The What If Factor.

Chapter 5: The night that started it all

Rating: PG-13

Feed back: Give it to me, but be gentle.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff except for their daughters. Now, there is some name similarities between this story and my other story, A Day Of Grief, but it's a completely different story.

3rd Person POV:

Buffy felt all the air leave her body. She just stood there for a while, griping the front door. Angel didn't say anything, he just kept looking at her. Finally, she spoke.

"How?"

"I wish I could tell you."

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Buffy's POV:

"I wish I could tell you." 'Oh goodie' I thought. Yet another time where he has absolutly no explaination. I let out a heavy sigh.

"How long?" Was all I could manage to say.

"A few days. One day, I was up 'there,' the next, I'm standing in the loby of the Hyperian."

"Why didn't Gunn call me?"

"I asked him not to." That was when I started getting angry. How could he not have called me right away? Or atleast come here right away. I would have been more perpared.

"Are you... Okay?" I asked. He slowly nodded.

"I missed you." He said. I looked away from him, avoiding his eye's. I didn't say anything. Then, I heard Kat scream, "Daddy!" She ran over to me, and nocked into the back of my leg, trying to stop. She flung herself forward and grabbed onto Angel's leg, tighter then I'd ever seen her grab any toy she was keeping from her sisters.

Angel nelt over and scooped her up, holding her tight. "I missed you." He told her, and I could here his voice shake with the tears he was holding back. "I missed you, too, Daddy." Kat said. He put her down.

"Buffy, who's at the door?" I heard Ben ask, and I knew right then that it was over. Angel looked at me with broken eye's. "Who's that?" He asked. Before I could answer, Kat said, "We have a new Daddy, now." Angel gave me the same heart broken glance before turning around and walking down the steps. Kat screamed after him, but he just kept walking.

"Angel! Don't you dare leave without talking to your kids!" I yelled at him. He stopped, then after a few moments, turned around and slowly walked back to the door. He pushed passed me as he entered the house. Ben looked horrified.

"Honey, I thought you killed vampires, not brought them back to life." I don't know if he was trying to be funny or what, but I glared at him as I walked to the kitchen. "Introduce yourselves." I ordered as I went to get his other two daughters.

I told them what was going on, and the second after I did, they ran off.

This was going to be interesting.

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I tucked the girls into bed and went back downstairs. Angel was siting on a couch that hadn't been there when he was alive, and looked uncomfertable. I sat down on the loveseat across from him.

"Thanks for staying." I said. "You can not imagine the war zone it would have been if Paige and Ava found out that Kat had seen you and they didn't."

"I'm sorry. I should have come sooner."

"You're not wrong." I said.

"So, how long have you and Ben been married?" He asked after a while.

"Three years. We dated for three before that. He's a really great guy, and he's amazing with the kids."

"Just tell me they don't call him Dad." He said, seeming to be afraid of the answer I had. I could have told him the oposite, hurt him like he had hurt me. But I couldn't do that. For as much as I was angry at him, and at the powers for turning my life upside down, I would never use his kids to do so.

"They don't. You're still the one and only."

"In their lives, at least." He mumbled. I stood up.

"Hey, you don't get to do that." I said to him.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Come back after nine years and be all pissed that you're no longer part of my life."

He hung his head. I fixed my comment. "Which couldn't be farther from the truth. We have three kids, and you can see them when ever you want. And, I will always love you, but I have Ben now, and I really do love him."

"You really think that's what I wanna hear right now?" He asked, standing up as well.

"I come back from being dead and I just wanna come back to my family, which isn't even mine anymore. So, I think I reserve the right to be 'pissed.'"

"Angel, the girls will always be your family. I told you, you can see them when ever you want. Hell, you don't even have to call first. You could move in next door and drop by ten minuets before dinner starts, ask them to have dinner with you, and I'll let them go."

"Okay, thats and exageration." Angel said, laughing slightly.

"It really is," I said, laughing too.

"Look, I'm not gonna keep them from you. So, you just let me know when you get settled, and we'll work it all out. And, if you need help finding a place or something, I'd be happy to help."

"I figured I'd just stay at the Hyperian."

"Sure, of course."

We said our uncomfertable goodbyes, and then he left. And little did we know, that that night had started the decade that would ruin our lives.

Or would it?