In the morning Buffy felt a calmness she hadn't felt in a long time. The feeling of Angel next to her made it all better. The guy she was in love with was lying in her arms and she was in his. She looked towards the window and saw that it was a bright day outside. As she turns back to Angel, she sees him open his eyes; she looks into them and smiles. No matter what he could always make her smile, sometime he didn't even need to be there. If she saw him in her mind she would smile. The warm feeling she got inside told her he was the one she loved and nothing would change that, no matter what the distance between them was. But for now and hopefully for a lot longer the distance would be nothing. They lay in bed for a while and then they decide to get up and get some breakfast.

When they get to the kitchen Tia jumps off her seat and runs to Buffy hugging her. "Why did I have to share with aunty Dawnie last night?"

Buffy smiles picking up Tia and sitting down then says, "Didn't you like sharing with Dawn?"

"Of course I did but I missed you and Angel. Where was you?" Tia replies.

"Tia it's when and they were out patrolling." Lily kindly says to keep Tia quiet so she doesn't ask more questions about what Buffy and Angel was doing.

They ate breakfast and then spent the day sorting Tia's things out so everything has a place and the house didn't look like a mess anymore as Tia's bags of processions where everywhere. After they had sorting this out they were all tired so decided to sit on the sofa and watch a DVD. Buffy was holding Tia in her arms and was leaning against Angel. She kissed Tia on the head and was wondering how she managed to keep away from her daughter for so long. Leaving Tia after a holiday always hurt, more then she ever knew it could, but yet she still managed to leave her daughter crying in Lily's arms. Buffy then thought to herself that she would never leave Tia again, she really couldn't now.

As the film finished Tia was asleep, Buffy was closely following, Dawn had gone to bed, as did Joyce and Lily. Angel looked at Buffy who looked at him and smile.

"Want to go to bed now?" He asks quietly. Buffy yawns and nods. Angel gets up being careful not to wake the sleeping girl in Buffy's arms he was seeing as his own daughter. When Angel was standing he lifted Tia into his arms holding her tightly to keep her safe but not so tight he was hurting her. Buffy stood up and leans her head against Angel as they walked up stairs and into their room. They got Tia into bed and then join her and they cuddled each other and sleep asleep. The moon was shining through a gap in the blind and Buffy opened her eyes and looked at it for a while. She was thinking of the way everything has changed since Tia got there. The world didn't seem to hurt so much with the demons and fight against forces of darkness, but it other ways it was a lot more harsh. Such as the pain of knowing the man she fears most was getting out of prison soon. Buffy was able to hide the fear and pain she had because there was nothing to remind her f it. She learnt how to block it from her mind but now all she could think about was Tia being in danger. Buffy fell asleep soon after her thoughts has calmed and wasn't hurting her head.

Each night Buffy, Angel and Tia would all sleep in one bed while Dawn was in her room and the two adults shared Joyce's room. The house was getting very cramped and the mornings were the worse. Four women, one male and one 6 year old all sharing one bathroom would never be easy. Days passed with each doing there own thing and Tia grow more and more suspicious of why Angel wasn't going out in the sun. It was about two weeks before HE was let out of prison. Buffy had been counting the days and knew she had to do something. She had this gut feeling he was going to come looking for her and Tia. One day everyone was in the magic box and Tia was running around. Buffy grabbed her and gave her to Dawn asked to her take her into the trainer room and play with her while she spoke to everyone else.

Buffy sat around the table as was Angel, Willow, Tara, Joyce and Lily. While Xander and Anya were sitting on the stairs and Giles sat in another chair pulled near to the table.

"So I think I'm going to tell Tia about Angel being a vampire. She is already wondering why he doesn't go out in the sun and she already knows about vampires. She had known Angel longer enough to know he isn't going to hurt us. I was just wondering if you guys knew any good ways to tell her?" Buffy said without warning.

"Buffy you sure about this? Tia is very young and knowing she is living with a vampire, might scare her. For a six year old it will be very hard to understand some are good and some are bad" Giles pointed out and Buffy nodded.

"I know but another thing children do is believe. She knows she can trust me and she will believe anything I say. If I told her she could fly she would try for a couple of hours" at that point Lily started laughing and Buffy could not hold back a smile.

"What's so funny?" Xander asked wanting to know the joke.

"When Tia was about four and Buffy came to see her, Tia was really into fairies at the time and Buffy told her she could fly. So Tia tried to, for a few hours. She climbed on her bed and jumped off waving her arms as much as possible to try and fly. It was funny to watch."

"Buffy that was kind of evil." Joyce said to her daughter.

"She got to fly in the end. I picked her up and head her above my head and ran around the garden she loved it." Buffy replied and looked at Angel "being a Slayer mom has its advantages"

"Back on topic. Are you sure Tia is ready to learn about Angel?" Giles asks.

"I don't want her finding out from Angel vamping out." Buffy looked down at her hands.

"Why would I vamp out" Angel asked lifting Buffy's head so they saw eye to eye.

"Because you always do when I get hurt, and this time Tia might get hurt too." Buffy says quietly.

"Why would u get hurt?"

"Because he is going to try and find me and Tia."

Everyone heard this and silence fell upon the room, no one knew what to say, everyone was thinking of the bastard that hurt Buffy. They all wanted to hurt him.

"Angel I need you to protect her if I can't and if you vamp out in front of her and she doesn't know you're a vampire then she will react badly. She needs to learn the truth in a calm way with me there."

"Buffy he isn't going to ever find you." Joyce said stroking Buffy's hair knowing that her little girl was trying to be brave and strong like she always was but knew she was terrified inside.

"Buffy, Tia's your daughter its your choice if you tell her or not but if you do tell her, give her loads of sweets" Xander says offering a helpful smile. Buffy smiled back at him then looked towards the training room and her smile faded. Ideally she didn't want Tia knowing anything about the slayer side of her life but that was too late to change now. Buffy looked around the room and then heard the room open and saw Tia run in. Buffy got up and picked her up as she throws herself into her arms.

"Sorry she wanted to see you for some reason." Dawn says running after Tia.

"Mommy I'm scared, something is trying to get me."

"Oh no not again." Lily said looking at Tia getting up. She walks over to Buffy and Tia and kiss Tia's forehead and takes her from Buffy's arms that she lets happen then joins Angel again, who didn't miss the pained look on Buffy's face.

"What happened Tia? Was it a dream?" Lily asks.

"She wasn't asleep" Dawn says wondering what Lily was talking about.

"Know how sometimes you don't remember your dreams but dream them later Tia does that and she had just remembered a nightmare she keeps getting."

"He was at my window. He broke it and tried grabbing me" Tia whispered but Buffy heard her daughter's scared voice.

"It's okay Tia no one will ever get you I promise."

She puts Tia down and watched Tia walk over to Buffy and climb onto her lap.

"We might as well go home and get some rest" Joyce says looking at the time, it was nine at night and that couldn't be good for Tia.

"good idea" Giles joins in and they all get up and leave.

When Joyce and Lily get to the house with Dawn they all go into the kitchen while Buffy and Angel tuck Tia into bed. She lies in the middle with Buffy and Angel on either side of her. Buffy holds a child's book and reads it to Tia who is leaning against Angel, not surprisingly a lot like Buffy. As Buffy finished the book Tia had curled into a little ball and was hugging Mr. Gordo. Buffy got up and grabbed a few weapons from her chest and then put them into a bag.

"You going patrolling?" Buffy nods.

"Okay." Angel says getting up as well, "want me to take that?" he said pointing to her bag.

"You can stay here with Tia, I'm just going to do a quick sweep."

"Buffy I don't like you out there on your own."

Buffy looked at him and couldn't think of anything to say. So she gave in, she didn't have the energy to argue with him anyway. "Fine you can come."

They get the weapons, tell Joyce they are going out and Tia's in bed and then leave the house. They get the cemetery and quite fast found vampires. Buffy jumped into action grabbing a stake from her pocket and kicked a vampire in the face and then punched another while staking one that was running at her. Angel watched her fight feeling she had some anger to get out so he let her take the fight but he was ready to help if she needed it. But she never did. The vampires were dust and we continued walking through the graveyard. Angel chased after her and when he caught up with her he turned her around and said "Buffy what's wrong?"

She didn't answer. He pulled her around to look at him and he saw tears glistening in her eyes and wet trails down her cheeks that were illuminated by the moonlight.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" he said again pulling her into his arms. She let him and rested her head onto his chest and let the tears fall. They didn't come with sobs they just fell down her cheeks and made her face and Angel's top wet. After a while they parted a little and Buffy looked into Angel's eyes and said, "Why am I a bad mother? I don't deserve Tia. She could have a lot better mother then me why did she have to get punished?"

Angel was shocked at hearing this. What he had seen and heard Buffy was and is a great mom.

"Buffy? Where is this coming from? You're a great mom to Tia you know that."

"oh, of course I am. I'm a mom that doesn't know what her favourite clothes -are, or that she had nightmares that she remembers and scare her in the day or the next night, I don't know anything about her."

"is this about earlier? Buffy it's not your fault."

"YES IT IS!" Buffy shouted without meaning to, she also pushed away from Angel. "It is my fault. She MY daughter and I left her in L.A because I was scared I wouldn't be accepted if I had a daughter. I wanted my own life I didn't want to look after a kid. I didn't want responsibilities." Buffy wasn't looking at him but he could tell she was near to tears again from her voice.

"You know none of that is true." He said calmly and a lot like Giles with the tone of knowing he was right.

"But it is true. I left my baby girl behind when I shouldn't off and now Lily is more her mother then me."

Angel walked to Buffy and wrapped his arms around her not knowing if she would push him away or let him hold her. She didn't push him away so he held her for a while.

"Listen to me. Whenever Tia wants someone she always goes to you. She wants to be with you all the time. And when I am awake some nights watching you to sleeping and I hear her mumbling about how much she loves you or I watch her search for your arms to get a hug from you. I promise you Buffy you are a great mom. And you didn't leave her in L.A. you went back to see her every chance you got. You did the right thing. Tia has been brought up health, strong, brave and just like you. There is nothing wrong with the way things have worked out. Please Buffy don't say you're a bad mother."

Buffy was listening to all this and then nodded.

When they let go of each other they held hands and finished patrolling and then went back home and climbed into bed with Tia. Just like Angel said when Tia sensed they were in the bed as well she snuggled into Buffy's arms.

Buffy, Angel and Tia lay in bed. Buffy and Angel looking at each other and smile. Angel's eyes then close and he falls asleep while Buffy watching the other two. This was what she was fighting for. This is what she lived for. The two people next to her are the people she loved with her whole heart and nothing would change that and she knew one day they would be a happy family. Even if they weren't the "normal" family they would always have love between them.

Buffy rolled over, still having a arm around Tia, and was thinking about how to tell Tia about Angel. She knew it was going to be only the three of them when she told her. But what to say that's the hard thing. Buffy keep thinking of what to say but nothing sounded right, soon she feel asleep.

Her dream started with her and Angel in a park, Tia on the swings. They have a picnic and were talking. The sun beating down as it was summer. Buffy looks around to see Tia laughing with her friends then looks back to Angel, but he is gone. Her heart fastens and she looks to where Tia was, she's gone also. Buffy stands and looks around trying to spot the little girl but nothing. She then feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns around and it's Kevin. Holding Tia with one arm. Buffy tried getting her but she is punched in the face and falls to the floor. "You thought I wouldn't find you?" He says. The voice was exactly the same as when Buffy first met him. Buffy tried getting up again but was kicked in her stomach and fell again. He heard Tia scream with fear and saw Kevin holding her tightly by the arms.

"LET HER GO!!!" Buffy screams. But no noise comes out. There was silence apart from Tia's small but powerful screams. Buffy watched from the ground at Kevin ran off with Tia. Buffy tried getting up but it was as if she was stuck to the floor. She couldn't move. Couldn't make a noise. No one was there to help. What was she meant to do? Flashes ran through her head of when she was tied to the bed and couldn't move. When she screamed but wasn't heard. Her breathing become hard and her head began to spin.

She managed to sit up and looked around. It was a dream. She was in her room, in her bed with Tia and Angel looking at her. She looked at Tia and quickly pulled her into her arms hugging her tightly. Tia managed to say, "Mommy are you okay?"

Buffy nods, "If I always have you I will be."

Buffy's breath was still fast and uneven but she lay back in bed holding Tia close. Her baby was safe…But for how long?

Say thanks to my lovely boyfriend Daryl for checking this for me =D isnt he lovely....apart from it took me a few hours to write this and took Daryl about an hour if that to check it hehe =D but i love him no matter what. xXx

Please review it would help me alot.