Disclaimer: I do not own, naturally.
Author's Note: I know that last chapter seemed sketchy at best, but I promise it will all make sense soon! Review por favor!
"Look who finally woke up," Angel commented. Angela came strolling into the kitchen, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She went right into her mother's welcoming arms, yawning. Buffy pulled her into her lap, straightening out her 'Little Mermaid' pajamas.
"Good morning, baby girl," Buffy said, kissing her hair. "Look, we've got birthday pancakes – with chocolate chips!"
"Oooh!" Angela shed the drowsiness instantly, eying the stack of fresh pancakes in front of her. Angel came over and sat at the table with a cup of coffee for himself and one for Buffy and a glass of milk for Angela. "Daddy made them?"
"Don't worry," Angel said with a snicker. "Mommy's hands never touched them."
"Hey!" Buffy protested, playfully hitting Angel's arm. "I'm not that bad of a cook!"
"I like Mommy's spaghetti better," Angela said before biting into a delectable hunk of cake and chocolate.
"See?" Buffy grinned.
"Are we gonna go see Aunt Dawn?"
"Well, first," Angel said, helping his daughter to cut up the pancake into bite-sized pieces. "Eat. And then the mall for your mom's present."
"I heard that tone, Angel. And I will not be dissuaded. It's a time-honored Summers tradition."
"What tone? I love the mall, honey," Angel rolled his eyes.
"Do you gotta leave tonight Mommy?"
Angel and Buffy exchanged quick looks. It was normal now for Buffy to leave shortly after dinner to go patrolling, but Angela didn't know what she was doing. She was used to Angel being the one seeing to it that she was bathed and put to bed. They hadn't discussed yet how they would answer when she started asking questions. The sky is blue, the drugs are bad, the birds and the bees they were prepared for. But why Mommy came home beaten up sometimes, or the weapons hidden in their room or why Mommy was super strong and fast they were kind of hoping those questions wouldn't come up until much later.
"No, baby," Buffy snuggled her face into her daughter's neck. "No work. Just you, me and Daddy and all our friends and family. I think it's gonna be your best birthday party ever."
"Yay!" Angela squealed through a mouth stuffed with sugary goodness. It was nice to spoil her every once in a while. When she was done, Buffy took her back upstairs to get dressed.
"Okay, how about the purple one... with the skorts? Or the dark jeans?" Buffy suggested, holding up an outfit. From her perch on her mother's rocking chair, Angela shook her head and wrinkled her nose. The shake of her head made the curlers in her hair bob around.
"Hm. White tank and red capris? Or the blue?"
"Nuh-uh."
"The green dress?"
Angela tilted her head at it, envisioning as a Summers girl would do. "Nope."
"Wow, you're getting good," Buffy teased, tapping her child's nose. "Okay, well... Oh, I know!"
Angela leaned forward as her mother rifled through her closet again. "Where is that blue... aha! Ballerina skirt. With the striped tank?"
"Yeah!" Angela jumped up out of her seat. She raised up her arms so Buffy could pull off the pajama top and replace it with her favorite navy blue and white tank. Then Buffy tugged the pants off. She bent down so Angela could hang onto her shoulder for balance as they put her legs into the built-in leggings of the skirt. She fluffed the netting skirt for her. Normally Buffy would have finished her outfit off with her white flats, but Angela insisted on her black low-tops. The style was courtesy of Willow, the color courtesy of Angel. For some reason he couldn't bear to his daughter in ultraviolet Converses.
Then Buffy set her up in front of the vanity of her room. Angela tried on her mother's varied amount of jewelry while Buffy took down the rollers and brushed her hairs. She fondly draped the curls down Angela's back before trying to tame her bangs. Then Angela begged her mother for makeup.
"Please, Mommy?" She looked up at her with big hazel eyes. Buffy sighed, opening her makeup case.
"Lip gloss. Pink." She pulled out the tube and Angela grinned.
"What 'bout this?" Angela asked, taking out the tube of mascara. Buffy snorted.
"Absolutely not."
There was a ring at the door and Angel left Willow and Tara in the kitchen to answer it. There stood the four LA figures, bearing gifts.
"Hey!" Angel said with a smile, opening the door wider to let them in.
"Hope we didn't miss too much," Fred mentioned, looking around.
"No, no," Angel told her and jerked his head toward the living room. "The kids are just playing pin the tail on the donkey... or on the Buffy, not really sure how that works out. Here, I'll take these -"
"So how are you guys? Everything okay?" Cordelia asked as he took their gifts. She followed him to the dining room table where all the presents were laid out.
"Yeah, we're fine," Angel said. "Today is a little hectic, with all the kindergarteners running around and all."
"We love it, it's so much fun! Glad we had it here and not our house, Angel. " Willow added, coming into the room. Cordelia turned around and grinned. "Hey, Cordelia."
"Hey Fred!" Dawn called in the hall.
"Hi Dawn!"
"Oh, hey Angie," Buffy said, finally catching on that there were other people in the house. With the help of a friend, Angela stopped her mom spinning in the office chair. "I think people are here to see you."
"Okay, but you gotta leave it on," Angela said referring to the pin-the-tail blindfold that tied around her face. Buffy relented, just for the sake of good fun and let her daughter lead her through the room. Then quite suddenly, Angela dropped her hand.
"Uncle Wes!" Angela squealed, running forward and jumping into Wesley's arms. Wesley laughed as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, giving him a big hug.
"Don't get all excited," Cordelia muttered to Wesley's silly grin. "She calls everyone Aunt and Uncle. Um, Buffy, you okay?"
"Oh!" Buffy laughed, pulling off the blindfold. "I forgot! Hey guys, glad you could make it."
Buffy accepted a giggly hug from Fred and a one-armed from Gunn. "Oh, Wesley, I'll take her if she's -"
"Oh, no, no," Wesley said, supporting Angela's weight on one side. "It's quite all right."
"Wow, when did Wes became such a sap?" Dawn commented as Wesley walked off with the little girl, following Angela's pointed directions.
"Oh, about a half hour before we got here," Cordelia answered with a smirk.
"He has a picture of her in his wallet," Fred added.
"Funny, so do I," Giles said, popping around the corner. The greetings were interrupted by a cheer of miniature girls and a rush into the dining room, led by Angela. She jumped into a chair at the head of the table.
"Apparently it's time for presents," Angel said to Buffy's confused expression.
"Yeah!" Angela agreed enthusiastically, pulling a box toward her. "Presents!"
"She's upstairs, fast asleep," Buffy informed Angel, coming to the dining room table and sitting down. There were scraps of different colored wrapping paper all over, a few empty paper plates and party favors but they managed to clear the table off as much as possible. "So what's up, guys?"
She looked around at her friends' faces and suddenly realized that this wasn't going to be a light conversation. Willow, Xander and Angel are looked expectant – whereas Giles, Wesley, Cordelia, Fred and Gunn looked like they were going to give away bad news. Giles spoke first, which was natural to all of them.
"We don't want to worry you two," Giles said referring to Buffy and Angel. "But I believe that there's something happening here we've failed to foresee."
"Uh – I foresaw it," Cordelia said.
"Who's 'we'?" Buffy asked.
"That'd be us," Fred rose her hand sheepishly. "We were just waiting for the right time to tell you guys."
"Tell us what?" Angel said, fixing his gaze on his former team.
"Have you noticed any changes in Angela?" Giles cut across the others as they tried for a response. "Such as an increase in speed or agility? Heightened senses?"
"Wait a sec," Willow jumped in. "You think Angela's going to get Slayer powers?"
Angel and Buffy shared a long, meaningful look, before Buffy spoke again. "Not 'going to get', Will. Got."
"What?" Xander sounded.
"She's getting stronger," Angel further explained. "She doesn't seem to be able to control it."
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Willow asked, looking away from Giles.
"We only just figured it out," said Buffy. "We didn't think... It's not bad, is it?"
"I had a vision, five years ago. A little girl was trying to warn me about something. She was afraid, I could feel it. She was inhumanly strong and at first I thought she was a vampire. But then... you sent us those pictures of Angela."
"We've been trying to work out the details of her vision ever since," Wesley said. "The only thing that was missing was the woman and the child. And Giles seems to believe that she's a woman named Mishka."
"What does Mishka have to do with Angie?" Buffy looked at Giles, her brows furrowing.
"Before Angela was born, Mishka threatened that she was going to take Angela away from you and Angel as well."
"But that's not anything new, right?" Xander commented. "They always tell her they're going to kill people close to her, that's what they do."
"We think it may be more than that," Wesley said, opening a folder in front of him. "I don't think it's just an empty threat, or that she's going to kill Angela. These are the symbols Cordelia saw in her vision."
Angel looked at the paper and passed it to Buffy. "You know what they mean?"
"They're trace imprints. Cordelia said that the woman – Mishka – was painting them on Angela's face. These symbols are connected to Wolfram and Hart. They used them to mark places with substantial magical activity. Like centers of energy, places of ritual, sometimes portals."
"But Angela is none of those things. Why would you see that?"
"I don't know," Cordelia shrugged slightly. "This is the most vague vision I've ever had. I can't even pinpoint the location."
"The symbols suggest dark energy, near as I can figure out," Fred added. "I have a theory that the placement and the order is important – like, if they're arranged in a certain way, the markings act as a pathway, um – a key."
"Key?" Buffy leaned forward. "Key to what?"
"A hellmouth," Giles answered and the room fell silent for a moment. Willow, always on point broke it.
"But the Hellmouth is dead, right? After The Master was destroyed. And Mishka and Miroslav are long gone."
"Well, we think that this -" Fred pointed to the drawing of the markings. "is part of a ritual to open it up."
"Aha!" Xander smacked his hand on the table. "But we all know that the only way to open it is with Buffy's blood! They need the blood of a Slayer to work that mojo."
"That's exactly our concern," Wesley said. Buffy swallowed hard and stared at the table. Angel, noticing her unease, reached over and took her hand.
"But Buffy's not gonna let -"
"Xander," Willow nudged him. Xander looked around, he obviously hadn't caught on yet.
"Angie, Xander," Buffy said, still not looking up. She squeezed Angel's hand. "They want to use our daughter's blood to open the Hellmouth."
"But Giles," Willow pressed. "They know she's too well protected, that's probably why they left!"
"I don't think they left because of that, Will. They missed their first chance, and I believe that they will return and try again."
"So what? We'll just beat them back like we did before."
"It's not that simple, Willow," Wesley backed Giles up. "From the information Mr. Giles gave me about Miroslav and Mishka, it looks pretty grim. They're very powerful."
"But we did it before, we can do it again," Buffy said, finally raising her eyes.
"You won't be able to anticipate their moves this time. The rules have changed." Wesley sighed and then continued. "I was able to find out more about Mishka's power. It's more than just gypsy magic."
"Yeah, we heard the prophecy," Angel noted.
"It's not just a prophecy, Angel. It's a description. The verse says: 'The child with the innocence of a babe born in the Triad shall remain pure and her face will be like that of a chameleon and her strength will be of the night star.'"
"Ugh, I hate prophetic poems," Cordelia frowned.
"Sounds like posturing," Angel said. "Gypsies did it a lot."
"I know, but this is more. There are some facts that just seem more than coincidences. Such as how Mishka has been at Miroslav's side for a hundred years and yet she remains mortal. Mr Giles told me his conclusion that she would lose her powers if she ever became a vampire."
"What about the chameleon bit?" Xander asked. "And a night star?"
"That must be the moon," Willow said.
"At first I thought it was the moon as well, but then the one and only time that Miroslav attacked Buffy occurred during a total lunar eclipse. You probably didn't even notice."
"Lunar eclipses happen all the time," Fred explained. "As much as four or five times a year."
"So why wait? Why hasn't she used her power on me before?"
"Because she wanted you to think you were safe," Cordelia answered Buffy. "Make you feel all safe and comfortable."
"Wolfram and Hart may be evil," Fred said. "But they're not stupid. They want it done right and they don't want to fail again."
"So we'll be ready for them," Buffy said firmly. "When's the next eclipse?"
"In two days," Willow said quietly, folding her hands into her lap.
"Two days?" Angel growled, nearly jumping out of his seat. Buffy tugged on his hand, trying to restrain him, but he snatched it away from her. He stood up and left the room, fuming.
"Oh," Fred sighed after his steps disappeared. "I knew he wasn't going to take it well."
"How could he?" Buffy looked at her. "You basically just told him that his only daughter is going to die in two days."
"We can still fight this, Buffy," Willow assured her. "We'll do everything we can."
"We'll stay in town, just in case," Wesley said to both Giles and Buffy. "There's still something I'm trying to work out – it's called skorost lico. I think it's a spell of some sort."
"Willow?" Giles looked to her and she nodded, "On it."
"We'll uh - " Wesley stood up with the others. "We'll be at the motel if you need us."
Buffy stood and walked to the door to let everyone out. Cordelia passed her an apologetic smile before following the rest of them. Only Giles lingered back. He put a hand on her shoulder and sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry, Buffy," he spoke softly. "Truly."
"You know," Buffy looked up, fighting the burn in her throat. "We... we were just talking about having another baby."
Giles clicked his tongue sympathetically and pulled her into a embrace. It wasn't very often that they hugged, but this occasion surely called for it. Buffy accepted it gratefully and sniffed when they pulled away from each other.
"We will do everything in our power to make sure Angela stays safe. Are you going to take her to school tomorrow?"
"Uh, yeah," Buffy nodded. "They can't hurt her there, not in the middle of the day. Then Tara's picking her up on her way home from class, so she'll be at their house until Angel's out of work."
"And you?"
"I'm going to try to figure this out. Find out everything that Wesley and Cordelia know... then I'm going to find Miroslav."
"Right. I'll call you as soon as I find out anything new," Giles said. "Just be careful."
After Giles left, Buffy locked the door and turned out the lights downstairs. All the while, she couldn't help but feeling like she was panicking inside. If somehow they managed to get Angela, Buffy didn't know what she would do. The only thing she could even wrap her head around was keeping Angela away from them. All she needed was to find Miroslav and kill him. Even if she had to kill Mishka... she had to protect her daughter.
She walked up the stairs and turned right toward Angela's room. She pushed the door open and looked inside. For a second, her heart flew up into her throat. Angela wasn't in her bed or anywhere in her room.
"Angel?" She called, racing down the hall to their bedroom. The door was open and Angel leaned against the door jamb. She breathed a sigh of relief when she looked around him and saw Angela lying in their bed, fast asleep.
"Should we move her?" He asked as they watched her for a moment, snuggling with her brand new teddy bear.
"No." Angel wound his arm around his wife and she leaned against his side. He kissed the top of her head, exhaling deeply.
"You know I'll die before I let anything happen to her," he said quietly.
"I know," Buffy responded, looking up at him. His face was full of conviction and she knew that he'd spent the last fifteen minutes asserting himself that no one was going to touch his little girl. He leaned down and kissed her gently, unraveling his arm from her. They went to opposite sides of the bed and moved in as carefully as possible.
Angela stirred just enough to roll over and cuddle up to her mother. Buffy put her arm around her, stroking her back. Angel turned to face them and smiled down at their daughter's sleeping face. He kissed her cheek before lying on his side, his arm draped over both of them.
"We'll get through this," Angel reminded her before they fell asleep. "We always do."