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Joyce could not believe what she was hearing. How could she be having nightmares like this, again? What happened to the pills? Did they stop working? She was staring at Buffy not saying a word, and Buffy was starting to get a little nervous.

She was deep in thought, so lost in fact that she didn't even hear Buffy pleading to her. "Mom, say something, please" was all she could say.

Joyce was starting to get upset, and the more she thought about it angrier she became, "Did you stop taking your pills?" she sounded very angry and had a hateful I'm-going-to-kill-you look in her eyes.

"What, no, why would I stop? I never stopped taking the pills mom. Look here is the prescription. I don't go anywhere without them." Buffy was handing her mother the pill bottle. Joyce snatched it from her daughter and opened the bottle, counting the remaining pills. She looked at Buffy a little relieved but again became angry. She put the top back on the bottle and tossed it back to Buffy.

"Put those away now. I don't understand Buffy, if you have been having these dreams again, why did you wait so long to tell me? Have you been having them all along? How long have you been hiding this?" Joyce was now standing in front of her daughter screaming as though she were standing down the street.

Buffy slowly backed away from her mother. She was beginning to regret telling her mother of her dream. How could she think she would lie to her? "Mom, please! Why would I lie about anything? I haven't been having these dreams, they just started tonight. If I would have had other dreams, don't you think I would have told you?" Buffy was beginning to cry now. She was started with small tears, and then broke out into loud horrible sobs. "Why are you crying? Is there something else you're not telling me?" Joyce was questioning Buffy but in a normal voice now. Buffy just shook her head no and continued to sob.

Joyce was feeling a little bad now; she didn't realize she had been so ruff on her daughter. "I'm sorry Buffy, you just startled me is all. I think we should get some rest now. I am finished with my business at the gallery, tomorrow we will be going home. I need to talk with your father and I think I should call Dr. Price to ask his opinion." Joyce had tried to settle Buffy down a bit; she held her in her arms rocking her slightly and stroked her hair.
When they awoke in the morning, they packed everything up and headed home. Buffy was disappointed that they had to leave early. She had hoped they could spend some girl time together, but the recent events prevented that from happening. Joyce had called Hank ahead of time to let him know they would be coming back early. He was wondering what would have occurred to cause the early departure. He greeted them when they arrived and helped them with the luggage. Joyce put her things away and told Buffy to go to her room and unpack while she talked with her father.

Joyce sat him down and started to tell him the story about Buffy's nightmare. They talked a while and he tried to assure his wife that everything was alright. "Everyone has nightmares once in a while Joyce. Just because she had one doesn't mean she is having the same problem as before. We can't prevent her from having dreams, we all dream. Let's just call the doctor and see what he says before we jump to any conclusions." He was worried himself, but he wanted to be the strong one for his family. They would call the doctor tomorrow and everything would be fine. He felt that they fought this before, and even if Buffy was having a reoccurrence the doctor would be able to help.

Dr. Price had recommended they bring Buffy in for an evaluation. They took her in and the doctor changed the dosage on her medication. He told them to watch her for the next few weeks to be sure nothing else was happening. It seemed to work for her; she had no new nightmares for two weeks.

School was starting and Buffy was excited to go back and see her friends. Really, she just wanted out of her house and away from the doting parents. She loved her parents very much but they made her feel like a lab rat under constant watch. She did have one or two more nightmares about the vampires but after a few days they stopped and she didn't want to worry them anymore.

The next few months went by without any problems. Everything seemed to fall into place. She was a normal girl in a normal school with normal friends. She had a great boyfriend and she was very happy. The winter dance was coming up soon and she and Angel had planned to go together. She was so excited. Her mother took her out shopping and she found the prettiest dress. They had everything planned; her first formal dance and she couldn't wait.

Her parents were very happy also. No nightmares and the medicine seemed to be working great. They were eager to see their daughter all dressed up and going to her first dance.

Angel had arrived with flowers for her mother and a corsage for Buffy. He was so handsome in his suit. Buffy nearly fainted when she walked out and saw how great he looked. They took pictures and watched the young couple walk out the door to leave. Joyce was crying and Hank just laughed at her and held her close. "Our baby is growing up Hank. Soon she will be graduating and going to collage and leave us behind." She was sobbing on her husbands shoulder.

Buffy and Angel just sat in the back of the limo just staring at each other. They had not said a word since they left the house. They both were in awe of each other, thinking how the other looked so good. Angel was the first to break the silence, "You look so beautiful Buffy, like a goddess. I love you." He bent down to give her a kiss, soft at first then deeper. She felt like her heart would pound out of her chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer to deepen the kiss. She parted her lips and invited his tongue into her mouth. She thought at that moment her heart would stop. It was pounding so loud, she thought he may hear it. When they broke apart she gasped for air, trying to slow her racing pulse. She opened her eyes and looked in his beautiful brown eyes, "I love you too." She whispered to him, but loud enough to get a grin from him.

"I have something special planned for later tonight. I hope you told your parents you would be home late." He smiled, and picked up her hand to kiss it. "I actually told them that I was spending the night at Cordelia's house after the dance. We have cheerleading practice tomorrow morning and I'm supposed to stay at her place tonight. She will be at the dance later and I will work something out with her I guess. We won't be out too late though, will we?" She was nervous and excited at the same time. She and Angel had been dating for over a year and things were starting to get serious. She knew that eventually he would want more from her but she didn't know if she was ready for that yet. That all went out the window when he began to whisper in her ear, "Trust me, it will be worth it. My surprise is going to be great, you will love it." She started to get butterflies in her stomach, she loved Angel so much, and she figured anything he planned had to be great.

They got to the dance and had a great time. They danced, ate, and talked with all their friends. Buffy pulled Cordelia into the ladies room and asked her about going out with Angel after the dance. She convinced Cordy to let her come to her house later that night. She agreed and told Buffy if she was too late to knock on her bedroom window and she would let her in then.

When the dance was over, Angel led Buffy back to the limo. They climbed in and he blindfolded her. "What's this for?" Buffy asked him feeling a little leery at not being able to see where they were going. "I told you it was a surprise, just relax we will be there in a few minutes." Angel sat down next to her and the limo pulled off.

The limo finally stopped and they both got out. Angel guided Buffy into a room and began to remove her blindfold, but as he put his hands up to untie it, he kissed her again.
She tensed at first when his lips touched hers, but his smooth lips and inviting tongue had her relaxing almost instantly. They kissed for several minutes and he slowly removed the blindfold. She had kept her eyes closed the whole time. She was slightly scared of what she was about to see. Where had he taken her? Her heart began to race again and he finally had to tell her to open her eyes.

She finally opened her eyes and looked around. They were in a room, very cozy with warm candles lit and soft music playing in the background. She surveyed the room and saw a couch with a coffee table a bed at the other side of the room and an open terrace with a table that had small lit candles on it. It was so romantic, she had never before dreamed of a more romantic setting than this. She looked over to Angel and smiled. Her butterflies were in full force as Angel led her over to the couch and they sat down. Wow, was this really happening?

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0) window.locationthis.optionsthis.selectedIndex.value" namesidChaptersStory Index1. In the begining.2. Ch 23. The dance4. Buffy's Romance5. The football game.6. Surprise7. The talk8. Consequences9. Talking to the parents.10. The truth comes out11. to the clinic again.12. The decision13. Moving on14. Coming un-done15. Sleeping Buffy.16. Its Time17. Here comes the baby.18. Delivery19. Angel's angst.

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