A/N: Sorry this is late, guys! It actually wasn't my laziness or hectic schedule this time...it was FF! It wouldn't let me log on...grr...

Although, technically, it is still Thursday...well, at least if you live in the same timezone I do. :D

Random Disclaimer: (I don't own Buffy).

Me: You know, sometimes I really don't know how to make these things remotely amusing. Like today for instance, I'm completely drawing a blank.

Buffy: Maybe you're thinking too hard.

Angel: It usually just comes to you...give it time...

Me: Time? Time? I don't have time, Angel...unlike you. You? You have loads of time...

Angel: Are you trying to imply something?

Me: Other than the fact that technically you are a really, really old guy? Nah, can't say I am.

Buffy: You know, usually, your disclaimers tend to reveal a little something about the chapter...

Me: Really? Hadn't noticed.

Ms. Kroger: Excuse me, but what is this?

Buffy: Who the hell are you?

Gone Part One

"I can't believe you," Buffy grumbled from the passenger seat of the Plymouth.

"What?" Angel defended.

"You coming with me back to Sunnydale because you can't let me out of your sight longer than a minute before you start to have a panic attack," Buffy replied blithely.

"I don't have panic attacks."

"Really? Cause you get this really panicked look in your eye."

"I don't hyperventilate."

"Why would you hyperventilate? You don't need to breathe."

Angel sighed. "Okay, maybe I've been a little overprotective the last few days." Buffy scoffed and Angel glared at her. "But really, Buffy, can you blame me?"

Buffy held his gaze for a moment, seeing the earnestness in his eyes. "No," she admitted grudgingly. "But you have to realize that you can't keep me in a safe little bubble. I mean, danger and supernatural is our lives."

"But you're pregnant now," Angel argued.

"And that doesn't mean I'm made of glass," Buffy returned easily. "I can take care of myself."

Angel sighed, knowing that she was right, but at the moment he couldn't fight the protective instinct that seemed to have multiplied tenfold since learning of Buffy's pregnancy. It wasn't like Buffy wasn't the only one going through this pregnancy. Granted, Angel wasn't carrying the baby, but he was still along for the ride. He loved this pregnancy, he loved Buffy. He loved watching her body change. He loved waking up every day and seeing if her stomach had gotten just a little bit bigger. He even loved all the late night runs to the grocery store because she just had to have something, only to return and discover that she no longer wanted it and wanted something else instead. Angel suspected this all had to do with the fact that he was the father to be. What he didn't like was the little voice in the back of his head that warned him that as Buffy advanced in her pregnancy, she grew more vulnerable.

That fact, coupled with the fact that he had always been protective of her, sent Angel into protective overdrive. So after what had happened at the Hyperion, with Wesley and Gunn under Billy's influence, Angel was just a little on edge.

Hence the fact that he was following Buffy back to Sunnydale.

Angel reached over and took Buffy's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I know you can take care of yourself," he assured her. "But I just worry, you know?" Angel took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. "Especially after what happened a few days ago, so humor me, will you?"

Buffy gave him an understanding smile. Angel was just too adorable lately for her to stay mad at him for long. "I guess," she teased. "Just don't act like I'm about to up and disappear, okay?"

Angel scoffed playfully, returning his eyes to the road. "Like you could disappear..."

"Besides," he continued after a moment. "You would have needed me here anyway."

Buffy bit back a pathetic whine as he reminded her. Social Services were coming the next day to check up on Dawn. In other words, they were there to make Buffy feel as unimportant and insignificant as possible. After all, what did she have going for her? She wasn't in college anymore—being dead for five months kind of made that a moot point. She had no source of income—again, why have a job if you were dead?

And last, but certainly not least, she was pregnant and unmarried.

Things weren't necessarily in her favor.

"She's going to eat me alive," Buffy groaned, closing her eyes and letting her head thump against the headrest.

Angel chuckled. "Nah, I'll protect you."

Buffy snorted.

Sobering up slightly, Angel looked at Buffy as earnestly as he could while sporting a huge grin. "Look, Buffy, it'll be fine, alright? So, you're not in college right now, but you plan on going back, right?"

"Well, yeah," Buffy sighed. "I guess so."

"And it's not like you don't have money—"

"Actually, I don't," Buffy interrupted. "It's all yours."

"Ours."

"Whatever."

Angel glared at her half-heartedly. "You know, technically, in my time, I was supposed to provide everything."

"I know that," Buffy conceded with a frown, huffing in mild discontent as she folded her arms over her chest.

Angel still paid all the bills for her house. In fact, he paid for absolutely everything she needed. What money she'd had after her mom had died had been spent paying for the funeral and medical bills. And it wasn't as if Angel didn't have money to spare, even if he didn't live like it. He just hadn't liked to use the money because he saw it as blood money, although now he used it more readily, all for what he considered good things—Buffy and the baby.

"And if they look into job stuff, you can say you work for me," Angel pointed out. "You always work the cases with us, it'd only be fair."

Buffy raised her eyebrows a little, but otherwise said nothing. He did have a point…but that still didn't take care of the biggest problem, or, well, what the social worker would see as the biggest problem.

"But I'm pregnant," she said. "I'm a twenty year old, unmarried pregnant woman taking care of a teenager. That really won't get me any brownie points."

"Which is why I'll be there to smooth things over."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Oh? And how will you do that?"

Angel grinned devilishly. He let his voice drop slightly so that it was just a low and smooth as it could be. "Buffy, Muirnín," he began charmingly, his eyes shining bright with an honest earnestness that he'd perfected after centuries of manipulation. "I don't think you realize how persuasive I can be."

Buffy laughed, her eyes shining with amusement. "Oh, she doesn't have a chance."

"See?" Angel turned his eyes back to the road just as they turned onto Buffy's street, satisfied that he'd eased Buffy's worry a little. "We got this. Don't worry."

The Plymouth came to a stop then as Angel parked in the driveway in front of the house. He hopped from the car, and jogged around to the passenger side and opened Buffy's door. He swung it open gallantly, offering Buffy a hand, which the Slayer took with a small smirk. Grinning mischievously, Angel pulled her into his arms and surprised her with a searing kiss that made her feel weightless.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you are today?" he asked softly, whispering in her ear.

Buffy smiled. "No."

"Well," Angel paused for a moment as he kissed along her jaw. "You're beautiful…and you're mine."

"Mmm…" Buffy hummed in agreement, her eyes closing as Angel's lips covered hers once more.

"Oh, will you guys come inside already?" Dawn yelled from the porch, though it was indulgent. "You can make out later!"

Buffy and Angel broke away smiling, doing as they were told—for the moment.

Hand in hand, they made their way up to the front porch where Dawn was still waiting for them. Immediately, she wrapped Buffy in a hug. "Are you ready to face the wicked witch tomorrow?" she asked once she pulled away.

"Don't make your sister nervous," Angel scolded, ruffling her hair and then quickly jumping back to avoid her retaliatory punch.

Silently, Angel noted that Dawn's reflexes were much quicker. The secret training he and Spike were putting her through was working. Angel didn't know if Buffy had picked up on the fact at all. There weren't many clues. Dawn was lither; her muscles were a little more toned…nothing blaringly obvious.

This secret he was keeping from Buffy was beginning to wear on him. After all, he'd started Dawn's training back when Glory had been at the height of her rampage. It had only made sense and it had the added beneficial advantage of preparing Dawn for a life on the Hellmouth. After all, neither he nor Buffy, or any of the Scoobies for that matter, would always be around to protect her. Buffy herself was spending more time in LA now than ever. In fact, Angel suspected that soon Dawn would be accompanying Buffy to LA some weekends.

"Buffy!" Willow smiled brightly as she ambled down the stairs, quickly enveloping Buffy in a hug. "Welcome back to good ol' Sunnydale, which is quickly becoming incredibly boring," she continued, her voice a mix of exasperation and disbelief.

"Sunnydale? Boring?" Buffy raised her eyebrows disbelievingly as they all settled in the living room. Buffy went straight for the couch, plopping down and curling into Angel's side the moment he was settled. "You do realize that it's a Hellmouth? Hellmouth's aren't boring."

"That's what you'd think," Oz agreed as he entered the room, a mug of tea in his hand that he handed to Willow, who took it gratefully. "But aside from staking a few vamps on patrols, it's actually pretty slow-going."

"It's driving Spike crazy," Dawn smiled, remembering his rant the night before. "He blames you."

"Me?" Buffy frowned. "How is this my fault?"

"Well, once you, um," Dawn paused, uncomfortable with the memories that surfaced as she tried to phrase her next words delicately, "when you came back," she finally decided before continuing on. "Things really died down. It's been quiet ever since."

"It's almost as if the Hellmouth is on maternity leave," Willow teased with a small smile.

Buffy laughed at her friend's word choice. "Well, maybe all the action went to LA," she suggested, glancing at Angel. "We've been awfully busy lately."

"Really? Do tell," Xander said as he led Anya by the hand into the living room. Xander went straight to a chair, slumping into it while Anya perched herself on the arm.

"You're not doing too much, are you?" Willow asked worriedly, darting a quick glance toward her friend's ever-expanding stomach.

"No," Angel answered with a satisfied smile before Buffy had the chance.

Buffy glared at him before turning back to Willow. "Well, there's the answer."

"Hey, that's a good thing," Xander said seriously. "We don't want anything to happen to the little guy, right?"

At his words, a soft smile pulled at Buffy's lips. The more time passed, the more Xander seemed to accept her pregnancy. Buffy knew that at heart, her friend had just been worried for her in the beginning. It just so happened that when Xander was truly worried; he had a tendency to be abrasive.

"Right," she agreed.

"So how do you feel?" Anya asked. "Do you feel fat?"

"Anya!" Xander chastised, but Anya, as usual, was completely unrepentant.

Buffy laughed, shaking her head. It was good to see that not much had changed since she'd last visited. "Sometimes," she conceded.

Knowing that a new conversation was needed, Dawn spoke up. "So, what have your cases been like?" she asked eagerly. "Gross? Demon-y? Vampires?"

"Um, all of the above," Buffy smiled wanly, looking up at Angel. "We should tell them about the head."

"The egghead?" Angel repeated wryly.

Buffy's eyes lit up. "Very punny. I'm so proud."

"I'm confused," Willow frowned. "Egghead?"

Memories of Fred's parents, 'paper mache' heads, and giant spider-bug hybrids flashed through Buffy's mind. "Well, you see what had happened was…"

The next morning was a flurry of activity.

Buffy and Willow were both in the kitchen, the latter of which was currently busy tossing bits of ham into the omelet cooking on the stove. Buffy was cleaning every surface she could find. Dust was eliminated, and everything shone. All in all, the house was cleaner than it had ever been.

"Dawn!" Buffy called as she crouched down so that she was eye level with the countertop. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a speck of dirt, and she quickly destroyed it with her weapons of mass destruction.

In other words, a spray bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels.

"I'm here!" Dawn said, sounding slightly breathless as she hurried down the stairs, her face looking flushed like she'd been exercising.

Buffy's eyebrows rose. "What have you been doing this morning?" she asked curiously. "Preparing for a marathon?"

Dawn scoffed and rolled her eyes. The truth was that she'd been up since five that morning to train with Angel…but it wasn't as though Dawn was going to tell her sister that. She was rather fond of living.

So she would let Angel tell Buffy.

Realizing that her sister was waiting for some sort of response, Dawn merely shrugged as she slid into a chair at the table and began devouring the omelet that Willow had sat in front of her.

After a few bites, Dawn looked up and asked, "Did you guys hear about that diamond that was stolen?"

Willow's attention was grabbed immediately. "Yeah, and I'm a little worried about that."

"Why?" Buffy asked as she sat down at the table across from Dawn.

"That diamond is rumored to possess some magical properties," Willow said, exchanging a look with Dawn that Buffy didn't understand. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the silent conversation going on between her friend and her sister, but she didn't say anything.

"I'll ask Giles about it at school," Dawn said as she downed the last of her juice.

"And I'll see what I can dig up here," Willow nodded to herself. "I don't have a class until ten."

Buffy was frowning, feeling left out. It was something she was growing used to. She wasn't in a position to go out and fight or chase after baddies. Mildly exasperated with herself, Buffy rose from her place at the table, taking Dawn's dirty plate with her and setting it and her glass in the sink.

"You guys tell me what you come up with," she said lightly, hiding her irritation. It seemed like every time she accepted the fact that she was out of commission (for the moment at least), something would come up and she'd be grumpy all over again.

Of course, she was already a little bit on edge because of the Social Worker's impending visit today.

"Sure," Dawn agreed quickly. "This is still your town, you know."

Was it? Buffy wondered. She spent more time in LA than Sunnydale since her return from Ireland, and even more so now that they'd learned of her pregnancy. Angel definitely felt more at ease when she was with him in LA where he could protect her from anything, ranging from demons to dust motes.

LA was beginning to feel more and more like home, but it wasn't her city. No, it was hers and Angel's city. It was their city. Vaguely, Buffy wondered when she'd separated from the Scoobies and truly become a member of AI.

But Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, was still her responsibility, and she intended to fulfill her role as the Slayer…well, as much as she could anyway.

"Yeah," she agreed noncommittally before she glanced at the clock. "You should be getting to school, Dawnie." Right as she spoke, Buffy heard Xander's truck pull into the driveway. "Xander's here."

Dawn rose from the table, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "Have fun," she grinned which caused Buffy to scowl.

"Well this Ms. Kroger better be nice," Buffy muttered, feeling the urge to go snack on some pretzels. "Go before you're late." Shoving Dawn playfully out the door, she waved to Xander who waved back cheerily before she shut the door behind her, leaning against it and closing her eyes.

Willow came into the foyer then and took stock of Buffy's position. "Don't worry, Buffy," Willow said, prompting Buffy to open her eyes to look at her friend. "It'll be fine."

"I hope so," Buffy sighed as she wondered back into the kitchen. "I'm just worried," she said simply, not caring to elaborate or share anything further.

Willow frowned slightly, but took it in stride.

Her friendship with Buffy now was very different from what it had been. Buffy didn't confide in Willow like she used to, not about really serious things at least. The trust that they had once shared had been shattered, and it was all Willow's fault.

That's why Willow never mentioned it. She knew that she deserved this.

Willow had lost her best friend. She knew that she was no longer Buffy's best confidante, aside from Angel of course. No, that title now belonged to none other than Cordelia Chase. Cordelia freakin' Chase.

A tendril of jealousy wrapped around Willow's heart for a moment, but the young wicca fought against it. She knew that she and Buffy could never go back to how they'd been. What Willow had done was unforgivable, even if Buffy had accepted her apologies and said that they would work through it.

Still, the idea that she'd lost her status as best friend to Cordelia Chase rankled.

Shaking her head, Willow followed Buffy into the kitchen. It was with a sad acceptance that Willow admitted that now, and probably for the rest of her life, she and Buffy would only be friends. Good friends, yes…but never again would they be best friends.

"Is Angel still upstairs?" Willow asked, needing a distraction from her thoughts.

Buffy suddenly grinned slyly. "Probably still asleep," she divulged with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I think I wore him out last night."

"Ah, the glory of the second trimester," Willow sighed dramatically.

Buffy smirked. "I definitely like it better than the first. Life without morning sickness is beautiful."

Suddenly, the back door leading onto the porch burst open and a blanket-covered figure stormed into the kitchen.

"Morning," Spike said brightly as he threw off the blanket and ran a hand over his hair.

"What are you doing? And, here?" Buffy asked, feigning surprise and confusion. She knew exactly why the English vampire was here, and secretly it amused her to no end.

"Just, uh, took a stroll…found myself in your neck of the woods," Spike lied, wincing internally when he heard how meek the lie was. Was he really going soft? He couldn't be losing his touch, could he? No, of course not.

"Couldn't find a less flammable time of the day to take a stroll?" Buffy asked dryly.

"Yeah, well," Spike scoffed as he tried to come up with another excuse. Inspiration struck as he realized he truly did have a reason to be there. "The fact is that my lighter's gone missing," he explained. "Thought it might have dropped outta my pocket last time I was here."

Buffy shook her head and turned back to the sink, washing the few dishes that they'd used for breakfast that morning. "Haven't seen it," she said as Spike leaned against the counter beside her.

Willow, knowing exactly what was going on, didn't even bother to disguise her laughter as she turned to Buffy. "I'll hide up in my room," she told Buffy. "Start lookin' into that diamond theft…"

"Okay," Buffy nodded. "Tell me if you find anything fishy."

"You got it." Willow looked at Spike one last time, smirked, and then retreated back up the stairs to her room.

Buffy finished washing the dishes and then carefully dried them and put them back in their respective cabinets. When she was done, she turned to Spike and folded her arms over her chest. "Lame."

"What?" Spike asked defensively.

"You," Buffy explained with thinly veiled amusement, which only served to frustrate Spike further. "Makin' up excuses."

"Oh, don't flatter yourself luv," Spike wagged his finger disapprovingly at her, but nonetheless took steps toward her. "Bloody fond of that lighter."

Buffy finally rolled her eyes. "Knock it off, Spike. We both know why you're here."

Giving in to his curiosity, Spike closed the distance between them, immediately sinking down so that he was eye level with her stomach. "You're fatter than last time."

"I'm not fat," Buffy argued, her eyes narrowing.

Spike grinned, looking up at her. "Hey, your stomach isn't the only thing that keeps growing," he said as his eyes settled on her breasts.

Buffy boxed his ears, and moved away from him, ignoring his cursing. "Fine, fine, fine," Spike apologized (sort of) as he followed her into the living room. "I'm just sayin' this is weird. Slayer pregnant? Peaches the dad to be? And then there's me, good ole Uncle Spike," he grinned. "Big bad Uncle Spike."

"You really like the sound of that don't you?" Buffy asked, fighting a smile pulling at her lips. Of everyone's reaction to her pregnancy, Spike's was definitely the one that had surprised her the most. He was almost as excited as Dawn or Willow.

"Hey, it's a first in the supernatural world," Spike said. "Definitely ups my status. I mean, what self-respecting vamp can say that he's an Uncle?"

Not giving Buffy a chance to answer, Spike continued. "So, how's the little spawn?"

"I told you not to call him that," Buffy growled with annoyance.

"So sure it's a boy?" Spike asked, ignoring Buffy's glare. "What if it's a girl?"

"It's a boy."

"Sure," Spike said placating. "Decided on a name yet? Cause I was thinkin' something along the lines of, I don't know, Spike William Whatever-Peaches'-Last-Name-Is…"

Whatever Buffy's response would have been was cut off by an emphatic declaration.

"Hell. No." Angel glared at Spike murderously. "Over my pile of ashes."

A gleam entered Spike's eye. "Well…"

"No, no, and no!" Buffy quickly cut off what Spike was going to say. "Spike, you really need to—"

Just then the doorbell rang, and Buffy froze. Quickly, she turned to Spike. "Go home!"

"Why?" Spike objected. "I kinda like it here. You know, we're family Goldilocks. You don't kick family out of the house."

"Angel?" Buffy raised her eyebrows and Angel almost looked gleeful. Answering Buffy's unspoken request, Angel grabbed Spike by the arm and dragged him into the kitchen, grabbed his blanket, tossed it over his head, and then threw him out of the house.

Angel's day was getting off to a great start.

He was at Buffy's side a few seconds later, his eyes still holding on to their childish merriment at throwing Spike out of the house. "I love you," he told her with a grin. "I really do."

Buffy smirked. "You should," she replied before raising herself up on her tiptoes and placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

However, she pulled away far too quickly for Angel and he was just about to pull her back to him when the doorbell rang again.

Angel and Buffy cursed in unison.

Buffy moved to answer the door, her feet dragging reluctantly. Undeterred and determined, Angel reached out and pulled her back to him, kissing her soundly for a long moment. When he let her go, Buffy was in a pleasurable daze.

She stood still for a moment, seeming completely unaware of where she was…though she was staring intently at the buttons of his shirt and Angel could see a plan forming in her eyes. "Buffy," he called her out of her lusty haze. "Door. Social worker."

Buffy huffed in frustration at the reminder. She gave him a level look, her eyes full of an almost threatening promise that made Angel wish that the social worker wasn't waiting to come into the house. "Later," Buffy promised, though it sounded much more like a demand to Angel.

Either way, Angel was looking forward to 'later.'

Fixing Angel with one more pseudo-glare (even though internally she was grinning ear to ear), Buffy moved to answer the door. Behind door number one was a short, slightly plump woman with glasses. She wore her frizzy brown hair pulled back into a bun, and had plucked a sharply cut black pantsuit out of her closet that morning. Buffy wondered if it made her feel like a big bad.

Personally, she thought it just looked uncomfortable.

"Hi," she smiled pleasantly. She had to be on her best behavior. "You must be Ms. Kroger."

"And you must be Ms. Summers," Kroger returned easily, shaking Buffy's proffered hand. "That was Dawn that I just saw leave?" she asked as Buffy moved to the side and gestured for her to come in.

"Yes."

"And whom may I ask was driving?"

Buffy refrained from frowning at the woman's insinuation. "Xander is one of my truest friends and he's known Dawn since she was little."

Kroger nodded to herself, her face giving away nothing, though Buffy thought that she'd seen the woman's fingers twitch as if she wanted to write a note on her clipboard.

There was a sort silence as Kroger looked around the foyer and glanced into the kitchen. She made her way into the living room. Buffy followed her. "Please, sit down. Make yourself at home." Buffy was extremely proud she'd been able to make the suggestion without a hint of sarcasm. "Can I get you anything? Water, maybe?"

"No, thank you," Kroger shook her head slightly as she made herself comfortable in the armchair that Giles usually occupied. "Please, won't you sit down? I have some questions to ask you."

Just then, Angel wandered into the living room. Where exactly he'd been the last few minutes, she didn't know, but she was simply glad that he'd joined her. Buffy then took a second look at Angel. He must have been upstairs changing clothes as he had traded in his wife beater and sweatpants for a black button down and black slacks.

Buffy thought he looked delectable.

Mind out of the gutter! Buffy chastised herself.

Angel noticed Buffy's preoccupation and stifled a knowing smirk. Instead, he grinned charmingly at Kroger, who was staring just as openly as Buffy. Angel held his hand out to her and the woman took it, her grip weak as she continued to stare. "H-hello," she stammered before looking down, embarrassed.

"Ms. Kroger," Angel replied, his charm smile still firmly in place. "I hope you don't mind if I join the conversation?"

"Oh, of course not," Ms. Kroger said quickly, determined to stay focused on the matter at hand. After all, she was a woman of business. It didn't matter that the man in front of her was undoubtedly the most handsome man she had seen in her thirty-seven years.

"Thank you." Angel sat down beside Buffy on the couch, casually draping his arm around her, completely at ease.

"So," Kroger began, seeing an opening for the first of many issues she would need to address. She looked at Angel. "Do you live here?"

"No, I live in L.A.," Angel explained. "I just came down for the weekend."

"Oh?" Kroger questioned. "What is it that you do?"

"I'm a private investigator." Angel smiled, looking as though he had a secret that he was just itching to share. Kroger had never thought anyone had looked so attractive. "It's a small agency, but we keep fairly busy."

"That sounds like it could be rather dangerous," Kroger said, sounding slightly breathless.

Angel chuckled and Buffy simply stared at him, hardly being able to believe what she was seeing. She'd always known that Angel could be charming. She'd always known that he could be mischievous and mysterious. But goodness, she'd hardly ever seen him be all three at the same time. Buffy could see that he already had Kroger hanging on his every word…

This little fact, coupled with the thinly veiled starstruck look in Kroger's eye, also caused a faint stirring of annoyance in Buffy.

"It can be at times," Angel admitted, before adding with heartfelt sincerity. "But don't worry, I'm always careful."

"Yes, well." Kroger scrambled to get her thoughts together, knowing that the man sitting across from her was far too young. How old could he be? Twenty-four? Twenty-six? She was almost forty. He was far too young, far too young…

Needing guidance, Kroger studied her clipboard. She saw the little box for marital or relationship status and looked back up. "I'm assuming that you two are a couple?" she asked, stealing a glance at Buffy's stomach.

"Yes," Buffy said immediately. "And before you ask, yes, Angel is the father."

"Oh," Kroger said simply. "I suppose that's a good thing." She noticed the matching gold bands that Buffy and Angel wore and raised her eyebrows. "I wasn't aware that you were married Ms. Summers."

Buffy was momentarily stumped. "Married?" she repeated, glancing down at her Claddagh ring quickly before meeting Kroger's curious eyes. "Um, no, I'm not married. We're, uh, not married," she revised glancing at Angel, pleading silently for help.

"Yet," Angel added simply.

Buffy struggled to control her expression. She thought that showing pure shock wouldn't be very conducive to the situation.

"Engaged, then?"

Angel nodded, grinning. "It's just a while down the road, that's all. We're not in that big of a hurry."

Kroger wrote down the coordinating information on her clipboard. "Well, then I guess this will lead into the discussion of the baby. What exactly are your plans? How will you support the child? How will this affect Dawn? What about moving to Los Angeles? Surely, you would not continue to live in two separate towns?"

There were a lot of questions for Buffy to process, some of them Buffy hadn't even given much thought to. But, once again, Angel jumped to her rescue.

"We haven't exactly worked everything out as of now," Angel smiled, though he looked slightly sheepish. "I mean, we've still got about five months to iron everything out."

"It would only be logical for me to move to L.A. once the baby comes, probably even before," Buffy spoke up, glancing at Angel. They hadn't really discussed it, but it was truly the only solution that was possible. "What that means for Dawn is for her to decide," Buffy said to Kroger. "She's a sophomore in high school, and I wouldn't want to force her away from all her friends."

"As far as money goes, I have a fairly large inheritance from my parents," Angel said seriously. "Old family money," he continued on. "That, on top of what I make at A.I., is all that we need. Of course, Dawn is included too."

"Once everything gets settled down, I plan on going back to school," Buffy said honestly. "Who knows?" she joked. "I might even have a class with Dawn."

Much to Kroger's surprise, it seemed as though Buffy Summers had everything under control. For a twenty-year old, the young woman was doing extremely well. Of course, Kroger couldn't discredit Angel. It was obvious that he had a pragmatic, reasonable mind...she did love that in a man...

Once again flustered, she referred back to her clipboard. "Let's steer the conversation more towards Dawn, shall we?" she asked before continuing on. "You've had Dawn under your care for just over a year now. How do you think it's gone?" Kroger flipped through some papers, making sure she had her facts straight. "It appears that Dawn is doing just fine in her classes, an A student. She helps after hours in the library, and the librarian had nothing but nice things to say about her and yourself when I dropped in earlier."

Buffy grinned. She had to thank Giles big time.

"And I must admit I'm surprised, but pleased to see that Dawn's homelife appears stable," Kroger said, looking up, slightly perplexed. "You seem to be doing a good job raising your sister, Ms. Summers."

"Thank you," Buffy replied gratefully, pleased at the compliment. Angel pulled her to him, placing a swift kiss to her temple, causing Buffy to blush slightly.

"Do you have any more questions, Ms. Kroger?" Angel asked politely.

Kroger sighed, flipping through the papers attached to her clipboard. "No, I've exhausted all my material." She rose from her seat and Buffy and Angel did also. Buffy led Kroger to the door, and once she was outside on the porch, Kroger turned back to see only Buffy. She frowned slightly, wondering why such a lovely man as Angel would not want a glimpse of the beautifully sunny day outside.

"Ms. Summers I'm recommending that Dawn be released fully under your guardianship," Kroger said with a small smile at the delight on Buffy's face. "Though you've been given a rough hand so early on in life, you've certainly handled it well, better than most."

"So no more Social Services check-ups?" Buffy couldn't help but ask.

Kroger shook her head. "None."

"Great!" Buffy exclaimed before quickly pressing her lips firmly together. "Um…" she began hesitantly.

"Don't worry. I get that a lot," Kroger admitted ruefully. Unable to help herself, she glanced past Buffy through the open door and into the sunlit entryway, wondering where Angel could possibly be. She had really wanted one last look at him…

Oh, well.

"Have a nice day Ms. Summers, and good luck," she said, holding out her hand.

Buffy shook it with a smile, and then watched as Kroger drove away. When the car was out of sight, Buffy squealed and ran back in the house. She already knew where Angel was, she didn't have to guess. She took the stairs as fast as she could (though still carefully) and went straight to her bedroom.

Angel was waiting for her of course, and she was immediately in his arms, kissing him happily.

It was 'later' and they had to celebrate.

Wow, I forgot how much I put into this chapter! I've had some people asking about Buffy's relationship with Willow, so I took the time to address that this chapter and it is continued into the next chapter. And I brought in more stuff from AISHB! Had y'all forgotten that I'd had Spike and Angel secretly training Dawn? I wonder if Buffy will find out next chapter? What other secrets could I reveal? Hmm...

And just what did I do with that Invisibility Ray? Oh, the possibilities...

Lots of love,

AC