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Angel sat there staring at her like what seemed an eternity to Buffy. She was getting nervous and began to doubt telling him anything. 'He must hate me now. He thinks I'm off my rocker.' She thought to herself. She began to fidget a little to try and get a reaction from him. He didn't move an inch, finally she had all she could take, "I knew it, see, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. You think I'm nuts, don't you?" She got up from the bed and walked over to the window. She silently began to cry, she turned her back to him so he wouldn't see.

"Buffy wait, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just; I mean…..well it's all kind of surprising. You never mentioned any problems before. Now all of a sudden you have this condition that you take medicine for and you never told me anything about it. I thought we were closer than that. Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me about any of this?" Angel was sorry but he was also hurt that she didn't tell him about her dreams or the fact she had to take pills for it every day. "I never wanted you to know Angel. I thought I had it under control. I thought hey, I can be normal, have a normal life with a normal boyfriend. I figured the pills had it under control, and I could handle anything that life could throw at me, you know. This summer though, when I went to Sunnydale with my mom, I had an episode. I dreamed one of those dreams again, and mom freaked. She cut our trip short and took me to the clinic again. They changed my pills and everything was right in the world again. I just never wanted you to think I was anything but normal. I love you so much Angel, I hope this doesn't change how you feel about me." Buffy turned to face him, tears streaking down her cheeks. Angel's heart broke at the sight of her and he got up to meet her. He put his arms around her and held her tight for a few moments. He whispered in her ear,"Shush, it's all going to be ok. I love you Buffy, nothing is going to change that. We just need to make sure the baby will be ok. I am worried about what carrying this baby may do to you. I want us to have this but not at the expense of loosing you. Shush, calm down baby." Angel wanted to hold her like this forever. He was freaked about the whole situation but he still loved her. "Why don't you lie back down for a while? I'm going to go talk to your parents about your doctors' appointment. I'll check on you in a little while ok." He walked her over to the bed, tucked her in, kissed her and left the room. Buffy closed her eyes and silently wished everything would be alright.
Angel walked down the steps and into the kitchen where Buffy's parents were sitting. They were quietly talking but quickly stopped when they saw him enter the room. Hank pulled out a chair and motioned for Angel to sit. He sat down and let out a big sigh. "I think she told me just about everything." He stated not looking at either parent.

Joyce saw how sad he was. She had gotten to know Angel well over the last few months and she could tell he was very conflicted. "Angel, I'm sorry you had to learn about her this way. It's best you know everything though. I know you and Buffy care greatly for one another but ……….I can't help but feel scared. We don't know what this pregnancy will do to her or what her medicine will do to the baby. We can't take any chances, first thing tomorrow morning we will take her to the clinic. You can come with us if you like." This statement shocked Angel somewhat. He knew that he was part of Buffy's life now but they were now welcoming him after getting there daughter pregnant and changing all there lives forever.

Angel agreed to go with them the next morning. He told them how upset Buffy was that she had to tell him everything. He was very worried that she may slip back into her fantasy just to keep from dealing with everything happening. He made her a glass of water and went upstairs to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully and he didn't want to wake her. He wrote her a note and laid it on her night stand with the glass of water. He needed to go home and think things over. He kissed her on the head and went down to say good bye to her parents. It was a cool evening and Angel took his time driving home. He was thinking over all the things that were revealed to him today. It was like a nightmare. One minute he was blissfully spending time with the girl he loved and the next minute he learned she had a dark secret. He still didn't understand why she would keep this from him. He had told her everything about his life. They had spent hours discussing dreams and fantasies, never once did she reveal anything remotely like what he found out. She said she fought vampires; where did that come from? He remembered her saying she was a hero, a slayer; wow she did have a good imagination. Then he began to think of the baby. What if she has to stop taking the medicine for the baby? Would that make her crazy or slip into crazed fighting girl? It was all so confusing. He reached his house and was glad to see no one at home. He took a quick shower and climbed into bed. Hopefully a good night sleep will help him cope with what was waiting for him in the morning.

The next morning Angel woke early. He wasted no time getting ready and headed over to Buffy's house. Her parents were waiting for him to get there and as soon as he arrived they left for the clinic.

The ride over to the clinic was a scary one for Buffy. On the one hand she was very glad that Angel was there with her, but on the other hand she was scared to death at what the doctor may say. She sat in the back seat with Angel's hand in hers not speaking a word. She glanced over to him every so often to be greeted with a smile. She could tell he was worried too but he seemed more together than she did. He would squeeze her hand every now and again to let her know he was thinking about her.

They reached the clinic and were promptly put in Dr. Price's office to wait. It seemed like hours before he finally came in and sat down. He smiled at Buffy and greeted her parents before walking over to Angel and extending his hand, "I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"Oh, hi, I'm Angel. I'm Buffy's boy…..fiancé'." Angel stammered out. "Well, nice to meet you Mr. Angel. Now then shall we get to business? I assume that since you are all here we must have an urgent issue." Dr. Price was all business. He took his seat and opened up the file on his desk. "Yes doctor we do have an issue we must discuss and since it involves Buffy's boyfriend Angel, we asked him to join us." Hank was the one to speak first. "We have recently found out that Buffy is…. Well she is…..going to have a baby." Hank didn't know how to say it. He just wanted this all over with and couldn't stand prolonging it any longer. "I see. So you are here to find out about the adverse affects of her medication on the fetus. Please give me a moment, I need to check on the particular medication we now have her on." Dr. Price left the room but was back soon after. "It seems we may have a slight problem on our hands here. I believe that if Buffy decides to carry this child she may have to discontinue her medication. I have asked for Dr. Berkel to join us. She is the expert on these medications and I think she may be able to help in this matter." Just as he finished stating this there was a knock at the door and a young women entered. She was tall and skinny and by the looks of the white overcoat, also a doctor. "Yes Dr. Berkel, thank you for joining us, please take a seat. May I introduce you to the Summers' family and Mr. Angel of course." She extended her hand to each of them. "As you are aware Miss Summers has been on this medication for a few months now and as of recently she is with child. We would like to know the effects it would have on the fetus and what precautions we should take." Dr. Berkel sat down and looked to the family who was now staring at her.

She smiled brightly at them, "Nice to meet ya'll. As I was telling Dr. Price a moment ago, we feel that Buffy should stop the medication if she plans on carrying this child. It is not good for a baby to be exposed to such drugs. If she eats properly and exercises, we may be able to help her condition with other less caustic drugs. I think she will be fine." The doctor smiled at Buffy and turned her attention to her parents. "I guess we should discuss the alternatives because Buffy and Angel both have agreed to keep this baby." Joyce finally spoke up. She felt better that Buffy could be helped without harming the baby. She thought that maybe this was her chance at a normal life for Buffy. She could have the baby and then return to the medication after. "Well if we are all agreed then Dr. Berkel and I shall work up a regiment for Buffy and get back to you as soon as possible." Dr. Price was satisfied and got up from his desk to usher the family out. As they all got up to leave, Buffy finally spoke. "Thank you doctors, I appreciate everything you are trying to do."

After the Summers left, Dr Price returned to Dr. Berkel's office. "Fred, can you put a list together of viable medications for Miss Summers? I need to get her started on alternatives as soon as possible. It may not be good for the child to be subjected to her current treatment for much longer." She smiled at him, "Of course Wes, I do have one problem though. I don't think that the other meds are going to be as effective as the one she is currently taking. If we don't watch her closely, she may slip into her coma state. The stress from the baby with all the hormones will be hard to balance. I am afraid if she does stop taking the current prescription it may not be good for her. If she makes it to full term the stress of the birth may push her over the edge." She was frowning now and Wesley didn't like it. Her smile could light up a room but when she frowned it was always bad. "Well I'm sorry to hear that. I will discuss it with the family and let them decide."