Disclaimer: Don't own BTVS or the characters. I just love to play with them and make them subject to my very own whims.

Author's note: As I promised, Buffy's side of the story comes out here. I had a bit of trouble deciding on the format here. I hope this does make sense. The reaction to this story makes me so happy. Thank you so much to all those who have taken the time to review and all those who have the story on alert. Sorry it's been so long. I hope it's worth the wait.

Betrayal

Chapter Seven

A week earlier in Los Angeles..

It wasn't as Buffy was over Spike, but as the days went by she came more to terms with the situation. She knew that that this was her own fault. She now accepted that she had to give him the space and time he needed to cope with this. She had stopped making the daily phone calls and resolved to follow Dawn's advice at last. It would be easy to fall back into a relationship with Angel. It was what he wanted and she would always have a little bit of her heart reserved for her first love. Nevertheless, she loved Spike and wasn't going to settle for Angel because it was easier. Her mind was going a mile a minute as she stood outside the Hyperion and summoned the courage to walk inside. Dawn had been right of course. She had to tell Angel before he found it out from somebody else. So, she had flown back to the States to deliver the bombshell under the pretext of having business to deal with. No sooner had she walked into the building then she was waylaid by Angel. Apparently he had been waiting for her. "Buffy, it's great to see you."

She gave him a weak smile. "Likewise."

"Will you have a coffee?" he asked.

She nodded and let him lead her to his office. Angel must have noticed her unease; because once they arrived he turned to her looking concerned. "Is there something wrong? You've been very quiet."

She bit her lip, trying to gather the courage to tell him she was pregnant. "Angel, there's something I have to tell you."

He smiled encouragingly at her. "You can tell me anything, Buffy."

She took a deep breath and just blurted it out. "I'm pregnant with your baby."

He looked for a moment like he thought she was making a joke. It wasn't long before he realised that she was serious and he broke into a goofy grin.

"Oh Buffy," he murmured and took her into his arms. "We're going to have a baby."

Buffy found his enthusiasm catching and found herself grinning with him. "I just said so, doofus."

He heart was much lighter than he had been for weeks with this burden finally off her shoulders. Now she had to deliver the news to everybody else. She still had a bit of time before that became necessary though. Angel broke into her reverie with an unexpected question. "So will you be moving in with me or do I come back to England with you?" He obviously thought they were going to pick up where they left off.

"Angel, I told you already. I love Spike."

He looked surprised at that. "You can't be thinking of raising a baby with Spike? It's Spike!"

Buffy sighed. She decided not to tell him that Spike had left her. Hopefully, Spike would forgive her and Angel never had to know. "Oh Angel, I would never keep you from your child. You would be the child's father not Spike. Besides, Spike's great with kids. Dawn's kids love him. Back in Sunnydale, he always was able to get Dawn onside when she was being a stroppy teenager. You don't give him enough credit."

"This is insane-" he began but she cut him off.

"Shut up!" She glared at him. "I don't want to fight with you. It's important that we have a good relationship for the baby's sake." She put her hand on her belly reflexively. "Now I'm going to go before either of us say something we're going to regret. I'll keep you posted."

Back to present day..

Buffy hadn't spoke to Angel all week. He called her the day after she had left him standing there in the Hyperion. She had been too annoyed at him to answer the phone but her anger had cooled during the week after she had spoken to Willow about it. She had to take responsibility for her own actions in this mess. He hadn't called since and knew that if he didn't she would be obliged to make the first move. As it turned out she didn't have to as Angel came to see her. Buffy was taken aback when she opened the door to find Angel standing there. Her mouth dropped open. Angel smiled bashfully. "Can I come in?"

Buffy let him in the door with a forced smile. "What are you doing here? Is there an apocalypse to avert or something?"

Angel looked sheepishly at her. "I wanted to see how you were?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You don't just come all this way to drop in and say hi when you could just pick up a phone. Why are you really here?"

"I didn't like the way we left things back in Los Angeles. You're pregnant with my baby, Buffy. I wanted to set things right." When Buffy didn't look entirely convinced, he admitted "Xander might have let slip that Spike had taken off for a bit. He didn't say why of course, but I think I can hazard a guess."

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "Xander had no business telling you that. Besides, it changes nothing. I meant what I said. I love Spike."

He looked at her earnestly. "I love you, Buffy. Now we get a chance to be together like we always wanted."

His eyes shining were with hope. Her heart constricted at that, but she had to be honest no matter how much it would hurt him. "There was a time when all I wanted was that, Angel. I'm not that little girl anymore."

He looked pityingly at her. "It's okay. I get it, Buffy. You feel guilty."

Buffy felt her anger rise but she tried to keep an even tone. "No, you don't get it. I really love Spike. Of course, I'm feeling guilty. I put my relationship with Spike at risk for a meaningless fumble with you."

She had let her mouth run away with her. He visibly flinched and she instantly wished she could take back her words. "I'm sorry, Angel. I didn't mean it to sound so harsh."

"How can you say that, Buffy? It meant a lot to me and I know you felt something. Why else would you invite me into your bed?"

Buffy spoke more kindly this time. "I once thought that you were the love of my life, but Spike's the one who has been there through thick and thin, my best and my worse, and he still loved me. Even if he can't forgive me this, I won't be jumping into your arms. That boat sailed a long time ago."

Perhaps she was severe but she could not afford to encourage him.

"He looked at her desperately. "Buffy, I think you are making a mistake."

Buffy bit her lip in an attempt to keep her cool. "Just go, Angel!"

That was when of course when Spike arrived.

A few minutes later, Buffy watched tearfully in shock and horror as Spike jumped into the car and took off at breakneck speed. That vampire had to have the world's worst possible timing. She was at a loss at what to do. As usual Spike would put two and two together and get ten. There had been rage and hurt in his eyes and she knew when he was like that there was no reasoning with him. She wasn't stupid. She knew how it would have looked to him. She straightened herself up and wiped away the tears. She would win back her vampire in the end. Spike always came back in the end. He had come back for her already. There must be a chance of them sorting things out. It was then she noticed Angel was still standing there.

"Look, I'm sorry, Angel. You really ought to go. I'll keep in touch about the baby, but I really can't deal with you right now."

He looked at her as if he had never seen her clearly before. He didn't speak a word and she felt guilt tear at her afresh for the abrupt way in which she treated him. She had always lamented the way men had treated her in the past, but if she was to be honest with herself she was the one who was hurting both Angel and Spike now.

To be continued.

Sorry it's so short. Hope you enjoyed anyway and please take the time to review. I would love to know what you think. Thanks for reading.