A/N: Here we are yet again! It's Monday and it's time for another chapter! Woo! I've noticed that a few of you have said that you actually prefer Buffy with AI rather than the Scoobies. Well, in all honesty, I do to. There's something brewing with this storyline that I didn't foresee and now I have to go back to my outline and figure out how I'm going to settle things...hmm...thinking...
Okay, I'll think about all that later...
What's important now is that this chapter is about to be read by you guys! Which, I swear, will never cease to amaze me. You guys are too awesome, really. I'm so lucky. :D
Random Disclaimer: (I don't own Buffy).
Me: Wow, this chapter is packed!
Angel: With what?
Me: Absolutely everything.
Buffy: Define 'everything.'
Me: Oh, you know...a little action, a little fluff, a little seriousness...you know...
Angel: (whispers to Buffy) She's not telling us everything...
Buffy: Nope.
Me: (nervously) Um...what, uh, makes you think that?
Buffy: That stutter didn't help.
Me: This is true...but you'll never get me to talk!
*Buffy and Angel slowly advance*
Me: (wide-eyed) Oh, look! Giant Bug!
Agent J: Yo! Did you just say 'giant bug?' I thought we'd killed him. Ah, man, you know all y'all look alike!
Agent K: Wrong script, tiger.
Fredless Part Two
Buffy and Angel walked in a quiet, distraught silence. Fred's naïve and shy nature created an outward appearance that was practically child-like. The entire AI crew felt responsible and protective of her, though Angel and Buffy's feelings towards the girl were much more like those of parents.
"Are you sensing anything?" Buffy asked after they'd walked for a few minutes.
Angel shook his head and sighed. "No, there's not a fresh scent. She could still be down here though."
Buffy frowned and stopped at a fork in the tunnels. "You think maybe she got lost?" she asked as she chose the left passageway.
"Nah," Angel chuckled slightly as he remembered how Fred had known, by the meter, how far they had traveled on their ice cream run. "She'd be able to find her way back."
"I wonder why she's running." Buffy looked around them as they walked. A rat scurried above them, scampering across the beltway of pipes. "Maybe she's running from herself," Buffy theorized. She knew from experience what that was like.
"Or what happened," Angel replied quietly. "Fred never talked much about her time in Plyea."
"Maybe seeing her parents made everything real." Buffy forwent holding Angel's hand, deciding that she needed to be closer to him. She looped her arm through his and leaned into him slightly as they continued to walk. "I mean, I know what it's like to cling to the hope that everything was all a dream."
After her mother had died nearly a year ago, Buffy had tried to believe that it was simply all a horrible dream. It made things easier. It was like a little light at the end of the tunnel, a little ray of hope that meant it would all end and everything would go back to normal. The idea had been hard to let go.
"Not to mention that parents are supposed to protect you," Angel said quietly. "She was young when she was transported to Plyea, and Fred seems like the type that was real close to her parents. Maybe she resents them for not being there."
Angel and Buffy were quiet again as they walked along the sewer tunnels, tracing the path that Angel and Fred had taken to get the ice cream (which Buffy noted Angel had not returned with). However, what was important now was Fred, not double-mint chip…or lack thereof.
Buffy charmed her thoughts in a new direction and settled on Roger and Trish Burkle. It was obvious that they cared deeply about Fred, and Buffy didn't doubt that they were telling the truth about the letter. Her heart ached for the parents who had spent five years wondering whether or not their baby was alive.
"I can't imagine how they must have felt." The thought slipped past her lips without thinking. "I mean, going all that time not knowing, but hoping…"
"Because, I mean, that's what parents do," Buffy began to babble and unconsciously leaned into Angel a little bit more. "They're supposed to keep you safe and make sure that nothing can get you and keep you away from evil lawyers and other baddies and—"
"Buffy," Angel cut through her ramble in a firm, but soft tone. He stopped walking, and Buffy stopped too as he turned to face her fully. He seemed to study her face for a moment before he spoke with a small, understanding smile. "Why do I think that you're not talking about the Burkles anymore?"
Buffy sighed as worry clouded her features. "It's just—I guess this is just making me think."
"Buffy," Angel seemed to caress her name more than usual. "I know how much danger our baby is going to be in," he told her softly, and even though he was able to keep the worry out of his voice, Angel couldn't prevent it from shining in his eyes. However, underneath that worry was a fire of determination. "I've spent nights just holding you close, imagining that as long as you're in my arms nothing can get to you and the baby…"
This confession made a few little puzzle pieces click into place in Buffy's mind. Just this morning she'd woken up to find herself snugly ensconced in Angel's strong arms, his tired, chocolate eyes staring into her green orbs with ferocious protective determination. But the expression had melted away after a moment, and then he'd smiled and kissed her lips. Buffy now knew the reason behind the look that had been in Angel's eyes. It was his desire to keep her and their baby safe.
As a general, unspoken rule, neither Angel nor Buffy had voiced the dangers that they knew were to come. They didn't want to admit aloud that when the supernatural world learned of her pregnancy, it would lead to mixed reactions—some good, some indifferent, but mostly bad. They had Wolfram and Hart to think about. Other enemies they made along the way…
Their most precious gift was their enemy's greatest advantage.
Leverage was a bitch.
Admitting this out loud would make it real, and neither Buffy nor Angel was ready for that. They still wanted to cling to the joyful bliss that they'd been cocooned in for the past six weeks. But it was time to face reality.
"I don't know what we're going to do," Angel admitted. "I don't know about Wolfram and Hart or any other enemies we'll make. I don't know how we'll deal. I just don't, and it scares the hell out of me."
"But if anything Buffy, we're both stubborn," he continued with determination. "We're both strong, and between the two of us we're pretty damn smart, too." Buffy cracked a smile at that, which was what Angel had been aiming for so he allowed himself a small smile in return. "Buffy, nothing is going to happen to our baby. We won't allow it."
Angel seemed so sure, so confident that it settled Buffy's frenzied nerves that had risen to the surface. But Buffy knew that there was no guarantee, and that underneath Angel's bravado he was still as worried as she was. "We can do this," he said softly.
Buffy nodded and wrapped her arms around Angel's waist. She buried her head in his chest for a moment and let herself revel in the sense of security that Angel's embrace provided. After a few seconds more, however, Buffy pulled away and looked down the sewer. "I don't think Fred's down here," she said as she focused on the reason they were down there.
"Yeah," Angel agreed just as his phone rang.
Buffy listened to Angel's side of the conversation.
"What? No. You?" Angel listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. "Oh, you mean a person she would go to for help and guidance?" Exasperation colored his tone as he muttered, "And we call ourselves detectives."
Angel took Buffy's hand and they wordlessly began to retrace their steps back they way they had come. "I'll meet you there," Angel said before the phone snapped shut.
Buffy looked up at him quizzically. "Did Wes figure it out?" she assumed.
"Yeah, and I can't believe we didn't think of it sooner." Angel shook his head in self reproach.
"Where would she go?"
"Lorne."
"Well isn't this just a lovely surprise." A robe-clad Lorne greeted them with only the faintest hint of sarcastic dislike.
"He's surprised?" Cordelia muttered to Buffy. "I didn't even think he owned terrycloth."
"Hmm, such a small entourage tonight," Lorne continued, shooting a glare at Gunn. He had still not forgiven A.I. for what had happened the last time they'd been in his club. Destruction. No peace. Death. Violence. No, Lorne wasn't feeling very forgiving at the moment.
"Hey, Gunn, why didn't you bring your other friends?" Lorne was unable to resist twisting the knife in just a little deeper. "'Cause they sure make a party."
Gunn took the verbal assault without retort, making no attempt to defend himself. He looked from Angel to Wes to Lorne. "Maybe it'd be best if I waited outside."
"You know, I'm not entirely uncomfortable with that suggestion." Nerves that Lorne had been batting down were beginning to rise to the surface, crawling underneath his skin. It made me him want to shiver, but he kept up his little façade. He knew why they were here.
"What kind of place is this?" Trish asked as she stepped into the club, looking around and taking in the upturned tables, broken glass, and splintered wood.
"Oh, do you like it?" Lorne asked casually though he couldn't help the bitterness in his tone. "I was kind of going for a 'Dresden after the bombing' sort of feel."
Roger looked Lorne up and down dubiously, turning to look at Angel and Wesley. "This is one of your industry contacts?" he asked. "Some guy in a bathrobe wearing makeup and fake horns?"
Indignation rose in Lorne's veins. "They're not fake!" he defended before adding quietly. "And it's only a little eyeliner…"
"Lorne, I'd like you to meet Fred's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Burkle," Wesley gestured to the couple. "They're visiting from the country."
"Yeah, you'll have to forgive us hicks," Roger said with a slight smile. "Down in Texas we don't get a lot of guys who wear eyeliner—not for long anyway."
Lorne shifted his feet as unease spread through him.
"He's just teasing you," Cordelia tried to save the awkward conversation. "He just got back from a shoot. He and Angel do monster movies together, right Lorne?"
"Ah…no."
Lorne wasn't going to get into this. He wasn't going to help them, and he knew that's why they were there in the first place. He didn't want to be involved. He just wanted to run his bar in peace. Of course, that appeared to be a lost cause these days.
Seeing that Lorne was going to be difficult, Angel stepped forward. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked as he led Lorne aside.
Buffy followed Angel and Lorne, knowing that if worse came to worse, she could persuade him to help. Lorne wasn't immune to the happiness that the growing life inside her seemed to elicit in everyone. Although, Buffy supposed that in truth, she actually owed Lorne a favor. Buffy didn't know what she would have done if Lorne hadn't continually made her the lavender colored, fruity drink that had eased her morning sickness.
"Look Lorne, I'm sorry about the bar," Angel apologized. "But Fred is missing and we need your help."
"Oh, yeah? Really?" Lorne snorted sarcastically.
He wasn't going to help them. He was putting his foot down…but the thought made him nervous so he began a ranting babble, talking so fast he wondered if Angel or Buffy could understand.
"Well, I'm not some mystical vending machine here to spit out answers every time you waltz in with a problem. I have a heart. Granted it's located in my left butt cheek, but it's still a heart. And that heart is broken! I mean, why is it no one ever cares about my destiny? Everyone who walks through that door is all about me, me, me! Well, what about my me? My me's important!"
Buffy saw right through Lorne's ranting, nervous babble. "You know where she is, don't you?" she accused as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Lorne thought about crumbling and giving in, but he fruitlessly tried to hold out a little longer. "A-and another thing! How—how do they get the pimentos in the olives, huh? There's a mystery for you. You know, do they stuff each one by hand? 'Cause that seems a little time consuming…or do you think they have a little pimento—stuffing—machine?" Lorne trailed off as he ran out of steam, hanging his head.
"Fred doesn't want to see her parents." Lorne heaved a sigh as he told them what he knew. "She has reason for that. I mean, why force a showdown if you don't have to?"
"Because they're her parents, Lorne," Buffy answered the green demon. "Fred's their baby. They deserve to see her and know that she's alright after all this time."
Lorne smiled at Buffy. "There's my Momma-Slayer."
"Come on, Lorne," Angel smiled slightly at Lorne's praise of Buffy. Angel had always known that Buffy would be a great mother. "We know you're not a slot machine."
"Vending machine, you big palooka," Lorne corrected Angel with a teasing light in his eye, Buffy having torn down his defenses. "Alright, but play this one delicately, bro," he advised with a sigh. "Because it's gonna get messy."
Buffy flashed Lorne a soft, grateful smile. "Thanks Lorne."
"Anything for mom and the little guy." Lorne watched as Buffy, Angel the rest of A.I. left, along with Trish and Roger in tow. Rubbing the back of his neck, Lorne blew out a stream of air. "If that kid ends up having half of his mother's charm, I'm doomed."
Buffy and Angel led the way to the bus terminal, their footsteps hurried as they got closer to the bus stops. They rounded a corner and suddenly came to a halt as they saw the object of their search, sitting on the bench by herself, looking unseeingly out in front of her.
The A.I. crew stopped, but Roger and Trish Burkle broke into a jog toward their daughter.
A small smile pulled at Buffy's lips as she watched the tearful reunion. At first there had been hesitation on Fred's part, and they had all heard Fred's protests. She thought that her parents weren't real; that they couldn't be here because that would mean that she'd actually been there—in Plyea. Buffy and Angel's theories had all been proven true in one form or another.
However, something began to tickle in the back of Buffy's mind. She felt her stomach clinch and it had nothing to do with the baby. There was a demon near.
As soon as Buffy opened her mouth to say something, a giant, cockroach-spider-like thing burst through the ceiling. Quicker than Buffy could blink, Angel was in front of her. Anger flashed through Buffy's veins at the protective stance. She knew she couldn't fight. She knew that. It was just too dangerous.
But the Slayer in her recoiled at the idea.
Fighting the adrenaline that was pumping through her, readying her for a fight, Buffy backed away from what she knew was going to be a hard fight to watch. The beast in front of them looked like a monster insect from an old horror film, and something told Buffy it wasn't going down without a big fight.
"Whoa!" Roger Burkle looked wide-eyed at the monster in front of him. He stepped in front of his wife and daughter, his arms spread wide. He began to walk backwards, forcing them to do the same. "Tell me that's something from the movies!"
"No." Cordelia shook her head as she too backed away from the creature. "That's something that's going to kill us."
"Everybody outside," Angel ordered and Buffy looked at him wide-eyed. Surely he wasn't going to fight this thing all by himself?
"Angel…" Buffy argued worriedly, placing a hand on his back.
"Get them out of here," Angel looked at her briefly, a fierce determination in his eyes. "I can handle this. Move!"
The others began to escape like Angel had ordered, but Buffy had a hard time making her feet move. Everything in her screamed to stay and help him, to fight by his side like she always had. It felt blasphemous to leave him. But at the same time, her mind was ordering her to do as Angel had said—to protect their baby.
Seeing her slow movements, Gunn grabbed her hand. "Let's go!" he urged before dragging her away just as the monster lunged at Angel, stabbing at him with his pincers.
Hardly believing she was capable of such a treacherous act, Buffy allowed Gunn to tow her behind him. In the back of her mind, Buffy knew that this was best. She may not be protecting Angel, but she was protecting their child. However, that logic seemed almost completely ludicrous at the moment. Angel was in danger and she couldn't help him.
"What the hell is that?" Roger asked as they ran through the doors of the bus terminal.
Cordelia ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "All our weapons are at the hotel!"
Gunn stopped running as they caught up to everyone, but he didn't let go of Buffy's hand, afraid that she'd dart back into the terminal to help Angel. He attempted to reassure everyone. "Angel said he could handle—"
At that very moment, Angel flew through the closed doors of the bus terminal, the sound of breaking glass echoing on the hard pavement. Unable to right himself in time, Angel landed on his back right at Gunn's feet.
"…it…" Gunn finished lamely.
The giant bug followed Angel through the doors, and Angel was already on his feet again, wearing his gameface. He launched another attack on the monstrous insect and this time it was Buffy who took Gunn's hand and began to lead him in the direction of the car.
"Maybe there's something in the trunk," she said as the others followed her.
"What happened to his face?" Roger asked as they ran to the Plymouth.
"Angel's a vampire," Buffy explained quickly. "He has a soul, but it's a long story."
Suddenly, Wesley spotted a pile of luggage and abruptly changed his course. "Here!"
Buffy watched as Cordelia and Wesley each grabbed a golf club from the pile of luggage and charged at the big bug. Gunn had found a compound bow and loosened an arrow. It hit the beast, causing it to screech in fury, and its attack on Angel intensified with renewed vigor.
Buffy felt wholly inadequate as she clutched the golf club in her hands (just in case). It wasn't like she could use it (most likely). To use it would mean to join the fight, and she'd promised herself and Angel that she wouldn't put their baby in more danger than it was already in.
Buffy cringed, a small whimper escaping her as Angel was pinned against the bus, the bug's pincers having stabbed each shoulder, holding him above the ground. Buffy's horror only increased when she saw Fred attack the creature with a golf club, causing the bug to turn on Fred.
Looking to her right, Buffy noticed that the Burkles were no longer by her side. Frantically, her eyes searched for them.
"Fred, get out of the—" Angel shoved Fred out of the way of the bug's pincers, but not in time to save her from being completely unscathed. The bug still scored a scratch on Fred's arm, and it was then that Buffy found Roger Burkle, wielding some sort of metal, cylindrical object.
"That's my daughter you damn cockroach!" he shouted angrily as he hit the bug over the head.
Angel took the opportunity to jump on the bug's back, pinning its forelegs against its body, immobilizing the beast. Unable to continue standing there, helpless, Buffy cautiously edged her way to Roger and Fred, wrapping an arm around Fred as she and Roger led the girl away from the fray.
Buffy heard a loud thud and turned her attention back to the fight. Terror gripped her as she saw Angel slumped against a parked bus, the imprint of his shoulders in the side of the vehicle, proving the amount of force with which Angel had flown into it. Icy tendrils of fear began to circle and creep around her heart as the giant cockroach advanced towards Angel, who hadn't yet gotten to his feet.
Unthinkingly, Buffy took three quick steps towards him.
And then a bus blew by right in front of Angel, slamming into the encroaching bug and causing it to splatter everywhere. The bus screeched to a halt and two seconds later Trish Burkle darted through the doors of the bus, looking around for the bug, not seeming to notice how its guts were everywhere.
"Did I get it?" she asked excitedly. "Did I get it, y'all?"
A little while later, they all entered the hotel. Buffy and Cordelia immediately went to get the first-aid kit, divvying out the necessary supplies they needed for their individual patients. Buffy grabbed some alcohol, gauze, and tape before heading back to Angel.
He looked like he was about to protest, but Buffy wasn't going to have any of it. "Sit."
Angel sat.
"I almost hate to ask," Trish began as Cordelia began to clean Fred's cut. "I almost hate to ask, but—you do a lot of bandaging in your line of work?"
"Mmm," Cordelia hummed in reply before elaborating. "Occupational hazard. I mean, sure there is an occasional demon who tries to kill us with pillows, but sadly those cases are few and far between."
"How about this guy?" Roger asked as he gestured toward the Durslar head on the counter. "Was he a demon?"
"It's still here?" Buffy glared at Angel. "You were seriously going to try and mount that?"
Angel chuckled, deflecting. "Uh…"
"Get that thing out of my hotel," she told him sternly.
"But—"
"I got it," Gunn grinned, knowing that Angel was in the doghouse for the moment. He moved towards the counter and picked up the head.
"That thing gives me the willies," Trish shuddered as she glanced at the head, causing Gunn to chuckle.
"The lady makes bug soup with a ten ton bus, but show her a paper-Mache head and she gets the willies." He shook his head. "Ha. Women."
Angel's lips twitched. "Gunn, you do know that's not paper-Mache, right?"
Gunn set the head on the reception counter quickly. "We still got bleach in the bathroom?" he asked before darting from the room.
Buffy shook her head, a wry smile gracing her face. With one last tender touch, she taped the gauze over the stab wound on Angel's left shoulder. Their eyes met for a moment, and they held each other's gaze. For a moment, it was as if everyone disappeared and they were alone in the room. The corners of Angel's lips quirked up in a smile and Buffy responded in kind. Not caring that everyone was in the room and could see, Angel reached out and took Buffy's hand. He pulled her into his lap, and Buffy let her hands wind around his neck and settle at his nape. Angel reached up with his free hand to lovingly trail his fingertips over her cheekbone, ignoring the ache in his shoulder the action caused.
He knew how hard it had been for her to stay on the sidelines. She was used to fighting beside him. She was used to fighting in general. It was innate; it was a part of her personality. She was the Slayer and she was a fighter. But more than anything, Buffy was a protector, and Angel knew that she would do anything to protect him—just as he would for her. Angel realized how much it hurt her to be unable to protect him.
Angel slowly brought her face to his and kissed her gently, comfortingly. He tried to pour all the reassurance and love into the kiss as he could, and judging from her small sigh, he succeeded. They pulled away and held each other's gaze for another long moment. Buffy smiled softly, finding solace in her favorite pair of chocolate brown eyes.
A voice startled them, pulling them back into the present. "Oh, how sweet!" Trish beamed.
Buffy blushed and fought the urge to bury her face in Angel's neck. In reality, both of them were rather private about their love. Sure, they were usually always touching in some way, and they'd shared kisses in front of their closest friends, but they were rarely anything more than a peck. There was just something about loving someone so completely—so completely that if it weren't for the fact that they both knew the other felt exactly the same way, the depth of their feelings would be terrifying.
There was a moment of awkward silence before it was broken by Fred.
"I wanna go home."
All attention previously devoted to Angel and Buffy evaporated and settled on Fred. No one spoke, and Fred shifted her weight from one foot to another. "I'm—I'm just not cut out for this. I mean, if Angel hadn't gotten me out of the way, you'd all be laughing in the morgue right now. Okay, maybe not laughing, but the point is…I think I should go home where it's quiet and safe and monsters don't eat your family." Fred paused and looked up at everyone hesitantly, worried about their reactions. "You're not—disappointed in me, are you?"
"Oh, Fred, never!" Trish threw her arms around her baby girl. "Oh, it's going to be so great to have you home again!" she said happily as Roger joined them and they shared a family hug.
A.I. watched the scene quietly. Buffy couldn't begrudge Fred for her decision. She was happy for Fred, even though Buffy knew that she'd miss the eccentric girl terribly. Angel was sad as well at the thought of Fred leaving, but he too would support her decision. It was her life, her choices.
Cordelia was frowning. She'd grown quite attached to Fred and her oddities.
"She'll probably be happier there," Gunn voiced his thought quietly. The sadness in his voice was unmistakable, but there was something else tinged within it that caught Buffy's attention.
She studied Gunn, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at her friend, trying to read into something she knew was there, but couldn't really identify. Sadness and…longing? No, that wasn't quite right, but it was close…
"Yeah," Wesley answered Gunn's quiet thought. "That's good."
Buffy's eyes flicked from Wesley to Gunn and back again. By now, Angel had noticed her subtle behavior and squeezed her knee in question. Buffy put her hand over his, telling him to wait. Her woman's intuition was calling to her as she studied Wesley and Gunn's sad, regretful faces.
"Well, I'm going to go pack," Fred announced as she stepped away from her parents. Her eyes darted to Angel for a quick moment and then to Buffy. She proceeded to let her eyes flit to every member of A.I. She would miss them. She really would.
With a small frown, Fred spun on her heel and hurried upstairs to her room, seeking the solace it usually provided.
Everyone was quiet for a moment before Roger Burkle came up to where Angel sat on the couch. "Well, Angel, I gotta admit that you surprised me."
"Turns out we were wonderin' when to call the cops on a bunch of superheros!" Trish smiled exuberantly.
Angel almost felt sheepish. "I'm not a superhero."
"More like a blood-sucking fiend," Gunn cut in, and Angel shot him a glare.
"Frankly, Angel, I don't care if you drink pig's blood, cow's blood, or those little froofy imported beers," Roger said. "You saved my little girl."
"Well, I wouldn't have had to if she hadn't gone all Amazonian and whacked that thing with a golf club," Angel replied humbly, though a small hint of pride shown through as he remembered Fred's bravery.
Roger hummed in agreement. "Well, I tell ya, I hadn't seen a stroke like that since Nicklaus took on Gary Player in the '63—"
"—Bob Hope Desert Classic!" Angel and Roger both finished together. "Alright!" Angel laughed as he shook Roger's hand.
"I didn't know you liked golf," Buffy said with narrowed eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? We're supposed to share everything!"
Wariness seeped through Angel's veins. He would have to tread carefully. He was quickly learning that a hormonal Buffy was quite a character. "Um…because, I, uh…hmm…" Angel decided that he needed to deflect. "You know what? How about I go up and check on Fred? Help with packing, right? Good thing to do."
And just like that, Buffy nodded, completely misdirected. Angel fought not to sigh in relief. "Be right back," he promised as he kissed her cheek lightly before picking her up off his lap and setting her back down on the couch.
Angel was halfway up the stairs when Trish Burkle's voice caused him to pause. "So, Buffy, honey, what's it like to have a vampire for a husband?"
A smile pulled at Angel's lips as he continued up the stairs. When had Buffy told them that he was her husband? Absently, he twisted his Claddagh ring as he walked down the hall towards Fred's room. One day they'd make it official. One day she'd wear a white dress and he'd be in a black tux. One day she'd walk down the aisle toward him. One day.
Reaching Fred's open door, he knocked twice on the doorframe.
Fred turned to face him. "Oh, hi Angel. I invite you in."
"Thanks, but you only have to do that the first time," Angel smiled easily as he stepped into the room. "Once I'm invited…"
"I know," Fred interrupted with a quick grin. "I just figured that since I'm going home now, I'm not going to be inviting you in anywhere. Unless, of course, you come to Texas."
"Or you build that condo in the sewer," Angel returned with a commiserating smile, remembering their conversation in the sewer during their ice cream run.
Fred was silent, so Angel looked around the room, giving her some time to think. "So, how you feeling?" he asked after a moment.
"Oh, ah, fizzy…kinda weird and...fizzy…but excited, and a little sad. Thankful. Sorta cautiously happy... Relieved and worried at the same time. Slightly nauseous while still bein', hopeful?" she asked the last part as a question.
"And that about covers it," Angel mumbled under his breath. His eyes were drawn to the writing on the wall. "Are you gonna remember everything that's up there?" he asked.
"Well, sure," Fred shrugged as if it were obvious. "It's a story," she explained. "Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in a horrible cave, so far away from home it made her chest hurt. And every day in that horrible cave, the girl tired to think of a way to escape. None of her plans ever succeeded of course, and eventually she'd given up hoping—when one day—just like in a fairytale—a handsome man rode up on a horse to save her, and took her back to his castle." Angel remained silent as Fred retold her past from her perspective. "You'd think that'd be the end, wouldn'tcha? Dumb old fairytales and their happily ever afters…"
Fred sat down on the edge of her bed, and Angel sat down beside her.
"But you see, the minute the handsome man got back to the castle, he went away again," Fred remembered sadly. "And even though she didn't mean to, didn't want to—high up in that castle she built herself another cave—hoping he could save her again." Fred looked at Angel, an accepting comprehension on her features. "But you can't save me this time, can you?"
Angel wished he knew what to say. In all the languages he knew, it'd be easy think he'd be able to find the words. But he couldn't. He opened his mouth, only to close it again.
"You don't have to say anything," Fred said quietly as she looked at her walls, at her story. "It's not your fault."
"Buffy's your princess," she told him. "She's the one you'll always save, the one you'll always care about the most."
"Fred, I—"
"I said it's not your fault," Fred repeated with a kind smile. "I really like her, ya know. She's really nice."
Angel had to allow a small smile at that. "Yeah, she is."
"And I hate that I'll miss the baby being born," Fred frowned. She really had liked the idea of being an Aunt. "I really want to see if it's a boy like Buffy keeps saying."
With a gentle touch, Angel reached out and took Fred's hand in his. He squeezed it comfortingly and Fred squeezed back. "You'll always be welcome here, Fred. Don't forget that."
Downstairs, Wesley and Gunn were showing Roger the contraption that Fred had made. "We think it's some sort of mechanized weapon, possibly influenced by the medieval catapult—designed for serious to fatal wounding if not completely decapitation."
"Or it makes toast," Roger pointed out.
"Or it makes toast," Wesley agreed.
Fred and Angel came down the stairs then, Angel carrying Fred's suitcase. Buffy immediately went to Angel's side and he pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her waist, his hand settling low on her hip.
Fred paused awkwardly for a moment, embarrassed. "You know," she began to explain. "In the shower I had all these things that I was gonna say, and I was gonna be all fancy and…" Fred huffed at her incoherency. "Aw, hell." Fred shot a quick look at her parents, correcting herself. "I mean, heck."
Gunn pulled Fred into a hug then, holding her tightly for perhaps a moment too long before releasing her with a small smile. Fred moved on to Wesley and they danced around each other awkwardly, not being able to decide where to put their arms. Finally, they got it right and shared a brief hug.
Cordelia smiled as she hugged Fred. "Between you and me, I'm almost a little jealous," the Seer whispered teasingly in the girl's ear.
Fred stopped in front of Angel and Buffy. She looked at Angel first, "thank you. For everything."
Angel smiled and nodded.
Fred's eyes settled on Buffy next. Her relationship with Buffy was perhaps the oddest of all. In the beginning, right after Buffy had returned from Ireland, Fred had been just a little resentful of the blonde. She hadn't known that Angel already had a princess. But as the months had passed, Fred had seen how happy Buffy made Angel. She couldn't resent the Buffy for that. Then, the news of the baby had bonded them. The secret that they'd kept for however short a period. And then from there it'd been easy to be friends. What was odd, though, was how Fred now realized that over the last few weeks, she'd sort of come to view Buffy as more than a big sister, but not quite a surrogate mother.
Buffy smiled and pulled Fred into a gentle hug. She pulled back and placed her hands on Fred's shoulders. "Don't be a stranger," Buffy ordered light-heartedly and Fred nodded.
"Bye Fred," Angel smiled slightly as he handed over Fred's suitcase.
Fred returned the smile and grabbed her suitcase, turning toward her parents. "We better go before I get all runny," she sniffled, batting her eyelids furiously to fight back the moisture.
Buffy, Angel and the rest of A.I. watched as the three Burkles headed toward the doors. Fred paused in the open doorway and looked back at them. Buffy couldn't tell whether Fred truly knew what she wanted or not. Nonetheless, Buffy offered her a smile and a wave. Fred managed a smile back and then left.
For a moment, all of A.I. stared at the closed doors in front of them, almost as if they expected Fred to waltz right through and announce that she'd changed her mind. However, that moment didn't come. With a sigh, Buffy plopped down on the couch in the lobby, taking Angel with her. Once he was settled, she lifted his arm up and placed it around her, curling herself into his side. Gunn and Wesley dropped into chairs and Cordelia settled on the far end of the couch.
"You know who I miss in an odd way?" Cordelia said after they'd sat in silence for about ten minutes.
Wesley looked up. "Fred."
"No," Cordelia shook her head, frowning. "Her parents…is that wrong?"
"I don't think so," Angel said. "They were…nice."
"Nice?" Cordelia repeated. "They weren't just 'nice' they were—"
"Parents," Gunn finished. There really was no other way to explain it. Parents were parents.
"They loved her, supported her," Wesley said before a bitter resentment crept into his tone. "Didn't grind her down into a, a tiny self-conscious nub with their constant berating—their never ending tirade of debasement and scorn and..." Wesley trailed off as he saw everyone's stares. He opened his mouth to say something else, but decided against it.
"At least now Fred's got a shot at a normal life," Cordelia said, easily glossing over Wesley's rant. "Not that I don't love you guys and L.A. and my work…but things are just never normal around here, you know?"
Buffy snorted. Boy, did she know that things weren't normal.
The group was plunged into silence again, and the next time it was broken was by Wesley. "She was so smart."
"I'm gonna miss her," Angel agreed. "She was this quiet kind of crazy. I found that…soothing…"
"Oh, and I'm not soothing?" Buffy snapped, suddenly alert. She pulled away from him to glare, her arms folded over her chest. "I can be soothing. I can soothe your ass off, honey."
Angel looked at Buffy wide-eyed. He'd have to figure out a way to safely navigate these hormones—fast. "You are soothing," he cajoled. "Really, really, really soothing," he continued when Buffy's glare didn't lighten. "I love you." Nothing. "A lot."
Suddenly, Buffy looked like she was fighting back tears. She melted back into Angel's side. "I miss Fred," Buffy mumbled into his neck. Angel didn't know what to do.
He just prayed he'd survive this pregnancy.
"Well, that's it." Cordelia got up from the couch and slipped back into her heels. "I'm not going to sit around here and mope like you bunch of…mopers." She rose from the couch and began to walk toward the doors. "I'm going to go home, eat some comfort food, have a good cry, crawl under my big, fluffy—giant bug!" She finished with a screech as an exact replica of the bug they'd just killed walked into the hotel.
A.I. leapt into action. "Are you telling me that a bus didn't kill that thing?" Gunn asked incredulously as the bug advanced on them.
"I don't think it's the same one," Angel murmured to himself before turning to Buffy. "Get out of here."
Buffy frowned, glancing from the bug to Angel back to the bug.
"Are we going to have this argument every time we're getting attacked?" Angel asked exasperatedly. "Buffy, go!"
Angel looked out to the garden and saw that it was crawling with bugs too.
Cordelia saw this as well. "We are so immensely dead."
"Weapons!" Wesley urged and they all ran towards the weapon's cabinet, except for Buffy who ran up the stairs, but she paused on the first floor landing to watch the fight unfold.
She watched as Angel rolled over the counter to fight one of the bugs. It didn't take long before the bug threw Angel to the floor. It was simply too big a foe to fight by himself. Gunn and Wesley rushed to his aid.
"Angel, we—" Wesley began.
"Here! I'm here!" a very familiar Texas twang rang through the hotel.
"Fred?"
"Oh, I'm late!"
Buffy's eyes were confused as she watched Fred and Roger set up Fred's contraption. Her attention was returned to Angel however, when she heard him yell. "Who's helping me here?"
Wesley and Gunn appeared to be helping, but as it was, Angel was the one fending off the pinchers of the bug.
"I am!" Fred answered before she stomped on her contraption, sending an ax hurtling through the air. It split the Dursler head cleanly in two, and thousands of little bugs rushed out of it, swarming the floor, making it look brownish black for a moment.
Just like that, the fight ended as all the little cockroaches followed the super-cockroach out.
Buffy rushed down the stairs and immediately went to Angel, who was already on his feet. Buffy threw her arms around him. She didn't have any plans on letting him go very soon.
"So not a toaster," Gunn grinned in awe. "That little gadget it tight!"
"That was just a little random thought I had," Fred shrugged modestly. "What if you had to do battle with your arms cut off?" she asked them rhetorically. "Sure, you'd hemorrhage to death pretty quickly, but at least you'd take your enemy with you!"
"Nice going, Fred," Angel smiled as he ran a reassuring hand up and down Buffy's back.
"Aw, it was nothing," Fred blushed slightly at the praise. "Just a stunning revelation of my true path in life, that's all."
"Come again, honey?" Roger asked with a frown.
Fred walked to her parents. "Look, I could go home with you and pretend the last five years didn't happen. I could even pretend to have a normal life, but the truth of it is, well, I'm not normal anymore," Fred said with a small smile. "I guess what I'm getting at is...I-I missed you both so bad, but I belong here." At this, Fred turned to face A.I. hesitantly. "Unless I don't…which if—if you all don't wanna put up with me, I completely understand..."
"Let's put it to a vote, shall we?" Wesley suggested. "All in favor of Fred staying, say 'aye.' Aye. Good. Motion passed. Looks like you're staying," Wesley proclaimed, causing everyone to smile.
That night, Buffy lay in bed, her head resting on Angel's chest like always (he really did make the best pillow). Angel idly trailed his fingers down her back, and Buffy sighed contentedly. "What a day," she murmured.
Angel chuckled. "You could say that." They were quiet for a moment before Angel spoke again. "So what's all this about the Burkles thinking I'm your husband?"
Buffy blushed as she explained. "Well, when they first showed up, they were asking about you. I had to reassure them when we told them that Fred was with you...husband just seemed to work better than the others."
"Others?"
Buffy smiled and kissed his chest. "Well," she began. "My first thought was 'Baby's Daddy.'"
Angel chuckled as she kissed hollow of his throat. "Then I thought of soulmate," Buffy added before she finally kissed his lips. "Love of my life worked too," she smiled. "Husband just kinda seemed all inclusive."
Angel smiled at that. "One day we'll make it official."
"One day," Buffy agreed, giving him one final kiss before resting her head on his chest once more. They were quiet for a moment before Buffy added, "I just hope you get me that ice cream before then."
Hehehe...how could Buffy let him forget about that double mint chip? ;D
Lots of love (reviews give Buffy lots and lots of ice cream),
AC