaking at once, the thought made her shiver.
After a few tense minutes, the emotional outburst ebbed and Buffy quieted, sinking into her husbands chest and seeking his warmth and comfort as Cassidy explained the results of Joan's tests were all within normal parameters. "There's nothing I could see abnormal, her heart is structured correctly, pumping normally, lungs are clear of fluids, there was nothing unusual in her blood work.
"Then why?" Angel asked, just as confused and worried as his wife about their infant's well-being.
Cassidy shook her head, "I don't know. Sometimes infants can 'forget' to breathe. Most often in crib deaths its due to suffocation from toys or blankets falling into the face, or from how the baby is positioned, if face down they can not be strong enough to turn their heads to move their nose out of deep padding.
Angel thought hard, trying to re-picture the scene in his mind. At the time, his horror and shock pushed most everything else aside, but the image came to him. The small body lying motionless, lifeless in the bassinet.
She'd been face up, nothing had fallen onto her, no blankets or toys in with her.
For a second, he saw the shadow of the newborn girl that was sacrificed to create the Hellmouth seal.
Buffy felt him shiver before he spoke, "Her hand."
"What?" Buffy asked, looking up at him with red rimmed eyes and damp cheeks.
Angel continued, "Her hand was on her face, I think she had been sucking her thumb but maybe she covered her nose too?"
"It's possible." Cass agreed, "Infants don't have developed hand eye coordination, she could have been blocking her own airway and not realized it."
All this talk about her baby made Buffy want to hold her, so she un-clung from her spouse and gathered the now sleeping infant into her arms, being careful not to over snuggle. She almost wished she could just squeeze Joan back inside her, where she was safer.
"Could there be something wrong we can't see in tests?" Buffy asked, looking down onto Joan's small face.
Cassidy looked uncomfortable as both parents eyes fell onto her, "Well, without anything medically ruling it out, there could be. There are studies on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS for short, that believe loss of respiratory action could be related to an under developed part of the brain that controls sleep and arousal from sleep, but it's not a confirmed diagnosis. Most at risk are infants born premature or with other health conditions. There isn't really any confirmed prevention, just tips to try and reduce risk, like prevent overheating, keep cribs bare, lay baby on back to sleep and being vigilant."
'Vigilant.' Angel thought, 'I can do that.' Part of parenting is being akin to a stalker, which he could relate.
After talking it over, Buffy wanted to have Joan monitored for the next few days in the Med-Ward, just in case there was a relapse. Neither Angel or Cassidy suspected there would be, but agreed to be on the safe side.
Buffy pulled a cot up beside the bed Joan was laid in, running her thumb over her baby's arm as the infant slept, her eyes scanning over the rhythmic ups and down of the heart monitor. The monitor pad took up nearly the whole of the baby's chest, and the oxygen senor ate almost her entire hand.
Angel got the kids more comfortably settled into the other exam room, then resumed his tense pacing in the hall outside the room his newborn and wife were resting in.
He didn't want to lay down, he was still too wired from earlier.
Cassidy retired to her room down the hall, knowing she would be alerted immediately if needed.
…...
Several hours later, when morning arrived, Cassidy found Angel still pacing the halls and Buffy sleeping on the cot beside Joan. All was looking well with the baby, if not her parents. The tall living vampire only stopped the necrotic pacing when Katie and Liam woke, bringing the two young children home to get them ready for the day as his wife stayed with their infant.
Feeling overly protected, one of them was with Joan at all times, the other only leaving to attend the needs of the kids or to deal with AI business.
Classes in the building were on hold as the funeral preparations were under way for the lost slayers, the first being for that evening. There were police to debrief about the explosion, contractors to begin repairs and clean-up crews to remove the hazardous bio-waste. The dead demon in Angel's office hadn't turned to dust, so that had to be removed manually.
The AI team worked together, like a colony of ants to put their home back in order.
The days blurred by in the same fashion, a week of sleepless nights passed by, days filled with long stretches in the Med-Ward, wakes and funeral services, and family and friends sneaking in to see the new baby.
The five slayers lost were remembered.
Courtney Joil, a first year about to graduate and start second year classes.
Nat Foster, a first year trying to decide to keep on after training or return home to Chicago.
Kelly Haroldson, a second year grad back for extended training.
Becca DiSanders, a second year grad looking for paying gigs.
Lee Wong, a seasoned 3 year grad helping train younger slayers.
By the end of the long and stressful week, the primary repairs to the lobby were completed, all the injured slayers had been discharged from the Med-Ward and Buffy felt comfortable enough bringing Joan home again.
However being at home and in their own bed didn't lead to much sleeping on either Buffy and Angel's part for several more nights, both parents mildly paranoid now and it seemed that over the course of her stay in the Med-Ward, Joan developed a desire to be held and rocked in order to fall asleep.
The resuming of classes helped them focus on something other than the worry, for at least a few hours per day, and after several days Buffy was feeling more comfortable sleeping at night while Angel resumed his night stalker routine and stayed up to watch Joan and keep her rocked.
The fact he wasn't sleeping beside her anymore was upsetting, but he had the day to nap in between classes and knowing he was in the house and keeping their daughter safe was enough to let her body relax at night.
Joan was almost a month old when Buffy realized she'd almost completely forgotten sex was a thing.
Her and Angel had had a few steamy smooching session in the last weeks, but between the depression of losing slayers, the chaos of repairs, her slow-to-heal lady bits and their hectic schedule and separate sleeping patterns, it had practically taken 'alone time' off the table.
She'd just finished her last class of the day and was pondering finding her husband and dragging him into the shower with her before they had to pick up the kids from the slayers that were babysitting. It hadn't even crossed her mind that she'd been craving something that was missing from her life.
She was about to call him when Marie came up to her office to fill her in on the week's events, it was a great way for Buffy to keep abreast of the current happenings without having to be everywhere at once.
"Is there something going on between you and Angel?" Marie asked carefully towards the end of the meeting.
"Going on?" Buffy asked, a little taken aback by the question, "What do you mean? We aren't fighting or anything, just...busy, I guess. Why?" Buffy wanted to know what sparked the question, "What's wrong with him? Is there something I should know?" Them not being intimate had caused some issues between her and his demon before, but that had been flared by Ethan Rayne's Hex. The thought of something like that happened again made her shiver.
Marie shook her head, "No, there's nothing wrong...per say...he just seems...I don't know...Off? The girls had told me he's been slowing down in class, not defecting blows or acting as quickly. Wendy said he missed blocking her kick today and she clocked him right in the face, from what I hear he's sporting a one hell of a black eye."
As a trainer, it was Angel's job to be one step ahead of his students at all times, when he fell out of step, they worried. As much as they all trusted the man, there had been situations where he became the enemy when the demon took control.
Buffy frowned, worried he might be harboring an injury or a something equally concerning. They usually had breakfast as a family in the mornings, either in their kitchen or in the cafe at AI, but it didn't really leave them much time to talk or interact with one another beyond juggling the kids. She often lost track of him once at work until they switched off with the kids between classes or to reconvene in the evenings for dinner. She'd only seen him in passing a few times that day, she'd be sure to look for the bruise when she hunted him down after the meeting. "Okay, thanks for letting me know, I'll probe around and see what's gotten into him."
Once Marie headed off, Buffy made a few calls, asking about other's experiences with Angel lately. After finding out he'd been dismissing the babysitters almost daily, she was getting a grasp on what was wrong with her spouse. When she checked in with the babysitters today only to discover they'd been dismissed again, she was sure she'd find her husband with their offspring, instead she was surprised to find her father watching the trio.
Hank was anxious to spend time with his new granddaughter, as there hadn't been many family interactions over the last 4 weeks or so due to the general air of mourning that still lingered in the Summer's household. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd spent with him, Conner and her sister.
Instead of being angry with her father, she welcomed the intrusion, rather having Joan bond with family rather then slayers that were likely to return home after their training ended. When he volunteered to keep watching them while she ran her Angel-finding errand, "I don't know", she teased him, "you're outnumbered three to one, I'm not liking the odds."
"Nonsense, I've lived with a demon for over a decade, I can handle two tykes and a baby." He grinned at the infant fussing in his arms, "I managed you, and that was a feat of itself. Besides, how can you say no to this face?"
Buffy caved, "Ugg, I can't, neither can Angel...which by the way I really need to go find."
"He was in here about an hour ago." Hank offered, "He got a call and excused himself, I'm not sure to were or from who. I figure it was you."
Buffy's eyebrows drew down, "No, it wasn't me."
After a second, he added, "Is everything alright between you two?"
"Why?" Buffy practically demanded, getting freaked out that people kept asking her that.
Hank shrugged a little, "I don't know, other than looking like he lost a fight, he seemed...distracted...more tense than usual, and I don't think it was because of me."
This was only more incentive to tract him down, "I'll go find him, call me if you need help." She planted a kiss on all four of them before leaving the room and dialing her spouse.
He wasn't answering, which only added fuel to the worried and annoyed.
After nearly 15 minutes of searching all the usual haunts, she was about to have him paged or magically tracked when she nearly walked into him rounding a corner down by the armory. "There you are, why the heck do you never answer your damn phone?" She not quiet yelled at him as she quickly took in his presence, and true to Marie's word, he had a big bright shiner on his right eye.
'Great, add he's-not-healing to my list of worries.'
After checking the device, he responded, "Sorry, I accidentally shut off the ringer, thought it was on vibrate."
"My husband, the technologically impaired." She rolled her eyes as she snagged the device from him with her right then snatched the hand itself with her left. One handed, she reset the ringer as she hauled him down the corridor, asking him questions as they went, like where the heck he'd been and why he'd need to silence his phone.
"I was working one-on-one with Fred, the youngest slayer, she was having trouble keeping up in classes and didn't want anyone else to know. She'd afraid she'll be sent away if she can't do as well as the other slayers." He explained his absence.
Buffy paused a moment, completely understanding. "Okay, we'll get her extra help, but I don't want her hiding that she needs it, she shouldn't be taking classes that young but we'll work with her because she wants to...but only if she openly communicates when she needs help."
She was hoping her spouse would take that as an sign he needed to do the same.
They conversed about Fred as they headed back upstairs, her slightly annoyed he was dogging the issue of himself, so Buffy dragged him past the nursery and forced him into her office instead. "Shouldn't we get the kids? I'm not sure how long your dad will hold out."
"He'll manage. Although I'm mildly surprised you left him alone with them." She countered, shoving him towards the couch and giving him another more in depth once over. Other than the bruise on his face, the only other out of place marker were the bags under his eyes.
Angel grinned slightly, "When I came up from class, I found him circling the nursery door like a carrion bird does over a carcass." He answered, pretending not to notice her examination of him.
Hazel green eyes rolling, "Gees, paint me a pretty picture why don't you."
"It was funny though, when he sees Joan, he does this little giddy hop thing like the kids do when they're about to be handed a treat." He remarked with the ghost of a smile.
Buffy snorted, "I know, I've witnessed it, you're right, it's actually pretty hilarious."
After a moment, she returned to her originally scheduled lecture, "However, that's beside the point I dragged you in here to make. Angel, you need to slow down. You're like a flag flapping too long in a strong wind, you're getting frayed."
He scowled, "What? I am not."
She looked up at him, not liking how dark the bags under his eyes were, "You haven't been sleeping during the day like you're supposed to be, and don't deny it, I know you've been spending the time with the kids instead, which is great but you're up all night with Joan and it's leaving you exhausted, now that I'm looking for it, I can see the exhaustion written all over you. You need to sleep, and when you don't, people are noticing."
Before he could argue, she yanked him along and practically threw him on the couch, "I'm tired too, and I miss sleeping wrapped in my Angel blanket." As she spoke, she settled down beside him and nestled into his arms, "Also, I think we need to have a designated snuggle time each day."
His arms were already around her as he kissed her crown, "Yeah, we could squeeze in time for that."
They sat like that for a little while, just relaxing and being together, something they hadn't had much of lately.
Being quiet and snugly, she was hoping to lure him to sleep and get some rest into him.
"You know." Angel whispered into her ear, "We could also schedule time for something else." As he spoke, his right hand slid down his wife's body, heading south.
Apparently instead of sleepy, it just made him horny.
Before he could reach the sensitive lady bits he'd been aiming for, Buffy snatched his hand, "The only thing I want you scheduling right now is a nap."
His lustful smirk turned into a frown, "I don't want a nap."
Rolling her eyes, "Gees Angel, now you sound like the kids." She pulled away from him so she could look him in the eyes, "We deal with toddler temper tantrum all the time when they don't want to sleep." She leaned up and kissed him to make sure he wouldn't get the wrong impression, "But you're not a toddler and as much as I love all the parts of you, when you're on edge you're demon can get cranky, and people can get hurt, especially my slayers."
"I wouldn't hurt them..." He began before Buffy put her hand over his mouth, "Not throwing this in your face babe, but it's happened before and you know it. Don't argue with me because you won't win and I really don't want to fight." She replaced her hand with her lips, sending as much love though her kiss as possible. When they gently broke apart, she continued, "Now stop complaining and take a nap, I want you well rested so I can ravage you at some point soon, understood."
He smirked at her, despite not one to usually accept commands, he found her mix of demands, facts, non-accusing tone and use of lip to lip contact alluring. "Yes ma'am."
"Smart man." She smiled back at him, then moved to get up.
He caught her and held her tight, "Or we could skip to the ravishing now and I'll nap later."
Sighing, she laid her head down on his shoulder, "So not capable of just doing what I ask, are you?"
"I'm very capable of doing you." He teased, nuzzling her ear.
Rolling her eyes, she made a show of pushing him away, "Warning, warning, horn-dog on the loose."
Smirking, he moved his legs so she slid between them, then pushed his thighs together, making to trap her there."What did you expect? We haven't had sex in over a month and you're over here pressing that hot little body all over me. Of course I'm turned on. I'd be gay if I wasn't."
She was fighting him, but she really didn't mean it, he could smell the arousal on her, coaxing him on.
With her resolve crumbling as her body increasingly reacted to her husband's roaming hands, she finally thought, 'The hell with it, I wanted sex anyways' and gave in, turning into his kiss.
"Oh no, those are off limits to anyone over one." She muttered, peeling his hands out from under her blouse and away from her milk swollen breast when they broke apart, needing both breath and a few moments to shed unwanted clothing.
"We'll see." He grinned, pulling the shirt up off her when she lifted her arms.
They were nearly naked when Angel paused, his face becoming focused as he strained to hear something at the edges of his senses.
"Angel?" Buffy asked, seeing his attention waver, which had to be from the kids as not much else drew his focus off sex.
He blinked a moment then growled slightly, "Every time."
For a second, she thought he was furious, then realized he was more disappointed.
A moment later, there was a light knocking on the office door, followed by her father's voice asking if anyone was in there, which was hard to hear over Joan's increasing cries.
Angel had grabbed his pants on the way to the door, and managed to tug them on before opening it, "Sounds like someone is eager for lunch."
Hank had been about to try the other office when the door opened, revealing his shirtless and tussle haired son-in-law. "Oh, I um...I'm interrupting something, aren't I?"
"No, you're not. Someone else is, but it comes with the territory. Besides, it's impossible to be mad at this face." Angel replied, taking the hungry baby from him and suddenly unable to restrain the instant happy he got from her, bawling and all.
"Agreed." Hank nodded, "She isn't the only one screaming for lunch, do you want me to take the Katie and Liam down to the cafe?"
Buffy came to the door, now dressed and accepted the demanding infant from Angel, "We'll be a little bit with her, so if you want to, I'm okay with it."
Smiling at the extended time with his grandchildren, Hank rounded up the ever growing preschoolers and headed out while Buffy settled onto the couch to nurse the baby.
"You should go with them." Buffy suggested, eyeing her husband as he paced by her desk.
He paused, then came to sit beside her on the couch, "Nah, let them spend the time with Hank. Besides." He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "There's exposed boobs in here."
Snorting, she elbowed him with the arm not holding Joan, "Good god, you have way too much pent up sexual tension."
"Guilty." He agreed, folding her into his arms and helping support the baby as she nursed.
Buffy grinned down at her daughter, watching the little mouth work over her nipple, not unlike her father when being frisky.
"You have your daddy's appetite, just like your siblings. At this rate, out grocery bill is going to lead us to the poor house." She spoke to the drinking baby, before turning her head and glancing at her spouse.
'Yes! Success!' She thought delightedly when she noticed her husband's eyes were shut and his breathing was slow and deep.
About 20 minutes later, Joan had her fill and Buffy as carefully as possible to not wake Angel, burped the infant. She would have given her a diaper change, but it wasn't too wet and she wasn't willing to wake her spouse just yet, as she had no doubt he would rouse the moment she got up.
Surprisingly, Joan seemed content laying against Buffy's chest, which was unusual, since in the recent weeks the baby wouldn't sleep unless bring rocked. 'Maybe that's wearing off? I hope so.'
No sooner had she thought it, the baby began to fuss.
Sighing, 'Of course not.'
Angel shifted against her and she knew he was awake now too. 'Well, he napped for at least 30 minutes, I guess that's good enough for now.'
"Okay, who set off the alarm." Angel mumbled sleepily as Joan's cries intensified. Leaning to the left, he fumbled in the end table drawer until he found a pacifier, then quickly poked it up against the loud little mouth until Joan latched on and began sucking.
"Found the mute button."
Buffy rose up off the couch, "Unfortunately it never lasts long." She mentioned before letting him know Joan was now quickly becoming overdue for that diaper change.
Nodding, he leaned back into the couch as his wife left to attend the matter, pondering falling back to sleep now that sex wasn't a possibility.
That thought evaporated as two high pitched voices yelled "Daddy! Daddy!"
Angel feigned sleep a moment as Katie and Liam came charging into the room, both youths super charged from a big slice of chocolate cake for dessert. When they were close enough to grab, he did, causing a squeal of delight from them as he then proceeded to tickle them.
"You gave them sugar, didn't you?" Buffy asked as she came up behind her father a few minutes later, who was grinning at the part-time demon being tackled by the two children.
"I was overruled." He winked.
"Yeah, sure you were." Buffy switched the baby to her shoulder, as she shook her head, "Between you and Angel. Gees, do any males know how to say 'No'.
Shrugging, Hank made faces at Joan while he replied, "Spoiling the grand kids is part of the grandpa package."
"You mean slowly eroding their parent's sanity?"
With a grin, Hank replied, "It's payback time, Sweetheart."
"Ugg." Buffy cringed, "You're totally going to make me regret having children."
"Oh stop being so dramatic." Hank laughed. After a somber moment, he said quietly, "I wish your mother was here for this, she would have been the best grandma."
A frown fell across the slayer's lips, "Me too, and I know she would have."
The playful screams of the two children distracted them from their sad thoughts, a smile pulled at her lips as she watched her husband horsing around with Katie and Liam.
'He really needed longer than a half hour nap, especially with those two energy depleting monsters.' She thought, hoping she could coax him into bed early tonight while she stayed up with Joan instead.
…...
As usual, her plans always seemed to fall apart.
Which was the opposite of how it used to go. When it came to battle strategy, she was usually spot on, but somehow adding the Angel 'wild card' tended to throw pretty much all her carefully thought out intentions into chaos.
Not only had he refuse going to bed early, unless she'd be there naked, he spent like every possible moment from her first suggesting it running around until the kids were asleep. "Why?'" She asked herself out loud while folding the ever present laundry from the basket, hoping he was eavesdropping, "Why do I ask him to do anything? It's like asking a rock to not be made of stone."
When he didn't respond with some sort of comment, she realized he wasn't nearby, which made her suddenly wonder where he was now.
Usually he hung around the living room, as there was room to walk laps while rocking Joan to sleep, but he wasn't there, or in the kitchen, which he sometimes could be found raiding the fridge for a snack.
He wasn't upstairs or in the garage, she'd already checked, so there was only one other place to look before she got annoyed...well, more annoyed.
"Angel?" She called out into the shadows in the backyard, curious if he'd gone into the tree-house.
When no response came, she called out a little louder, but realized the trap door and ladder for the tree house where still secured.
'Shit...Where the heck did he go?' She wondered, now getting worried that he'd practically vanished from their house.
They had quiet a few safeguards in place around their home to keep it safe from their numerous enemies, but the paranoia would remain. She'd never forget having their living room blown open by Cerberus's brother Graegus, or the portal that sucked her into another demon dimension with Liam in her arms. No, paranoia was here to stay.
She headed back into the house and was grabbing the cordless off the receiver to try and call him when she spotted the familiar form walk by when she glanced out the window towards the front yard.
Hanging the phone back up, she quickly hurried out the front door and lightly jogged up on the sidewalk beside him, "What the heck are you doing out here?"
"Shh." He whispered softly, rocking the sleeping baby in his arms as he walked, "You'll wake her."
Scowling at him, she pulled up in front of him and purposefully blocked his path, "And what? You plan to walk laps around the neighborhood all night?"
Frowning at her, he tried his best to keep the motion of walking up as he stood there, "I have been, it's getting to be the only way she'll sleep."
'Well that went a long way in explaining why he looked so wore out, the idiot has been wandering the streets at night!' She thought.
Putting her hands on her hips, "Yeah, wandering alone out here while sleep-deprived is also a great way to attract the multitude of evil things that would love to kidnap one of our children...or kill us. If you want to walk, do it on our property at least so Will's protective spells work."
Without giving him the chance to argue, she took the infant from him, "My turn, so go to bed before you fall over."
When his mouth opened to start the inevitable disagreement, she gave him a sharp kick to the shin, "Shut up and do what I tell you."
"Ouch!" He grumbled, hobbling away from her, "What the hell?"
She saw the flash of Angelus flicker in his eyes, but didn't back down from her equally threatening glare.
"Watch your language in front of my children." She warned, nudging him back towards the house with both her elbow and a hard stare.
Grumbling something she couldn't quiet hear under his breath, he went, a mix of angry and sulking back to the house with her prodding him along.
It was more of the same battle of wills once they reached the house, but she finally threatened the grumpy living vampire into bed.
"Or what?" He countered, his exhaustion whittling down his logic.
She realized he was being purposefully provoking, something the kids sometimes did when they were overdue for sleep as well.
When she raised her hand, he looked ready to deflect a blow, but instead of shying back, she gently cupped his cheek, "Lover, you're overtired, it's messing with your common sense. I need you functioning and right now you're not. Please, Angel, go get some sleep."
His dark eyes lingered on hers for a few tense moments before he exhaled loudly and muttered, "Fine."
Before he could leave angry, she pulled him into a kiss.
It took a moment, but he did kiss back, and there was way more tongue than needed for a goodnight kiss, but she didn't mind.
When they paused for breath, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to kick you, but you're worrying me. I love you and just want you healthy."
He nodded, "I know, I'm sorry too."
They kissed once more and as he parted from her, he whispered in her ear, "Not the best of timing, but I love you and happy anniversary."
By the time her tired brain caught up to his words, he'd already exited into the bedroom and she was downstairs in the kitchen, glancing at the wall calendar. 'Damn it, he's right. December 4th, today was our 5 year wedding anniversary...and I forgot all about it.'
She'd meant to purchase that Irish dagger she'd found in a shop several weeks ago for Angel, as the 5 year modern gift was silverware and she really didn't think he'd want a fork and spoon set, but the knife aspect seemed a better direction. Of course life had thrown too much at her recently to have the time to do so.
'We'll just have to reschedule the whole gift giving thing until later, maybe just piggy-back of Christmas... although I hope we get some one-on-one time before then...'
Alone with her youngest, she rocked the baby and tried more than a few times to sit down and relax her aching back, but each time she stopped moving Joan would wake and begin to fuss.
"Gees, you are like 1,000% worse than Katie was..." Buffy sighed, now completely understanding why Angel was so run down and aggravated lately. Keeping constant motion for hours was a huge energy suck.
It was well after midnight when Buffy decided enough was enough.
Marching upstairs to their bedroom, Buffy apologized as she flipped on the lights to the bedroom and caused her light sensitive spouse to jerk his head under his pillow as the bright disturbance tore him out of his sleep.
"We're so not spending the rest of our nights walking around, Joan you need to learn to sleep when stationary." She spoke as she laid the restless infant into the bassinet, making soothing sounds as the baby began to fuss.
Angel peeked out from under his pillow, sleep rimmed brown eyes blinking slowly, "She's not going for it."
Buffy told him to be quiet and go back to sleep.
After what seemed like forever, but was only about thirty minutes of endless crying, Buffy muttered a curse when she finally broke down and picked a screaming Joan back up, "Okay, okay, please stop, Mommy can't take anymore!"
Even rocking, the baby wailed in what seemed like punishment for being put down.
Angel, who hadn't been able to fall back to sleep over the noise, dragged himself out of bed and wrapped his arms around his frustrated wife, rocking with her to try and keep the finicky infant satisfied, "Looks like after all this time, we've finally found a fight we can't win..."
Leaning back against him, she shook her head, "This isn't our daughter, she's a hell-demon sent to destroy us."
Quirking his lips up into a grin, he chuckled, "Parenthood, a never ending battle that can never actually be won."
Several minutes passed and as Joan finally began to quiet, Buffy found herself beginning to feel drowsy, not only was the gentle rocking motion soothing, but the warmth from Angel and Joan combined into a sensation so very cuddly.
Sensing his wife's fatigue, Angel slowly moved them towards the bed, careful to keep the motion so Joan wouldn't wake and cry.
As he transferred the baby to his chest so Buffy could lay down, he expected the wailing to being at any moment, so when it didn't, he quickly checked to assure Joan was in fact breathing.
She was, and surprisingly enough while he stood motionless by the bed she wasn't starting to cry.
'Let's see how many seconds until the fireworks begin again.' Angel thought as he slid down into bed beside his already comatose spouse, fully expecting to be getting right back up when Joan inevitably began to cry.
He was mentally telling himself this wouldn't last long, but fell asleep before he could talk himself out of it.
Smiling, Buffy nudged closer to the warm body beside her, feeling like she hadn't snuggled in months.
'I haven't.'Angel hasn't come to bed since Joan was born.' She reminded herself, partly waking as she realized this was the first time she'd actually slept beside her husband in their own bed since the night Joan stopped breathing.
Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see their one month old sleeping soundly on her father's chest, no sign of the water-works that usually accompanied when the infant wasn't in motion, but even as Buffy thought it, she could see Joan wasn't actually still at all, there was a soft rocking motion from Angel's breathing and the steady thump of his heart.
'Oh I hope this lasts, I'll so very much give up my claim to his chest if it means actually being able to sleep beside my husband at night again.' She thoughts as the comfort and quiet lulled her back to sleep.
When the sun slowly rose over the horizon and a thin trail of light worked it's way under blinds and into the bedroom, Angel slowly woke from what felt like a best sleep in his life, or at least the best sleep in the last few months.
He smiled down at the small body on his chest, the little mouth suckling a tiny thumb in her sleep.
Beside him, Buffy was nestled up against his side, not too dissimilar as to when she was pregnant and used him as a maternity pillow.
It felt amazing after weeks of stealing an hour here and there to actually lay in his bed with his wife for almost the whole night. If co-sleeping was what worked with Joan, he was all for it.
...
About two weeks later:
Angel secured the training weapons back into the cabinet and did a quick sweep of the room, assuring himself everything was put away.
The last class of the day in each room came with a similar 'last sweep', since one of the weapons had been 'borrowed' and was found in the dorms one evening after a little cat-fight between trainees. No one had been hurt, at least not seriously, but Cassidy hadn't been trilled about running an emergency 'Stitches - How and when to apply them' class the following day. The girls learned their lesson and the staff realized they needed to keep the same precautions they had in the Spells department with keeping the heavy-duty spell books and ingredients under lock and key.
He was sore after a long hard week, not overly, but enough to be dreaming of a long hot bath. Showering was more his thing, but he hated to admit that Buffy's stock of scented bubble bath salts was tempting enough to ignore the jab to his masculinity. A long hot soak did wonders for easing aches and pains...even more so when his wife joined him.
He'd just flicked off the lights when something appeared on the edge of his senses.
Turning, he didn't bother switching the lights back on as his demonic senses were already peeling back the layers of darkness.
The prickles of the hairs rising on his arms alerted him to eyes watching him.
A scent carried on the faint breeze from the AC unit, one he knew well.
Behind him, a change in air pressure, then something impacted him from behind.
Rolling with the force, the body on top of him tried to get a grip on his throat, but he managed to bring him arm up in time to prevent a solid connection.
When the rear assault failed, the attacker tried a more frontal approach.
Angel blocked the first few blows, but one caught him by surprise, a feigned kick left that followed with a elbow to the ribs and a sweeping blow to the back of his right knee.
He went down with a grunt, not hurt but unable to keep his balance.
When his attacker moved to strike, he lashed out with a wide kick and brought him down as well, the assailant landing on top of him.
"Nice, you almost had me there." He grinned, holding his hand up in a 'If I were holding a stake, you'd have been eating it' pose.
The young man laying on him got to his feet, "Not fair Dad, you always smell me coming."
Angel took the hand Connor offered him and let his boy pull him to his feet, teasing, "When's the last time you showered?"
At that, Connor sent him a play whack, "Hey! This morning, thank you. At least I don't smell like spit-up."
"Oh the price we pay for parenthood." Angel lamented, before reaching out the ruffling his son's cropped blondish hair, "You were the first to spit-up on me, just not the last."
Pink cheeked, he smacked the intruding hand away, "Speaking of, I haven't seen my lil-siblings enough this month. Granted if she'd projectile-ing milk, maybe I'll hang back from Joan's blast zones."
Grinning, the two turned and headed for the door, neither needing the light. "She's getting better. Come on, you're having dinner with us tonight."
Faking it, "Awe man, do I have to?"
"Yes." Angel grinned, pushing the boy out the exit door into the rear parking lot and locking it behind him. His eyes scanned over the shiny new AI Ambulance and assured himself all was quiet in the dark and now vacant lot.
Connor's used silver 2000 Ford Mustang was parked beside his father's black GTX.
"You get a car, an apartment, a job and a girlfriend and suddenly you're way too busy to visit anymore." Angel teased, missing his son and wishing he saw him more often. He'd tried to get him a job at AI, but the young man was determined to fly solo and make a name for himself without following in his father's coat tails.
Angel didn't blame him, thinking of his own ruined youth fighting with his father, Angel didn't feel he had the right to say anything. Connor was his own man and would forge his own path, he had nothing but pride in his son for that.
"I call." Connor defended, "At least twice a week."
"And you spend nearly the whole time giving your siblings terrible ideas." Angel joked back, pausing at his car as Connor climbed into his.
"No, no, I only provide alternative options for them to consider."
Angel rolled his eyes and he jumped the door and into the open roofed GTX, "Yes, because 3 and 4 year olds need options."
The living demon followed the Mustang into his driveway, and purposely parked behind it, hoping to silently convey he wanted him to hang around after dinner.
The two older children went crazy with excitement as their older brother came in the front door, which left Angel free to kiss his wife who was perched on the couch with Joan.
"Well, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence." Directing the question towards her spouse, "He's only here to use the washer, isn't he?" Buffy asked after the kiss, happy to see Connor but enjoying a little ribbing at the young adult's expense.
"Hey, I have a washer." Connor defended, giving his mom-of-the-heart a kiss on the cheek as he passed by, Liam's small hand gripping his left and Katie's his right as they dragged him further into the room. "It might be broken right this moment, but I do have one."
Nodding, Buffy stated, "I rest my case."
"He was trying to beat me up in the AI gym." Angel toyed, "But I fought him off."
"Liar, I totally knocked you off your feet!" Connor countered from across the room, where Katie and Liam were busy asking him questions and showing him their toys.
Buffy, trying not to laugh, just shook her head as she address the 2 month old being rocked in her arms, "Boys, beware of them, they're weird."
Joan just smiled at her mother's voice.
...
After dinner, Buffy slid the cake they'd baked last night onto the table, piled high with buttercream frosting.
"Whoa, what's the occasion?" Connor asked, his stomach shoving his recently eaten dinner out of the way to make room for dessert.
"Occasion?" Buffy asked, then looked towards Angel, "Do people need those to eat cake?"
The living demon replied with the a shrug, "I though cake was the occasion."
Grabbing a plate, Connor took the heaping slice Buffy offered, "Why did I ever leave home?"
...
"You're staying the night." Angel directed the question to his oldest, which wasn't a question at all. The 25 year old was sandwiched between his two second oldest siblings on the living room couch. The TV was on, but the kids weren't watching the Lion King anymore, they were both fast asleep.
Connor blinked, having been caught half asleep himself as he looked up at his father, Joan sound asleep against Angel's board shoulder.
"Umm, sure?" He answered, appreciating the offer as he was not only ready for bed, but so full of cake the thought of driving across town wasn't appealing. Even at this hour, driving anywhere is LA was a chore.
Buffy walked into the living room, fresh from the shower, wearing a robe and wet hair up in a towel and took the sleeping baby from her husband so he could scoop up the two sleeping on Connor.
As the dutiful parents tucked the two into bed, Connor ducked into his old room, now a mix of his and spare bedroom and changed into his sleep clothes from the bag of spares he left in the closet. Buffy had made the bed up for him, and he'd just finished brushing his teeth when he turned and found Buffy watching him from the bedroom door.
"Umm, Hi." He said, a little awkwardly. Over the last few years, he'd come to think of Buffy as a mom to him, but for some reason, the look on her face gave him pause.
She quietly closed the door and in a few quick strides, she was standing in front of him and whispered low enough to make it hard for even Angel's superiors hearing to catch, "I need your help."
Instantly he felt of nervous, "With what? Dad?" Angel had seemed fine to him, maybe not as relaxed as usual, but his demon hadn't been putting off any alarm bells.
"No, nothing is wrong with Angel." Buffy quickly clarified, seeing the alarm flash in her step-son's eyes. "It's just...with everything going on since Joan's birth, we missed doing something for our Anniversary and now Christmas is like a week away...I want to plan something, for just the two of us to get away for a night or two and I..."
Connor grinned, "Are you trying to rope me into babysitting duty so you can get groiny with Dad?"
The blush on Buffy's cheeks gave away her firm denial, "No, not all three of them, that's too much for one person."
Connor laughed at her embarrassment, "Listen Buffy, I'm an adult, I know what sex is and don't tell my dad but I do it too. From the lack of sex smell in the house, I'm guessing it's been a while."
Buffy groaned, "Okay, now I know you are you're father's child...I hate super smelling people, that's just so wrong to be able to do that..."
Trying to keep a straight face, he offered, "Long as I don't have to hear it, I'm cool watching my lil brother and sisters tonight."
As much as Buffy wanted to jump all over that, she knew Joan would quickly make Connor regret it. "I wish, but Joan only sleeps on Angel."
At the sound of his name, the man opened the bedroom door and peeked in, "Everything okay in here?"
Connor, who hadn't held Joan yet suddenly asked if he could.
Angel thought it odd, but shrugged and passed the two month old over to her older brother, fully expecting a tantrum as she tended to cry at those she didn't know or see often.
When nothing happened, Angel raised an eyebrow. "Looks like Connor has the magic touch too?"
Buffy grinned to herself and looked quickly to Connor, who gave a quick nod of approval for her to take action.
Angel, not knowing what was going on, was about to ask when Buffy grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the room and down the hall.
"What are you doing?" He asked as his wife dragged him though the house, "Where are we going?"
The thoughts of that hot bath and a early night were fading, thinking she was going to ask him to fix something or maybe 'discuss' something with him.
"Tree house." Came her answer as she opened the kitchen door into the deck.
He halted then, pulled on his arm where her hand was locked around his, making her fall back against him, "And why are we going to the tree house?"
Buffy stared at him a moment, thinking his lack of foresight cute, "Because we have a sitter for the night."
The significance of that took a moment to sink in, but when it did, a lustful growl escaped as he quickly tossed her over his shoulder, shut the door and headed for the tree house at a light jog.
Once inside, it took them like two second to disrobe.
In the corner, there was a duffel bag, inside a blanket. The side pocket had a handful of condoms.
"Do I even want to ask why that's up here?" Buffy asked as he spread the blanket out over the recently added green shag carpet.
Angel smirked, "Are you complaining?"
"Heck no." She snagged a condom from him and opened it, planning on enjoying applying it.
Most of them were gone by the time they fell asleep.
...
It was morning, still too early for the kids to be up, but as Buffy lifted her head up off her prone husband's chest, she couldn't help but smile.
As if he could feel her looking, he woke with a stretch and wrapped his arms back around her, "Morning."
She repeated it back to him, then just laid there, thinking.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, unused to her being silent, or them having quiet time. The last two months with Joan were anything but relaxing.
She turned her head to look at him, "I think that's the longest we've gone without making love."
His fingers trailed down her back as he answered, "Let's not try to break that record."
"Deal." She agreed, leaning up and kissing him, which he eagerly accepted.
It would be time to head back in soon, but they were determined to take advantage of every last second of 'Us' time, then it would be back to their chaotic and complicated life.
Neither were upset about it, complications was part of their world, and in their type of career, a houseful of kids driving them nuts was a reward few were able to claim.
As crazy and demanded as it was, it was also something neither expected to have a piece of.
Normal.
...
End for now.
Continuing? Yes.
When... absolutely no idea.