A Vision of Terror

Wesley and Spike turned to each other, both with looks of worry on their faces. This was bad and they both knew it.

The watcher turned his attentions back to Cordelia. "Cordelia, I know this is difficult but I need you to tell us exactly what you saw."

Cordelia was still crying but she was trying her hardest to control it and make it stop. She took a few deep breaths and eventually calmed herself down enough to speak.

"Evil," she responded. "All of it. They all know. Somehow every single evil being knows about our babies and they know that they're meant to be warriors for good when they grow up. They're all after them Wesley. Some just want them dead and some are like the evil doctors, they want them alive. I don't know why or what for, but they want them."

Wesley grimaced. This was the last thing they needed right now. "Did you see anything specific? Anything that would suggest we're in immediate danger?"

Cordelia shook her head. "Just images, and the knowledge that everything I saw is after us. That's all I got."

Wesley pulled back away from Cordelia and tried to think. "We need to warn the others."

"Should I go tell them then?" Spike asked as he stood up to face Wesley.

Wesley shook his head. "No, we need you here. When I was talking with the others we came to the conclusions that it's safer if there are two of us in each room, for protection purposes. You and I in this room, Xander and Gunn with Faith and Anya, Giles and Connor with Dawn and Buffy and Angel and Lorne with Willow and Tara. Angel and Giles may switch after Dawn's child is born but as of right now this is how it must stay."

Spike nodded his head. "Smart plan," he agreed. "But how do we get the word out then?"

"Angel told us to send out a flair to Willow, in other words telepathically send her a message, if anything went wrong. She will then relay it to the others. I think we should tell her what's up."

"I think that's a really good idea," Fred interjected with a worried look on her face, "Because I think I just went into labor."

XXXXXX

"What's going on Willow?" Tara asked. Her wife was just staring out into space with deep concentration on her face. This usually meant that she was telepathically communicating with someone, which meant that something was wrong. "Is everything ok?"

This caught Angel and Lorne's attentions as well. They both moved closer to Willow in anticipation.

When Willow snapped out of her trance she immediately turned to Angel. "It was Wesley. Cordelia had a vision."

"Why do I have the sinking feeling that this isn't a good thing?" Lorne asked.

Willow turned to the green demon and frowned. "It's not," she confirmed.

"What is it?" Angel asked eagerly.

Willow carefully explained the situation. She told them about Cordelia's vision and how Fred was now in labor. She told them that Wesley sounded very worried and that he told her to relay the message to everyone to keep on high alert.

"Well this just keeps getting better and better now doesn't it?" Lorne said sarcastically.

"But there was no indication of any immediate danger in Cordelia's vision right?" Angel asked anxiously.

"Wesley said that was the first thing he asked too," Willow responded. "He said Cordelia told him no. But that doesn't mean there isn't any."

Angel nodded his head. He fully agreed on that last fact. He thought for a moment and tried to figure out what all this meant and what they were going to do about it. It all felt so hopeless. Getting all of these babies delivered healthy and safe was the main priority right now, but after that what was next? If Cordelia's vision was right, which they always were, it seemed that no matter what they did it would be useless. Evil would just keep coming until they're job was done. It was a very disconcerting thought.

"What should I tell the others?" Willow asked.

This snapped Angel out of his daze. "You said that Fred is in labor?" Willow nodded her head in response. "That probably means that Dawn had her baby or is in the process of having her now. Will you guys be alright if I go over there?"

Willow's face hardened in resolve. "We'll be fine. I'm still feeling a little weak but not weak enough to stop me from doing magic if it needs to be done."

"And I'm feeling much stronger then I did right after giving birth," Tara added. She then turned to Willow and smiled. "Between to two of us we can handle anything." Willow smiled back at her lovingly.

"And as always I'm here with much needed support," Lorne added with fear in his ton. He wasn't a fighter but he would stay by their sides no matter what.

Angel nodded his head and walked to the door. "I'll send Giles over as soon as everything with Dawn and her daughter is settled and I let him know what's going on," the vampire said. He then focused solely on Willow. "Send a message to Gunn. Tell him what Wesley told you. Tell them to try not to panic but that he and Xander should be on full alert and we'll give them word as soon as we know more."

Willow nodded her head in understanding. "Be careful."

Angel sent her a small reassuring smile and then walked out the door.

XXXXXX

When Angel walked out into the hallway he was on full alert. Moving from the room he was in to another was the perfect chance to make sure there wasn't any danger near by. He looked around everywhere. He saw quite a few people but the problem was he couldn't tell if any of them were dangerous. It was a busy hospital and everything seemed normal but there was no way to be sure of that.

No one seemed to really notice him along his travels. This was a good sign, he thought. They're enemies would undoubtedly know who they were and they would be looking for them. When he was satisfied that there was no immediate threat he entered Dawn's room.

Inside the room, four faces turned towards him. At first they were all filled with caution, but when they realized it was just Angel they all broke into smiles. This was another good sign.

Giles, Connor and Buffy, with Zack in her arms, were all huddled around a very exhausted looking junior Scooby. In Dawn's arms was a beautiful baby girl wrapped up in a blanket. Now Angel knew what was causing all of the smiles.

Dawn was crying slightly, but Angel could tell that these were tears of joy. "Hey Angel," she said between sniffles, "I want you to meet someone."

Angel smiled and walked to the right of Dawn's bed where Buffy was standing. He stood next to the slayer and put his arm around her as he took in the sight of Dawn's new child. Connor and Giles were on the other side of the bed smiling brightly, Connor seated on the bed with his arm around Dawn. He couldn't take his eyes off of the small child.

"This is Jamie Joyce Summers," Dawn introduced.

"She's beautiful," Angel said in congratulations. They all stood there in silence for a few minutes but then, as much as Angel hated to ruin the moment, it was time to get back to reality.

"I really don't want to ruin the moment or anything but I come bearing news, the bad kind."

Concern immediately filled all of they're faces. "What is it?" Buffy asked.

Angel went through the same routine with them as he had gone through when Willow told him. He explained everything to them, they asked the same questions he had, and he answered them as best he could.

"I should get to Willow and Tara," Giles said. He truly believed that Gunn was right. There were eight girls and eight guys and all of the girls were either weak from giving birth or in labor. That meant that it was up to the guys to protect them. Two men in each room was the safest way to go. Giles knew that Willow and Tara were very capable Wicca's but he would feel much better if he was with them.

"Good idea," Angel agreed. "Watch your back out there. Everything seemed fine when I walked here, but I still have a bad feeling."

Giles nodded his head. "I will. Keep them safe."

It was Angel's turn to nod. "I will."

With that said, Giles left the room.

XXXXXX

"That doesn't sound good," Anya said. Gunn had just explaining to her, Xander and Faith what Willow had just explained to him through the psychic link that she created.

"Not good at all," Xander agreed.

"We just have to stay alert," Gunn assured them. "Willow said that she's pretty sure that Dawn just had her baby so now we just have to wait things out with Cordy and Fred and then we're out of here."

"Yeah but then there's a whole bunch of other evil things we've gotta deal with who knows when," Faith pointed out.

"True," Gunn admitted. "But for now we just have to deal with the present and that means getting out of here as fast as we can."

"Is that even safe for us?" Anya asked. "I mean we've all talked to a bunch of doctors, read all the birthing books and all that and the mothers are supposed to stay hospitalized for observation for at least 24 hours after giving birth. Is it safe for us health wise to be leaving so soon after giving birth?"

"It's a hell of a lot safer then staying, that's for sure," Gunn responded. Then he realized how uncomforting that was and tried again. "Look, it's like you said, we've all talked to doctors and read the books. Although us guys are no doctors I think we've learned enough to know how to take care of you."

"He's right Ann," Xander added. "We just need to get out of here and safely back at the hotel. Then Willow and Tara can put up the barrier they'd been talking about in case of an emergency and then we can figure out where we'll go from there."

Anya nodded her head in understanding as she held Alex closer protectively. She knew they were right but she couldn't help feeling extremely paranoid. She had only been a mother for about an hour but her motherly instincts were kicking in full force. All she wanted was for her son to be ok, for everyone to be ok.

XXXXXX

Giles, like Angel had, cautiously opened the door to leave, being sure to check his surroundings before stepping out. When he was sure that the hallway was clear he walked outside and quickly, but nonchalantly, headed for Willow and Tara's room.

Just as Giles was about to enter the room he took one last look around, and it was a good thing he did.

From outside the door to Willow and Tara's room Giles could see most of the other girl's rooms as well. Buffy and Dawn's room was merely down the hall a ways, to the left on the opposite side. Faith and Anya's room was even closer just a few doors down to the right. Cordelia and Fred's room was a little bit farther away and not in sight since they had to just find an empty room. They're room was around a corner and a little ways down.

Right now what Giles saw worried him immensely. A very large group of people with purpose in their eyes were walking towards him from both directions. He noticed that about five or six of them stopped outside of Buffy and Dawn's room and another five or six stopped outside of Faith and Anya's room. The rest of them were heading his way and although he couldn't see Cordelia and Fred's room he was fairly curtain there were probably a few of them there as well.

Although this greatly worried him there was something unthreatening about them. None of them attempted to enter the rooms and although he braised himself as they approached him, none of them attempted an attack. It was almost as if they were just guarding each room. Giles wasn't sure if he should be comforted or even more worried, but in light of the situation at hand he was leaning a lot closer to more worried.

"Excuse me," Giles started in an attempt to figure out what was going on. "Is there some reason you're all standing out here and outside of those other rooms?" He knew that the answer was yes. Of course there was a reason, he just wanted to know what it was. Most of the people were dressed in medical outfits, whether they be for nurses, doctors, orderlies or other hospital workers. Only a few were dressed in normal clothing.

They all stood silent, arms crossed as if they were body guards. It made Giles angry that they weren't answering him. He stepped closer to them and decided to put on a little pressure this time. "Now you listen here," he said to the closest person as he wagged his finger at him, "I demand you tell me what you are doing here this instant."

The man looked at Giles, smiled, and then sent him a right hook across his jaw with all of his might. Giles flung backwards a little and held his jaw with shock.

The man then moved a little closer to Giles and put his lips to the watcher's ear. "Consider that you're warning," he whispered. He then moved away a little and continued. "There may not be many of us at the moment, and that my friend is why you're still alive right now, but once our numbers increase there will be no mercy. We will guard these doors until every one of the eight is born and then none of you will be leaving here alive until the children are in our possession. I suggest you just cooperate and tell the other to do so as well. It'll make things a lot easier for you."

The man then stepped back into line with the other guards. He sent Giles another confident smile and gestured towards the door to Willow and Tara's room. "Please, go right in."