A/N : So yeah, I figured if the vampires are going to be having miracle kids and all, at the very least ahuman couple should be having a baby too! Besides, I didn't really know how else to fit Xander and Anya into the plot... haha! Read on for more fun and games :-)

Chapter 4

"Hey, check out the welcoming committee" Xander forced a smile as he gazed into 1630 Revello Drive and found a whole group of people on the other side of the door. He'd expected only Buffy or Willow, instead he'd got both, as well as Tara, and a couple of unfamiliar faces, whilst Spike hid behind the door to save himself from the deadly sun's rays.

"Xander, hi" Buffy sighed with relief as her friends stood down from apparent battle stance, "What are you doing here so early?" she asked as she let him inside and he eyed the strangers to his right with uncertainty.

"First can we deal with, why is their a strange couple in your house both with axes?" he asked, almost nervously.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Buffy shook her head, feeling stupid, "Introductions. Xander, this is Fred and Gunn" she gestured to the pair, "They work with Angel, who is also here, with Cordelia and Wesley and... and his son" she said with a fake cheery smile.

The whole situation made her head spin and she could feel another headache coming on as she began explaining everything to Xander who so far had missed quite a lot of info.

The rest of the gang dispersed, the Wiccans going to make coffee, the LA couple disappearing upstairs in search of the rest of their gang, and Spike swearing he heard Annaliese crying as he followed on behind.

"Hold on a sec" Xander said with a frowned, "Wesley has a son?" he checked, "With Cordelia?"

"No" Buffy said seriously, knowing usually she would have found that sentence funny but very little was right now, "Angel has a son, a child he made with Darla"

"But, vampires" Xander said firmly, "Vampires don't... with the child having, well, 'cept for Spike and Drusilla but... that happened twice?" he realised it was true as he watched the expression on Buffy's face, which never once shifted into a smile that might indicate this was a joke.

She was serious, this situation was for real, which only served to bring back to him how serious his own predicament was, the one he'd come here for advice on in the first place.

"There's a whole bunch of people and demons and general badasses gunning for Connor, Angel's son" Buffy explained as Xander dropped down onto the couch and stared into space, "Now Spike's worried they'll be after Annaliese too but... Xand?" she checked when he was quiet and distant too long. She knew this whole thing was kind of shocking, but she couldn't see a reason why Xander would be in this state.

"Babies" he said suddenly, laughing a little, "Everybody's having one, y'know?"

"Well, not everybody" she said, glancing down at her own flat and toned stomach, strangely torn by feelings of relief and regret, "And weirdly, just mostly the vampires lately" she shrugged.

"Not just vampires" Xander shook his head, eyes suddenly snapping up and meeting his friends, "Buff..." he said, looking almost pained and the Slayer knelt down on the floor in front of where he sat.

"Xander is something wrong? Did something happen?" she checked, just as Spike came back down the stairs with Annaliese cradled in his arms, the small child crying loudly.

"Bloody hell" he cursed as he descended, "First her, now the Poofters little brat" he complained, "'S going to get noisy here today, Slayer, 's not going to be good for research"

"We'll figure something out" Buffy assured him, "If you go through to the kitchen, Will and Tara are still making coffee. They'll probably help with the baby feedage too"

"Right, luv" Spike nodded going through to the next room, the look he gave her proving he'd read her own expression correctly.

She needed to be alone with Xander for a minute, seemed there was something going on he wasn't privy too, or that Buffy knew he wouldn't want to talk about in front of the resident vamp.

"So, you were saying?" Buffy checked, looking back at Xander, who's eyes followed Spike and Annaliese until they were completely out of sight.

"I was saying... er..." Xander stumbled over what he meant to say and eventually gave up, just laughing instead, "Nothing, honestly, Buff, everything's good" he chuckled, almost hysterically as he got up from his seat and went for the door, almost knocking Buffy over in the process.

"Xander..." she went after him but to no avail.

"I gotta go" he said quickly, letting himself out the front door and hurrying away from the house.

Though Buffy called behind him, he didn't stop or turn back and right now she didn't have time to be running after him, especially not as Angel appeared behind her, speaking her name.

It still came as quite a shock to see him like this, barefoot and awkward with a baby cradled to his chest. Though she'd dreamt of him like this a hundred, maybe even a thousand times, when she was younger, she was always right there at his side, and it was their baby he carried. She knew it could never happen, even back then she hadn't been so naive to think she could make a future or a family with a vampire, but she could at least dream of it.

Things had changed a lot these past couple of years. No more romance, no more dreams of fairytale endings with her Prince Charming. Her and Angel, it was a distant memory, a fading picture. It stung a little even now, but Buffy found she could deal a lot better. It surprised her a little that she wasn't more hurt by seeing Angel with another woman at his side, as Cordelia was, or with another woman's child in his arms. As it was she found she could cope quite well with it, a large part of that reason she suspected was because of Spike and what she was feeling for him, however non-descript that was right now.

"Is he okay?" Angel asked suddenly and Buffy glanced over her shoulder at the door through which Xander had made such a hasty retreat.

"Honestly, I have no idea" she sighed as she looked back at her ex-love, "Right now I have too much in my head to be adding one more problem. I'll check in with him later" she nodded to herself, "Anyway, why the sudden Xander-shaped concern?" she asked, wondering at the concept of her undead-ex asking if her vampire-hating best friend was okay.

"Now's not the time for petty grudges, Buffy" Angel reminded her, and then added with a small smirk, "Besides, how do you know I wasn't just asking to hear in-depth tales of the boy's pain?"

"Because you have bigger things to worry about" Buffy said seriously, refusing to let humour be a part of today. Too much was at stake to be taking cheap shots and making lame cracks at each others expense, "You think he knows what's happening because of him?" she asked as she stepped closer towards Angel and put a hand to Connor's head. He had since stopped crying and was now looking up at the man he would one day call Daddy, and she who would possibly be Aunt Buffy.

"Baby's sense stuff" his father shrugged, "I just hope we can get this figured out before he's old enough to understand" he sighed as he and Buffy moved over to the couch and sat down together, "I just can't see an end to this" he admitted, "We can deal with Holtz, one demon clan, another, but... when does it stop, Buffy?"

"I don't know" the Slayer admitted, staring down at the baby boy her ex-lover held, "There's always going to be evil, and Sunnydale is always going to be on a Hellmouth. With me being the Slayer, trouble won't ever stop following me around" she sighed, "But that doesn't mean Connor will always be a target"

"You really believe that?" Angel checked, wishing she'd look at him, but her eyes wouldn't budge from the baby.

"I want to" Buffy told him, "I want to believe that you and Connor, and Spike and Annaliese can all be safe, and have happy normal lives" she smiled, "I also want to believe in rainbows with pots of gold on the other side, and a warm happy place where I'll see my Mom and... and everybody, one day" she said, expertly hiding her almost-reference to her sister, Dawn.

"You want to believe, but you can't" Angel guessed, knowing he too sometimes let himself dream of a perfect world that he knew didn't really exist and never could.

"I used to" she said with a sad smile, finally meeting his eyes, a look passing between them that said so much.

They were so focused, neither even saw Cordelia creep down the stairs and turn to go into the kitchen. She wasn't hugely shocked to see her boss and the Slayer making eyes at each other, though the scene she found as she entered the kitchen did startle her somewhat.

"Spike" she exclaimed as she found him seated at the counter, a mug of warm blood on the counter for himself which was half drunk, his gameface visible still as he fed the baby girl in his arms with a bottle of formula.

"Alright, luv" the bleached blond smiled, noticing his pronunciation didn't sound quite right, alerting him to the fact his fangs were still on show. With a little concentration he pushed the demon visage back and Cordy noticeably relaxed.

"Better now" she admitted with a half-smile, "You all alone, huh?"

"The Wiccas slipped out the back door" he tilted his head towards the exit he spoke of, "Got magicks to conjure, so they said" he shrugged, "Somethin' about puttin' a barrier round the house, to protect the Miracle Bits"

"Not a bad thing" Cordy nodded once as she went towards the fridge and took a peek inside. Her stomach seemed to have suddenly realised how long it was since she last ate and she was very ready for some breakfast.

"Can't say as I appreciate old Broody Pants showin' up like this, bringing trouble our way" the vampire told her as Annaliese finished her bottle and spat it out.

"Trouble like enemies gunning for the kids?" Cordy checked, looking back at him, "Or trouble like taking your honey away?"

Spike gave her a long hard stare, head tilting to one side and eyes not leaving her as he put his baby over his shoulder and rubbed her back.

"You're lettin' the cold out" he said eventually and Cordy frowned not understanding, "The fridge" he told her with a look that said he thought she was deficient, "You're letting all the cold out, 's not good for the food, or my blood"

"Oh" Cordy said, letting the door close on the appliance.

When she turned back Spike had left the room and she had no further chance to talk to him. She'd kind of wanted to really. After all, he was maybe the only other person here who could see things her way. Angel and Buffy, it was a whole big love thing and everybody knew it, but Cordelia had started to think maybe Angel was getting over the little Slayer and letting his feelings flow in another direction, maybe towards a certain employee and best friend?

Cordy had let herself start to dream that maybe what she was feeling for the souled vampire was about to be reciprocated. She guessed from his attitude, body language, and so forth, that Spike had thought the same about Buffy. Now things were changing, first with the babies, then with a reunion. It seemed as if the blonde Slayer and the souled vamp were all ready for a happily ever after ending, with a baby to raise, and a future to share. Cordy hated that she could feel tears stinging in her eyes at the thought of losing Angel back to his 'one true love', but it was as real as any emotion she'd ever felt - her heart was breaking.

To Be Continued...