Feeling like a complete goofball, Angel timidly sat down on the sofa and pulled Buffy snuggly beside him. She had somehow talked him into wearing those damn matching Christmas pyjamas, he hated things like this. He felt like an idiot and thought he looked like one too, but the wide smile on her face made it worth it.

It had been a couple of weeks of him commuting back East for therapy with Damien and although nothing had really changed between them, he felt more at ease with everything. Managing to catch time with Buffy though, that was difficult and very much annoying.

Tonight was the last night they were spending together before separating and heading to their own homes for the holidays. Buffy only lived an hour away, just by LA where as he was hours away on a plane ride. This would be the longest that they would spend apart since meeting and both weren't looking forward to it.

Willow and Oz had came over for some festive fun; some eggnog, cheesy movies and festive snacks before heading back to Oz's apartment. Thankfully Lindsay was already back out in Texas and wasn't witness to them matching, he knew that he would never hear the end of it. Buffy had insisted on taking a few photos, so he'd find out anyways but at least he wouldn't see it in person.

Buffy tugged at the buttons on his pyjama shirt and smiled coyly at him "Can I open my present now?" When they had discussed gifts being exchanged she had originally felt nervous, having never had a serious boyfriend before, she was unsure as to what to buy him. Although she was scared, she couldn't wait to see what he had bought her.

Angel shrugged "If you open it today then what will you open on Christmas Day?" He saw her face twist into a pout, he was only kidding, if she wanted to open it today then that would be fine by him.

Leaning up to kiss him softly, she whispered "Pretty please" seeing a smile twitch at his lips she squealed with delight and pressed her lips to his again "Thank you". As he made his way to his room, she ran to her bag to grab his gift then sat back down on the sofa, bringing the blanket over her legs, leaving a corner open for his return.

Angel came back down and got under the blanket with her, when she offered his gift first, he placed the small gift bag behind his back and unwrapped his. It was a handmade gift box containing merchandise from his favourite Ice Hockey team and some of his favourite chocolate "Thank you"

Buffy leaned over to kiss him "You really like them?" When he said yes she felt relief and smiled. When he reached behind his back he brought out a small bag, untying the ribbon she reached inside and pulled out a long rectangular box. Her heart began to beat faster as she creaked open the case, inside was delicate necklace with an intricate cross dangling from the bottom.

Flicking her eyes back up to him, she saw him look nervous yet excited "Angel, its beautiful…" taking it out of the box she handed it to him and pulled her hair to the side to let him slip it on her.

"Beautiful, just like you" he pressed a kiss to the base of her neck then brushed her hair off the shoulder she had tossed it on. Turning around she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly "Merry Christmas, Buffy"

Gripping him tighter, she smiled "Merry Christmas, Angel" looking into his eyes she bit back the urge to let out another squeal of delight. He made her feel tingly all over and she couldn't help the butterflies that flapped away excitedly each time they spent time together.

Settling back in each others arms, they put another cheesy movie on and got comfy on the sofa. Every now and again she could feel his eyes linger on her then jump back to the tv when she looked his way "What, do I have something on my face?"

Angel laughed and shook his head, in response he kissed the top of her head and laid his cheek against her, pulling her closer. All he kept thinking was that he was so grateful that he had her and that she was making this year pretty, pretty good.

Oooooooooooooooo

After having spent almost two hours on the phone with Angel last night and having slept for almost 12 hours, as soon as she woke up she felt terrible. Drained, exhausted, she didn't know why. Frowning, Buffy rolled over and grabbed her phone so she could see if he had messaged her.

Since they last saw each other in person almost two weeks ago, she had missed him and loved the fact that he would always send a morning text to her. One or two nights they had been on video call until two in the morning then woke up only six hour later, still messaging each other how they were.

Angel had left a good morning text at. 11:43 and that was hours ago. Quickly replying she sat her phone down and got out of bed. As she stood upright a wave of nausea worked its way over her, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to try and settle her stomach.

Unfortunately that didn't work so she carefully made her way to the bathroom to use the toilet and wash her face and brush her teeth. The taste of the toothpaste felt off, it made the queasy feeling in her stomach worse. Spitting out the remainder, Buffy wiped her mouth then gripped onto the rim of the ceramic.

Hearing her mother call for her she made her way downstairs and greeted her and her stepfather Giles. The pair were sitting at the dining table, both drinking tea but reading separate newspapers.

"Oh Buffy, you slept through breakfast but I can make you something if you'd like?" Joyce looked up to see her daughter look a bit pale, she got up and placed her hand on her forehead "Are you okay? You don't look too good honey"

Buffy shrugged off her hand, feeling even more sickly than she already did "Gee thanks for the love, mom" she opened the fridge and looked at everything with disgust "I don't feel so good, maybe it was something I ate?"

Giles looked up as he watched her polish off an almost full bottle of fresh orange juice. As far as he was concerned, Buffy didn't touch the drink, she said it was too bitter for her "Do you feel like a cold is coming on?"

Taking the empty glass bottle to the sink, she rinsed it under the faucet and sat it on the drying rack upside down to dry "No, no fever? I feel like I did when you made me go fishing" she made a disgusted face at that tried-to-be forgotten memory "Like I'm on a boat and the waves make me feel like I could throw up"

Giles looked over to Joyce who only smiled in return, he cleared his throat "Oh well, I have a packet of Ginger Snaps hiding in the cupboard if you want some? Ginger is said to relieve nausea!"

Buffy crinkled her nose, now that was something she didn't like, she hated the smell of them and liked when Giles ran out and couldn't get to the store to buy more but right now, she would do anything to stop feeling like this "Are you sure?"

When he nodded she stood up on her tiptoes to grab the packet, carefully nibbling into one, she finished that then a second and a third within a matter of minutes. Thankfully her aversion to them paled in comparison to how much they were actually settling her stomach. She looked to Giles who had been watching her like a hawk and quirked her eyebrow at him but he only shook his head and went back to reading the paper.

As the day wore on the nausea came back and then settled with those damn cookies, she had called Angel and said that she wasn't feeling too hot but not to worry and then she went for a nap. The nap lasted for almost four hours which was unusual she never normally napped.

Making her way downstairs she could smell the aroma from the spices that her mother was cooking on the stove. When she reached the kitchen the smell of the raw chicken smacked her in the face, immediately she felt a dry heave come on and she ran to the downstairs toilet but nothing came out.

Giles was waiting in the hall as she exited, smiling weakly at him she shrugged "I guess no chicken for me tonight" she let out a weak laugh then looked to the floor under his inquisitive gaze.

Rubbing her shoulder gently he smiled "Ive convinced your mother to go to Aunt Arlene's after dinner, I feel like you could use a night to rest" when Buffy nodded he continued "Head back up to bed and I'll bring in some of that Mint Chip Cookie thingy that you like when I come back"

Buffy smiled gratefully at her step father before heavily climbing the stairs and snuggling into the duvet. She must have fallen asleep as the next thing she knew Giles was patting her shoulder and helping her scoot up and rest against the headboard "How are you feeling now?"

Buffy accepted the ice-cream tub off of him and scooped some out, usually the first bite of this treat would be amazing, like tasting it for the first time but it was just bland. She recapped the tub and sighed.

She shook her head and sat the tub down on the bedside cabinet, she didn't feel any better, the nap felt needed but she was still tired and still feeling that unrelenting nausea. Giles climbed up on the bed and got comfy beside her "How is Angel doing?"

She always had an open dialogue with Joyce and Giles, they were approachable but still maintained the adult authority figure where need be. She always loved that she could discuss anything with them, so of course she had told them when she first started dating Angel and the whole debacle with Damien "He's good"

Giles cleared his throat uneasily, not that they discussed this type of thing, this was more Joyces department but he had suspicions about why Buffy had taken ill "Buffy, If I may ask…" he cleared his throat again and felt his cheeks warm "Are you and Angel being careful"

Her eyes widened in shock, she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. It was only recently that Joyce had asked her if they had taken this step and she remembered she felt just as embarrassed then as she does in this moment "Uh, wha-what do you mean careful?" She wasn't stupid, she just didn't want to answer if she didn't have too.

Running his hand over his short hair, he waited a pause before continuing "It- Its just that your sickness, your aversion to poultry and sleeping the days away… Buffy, these are the same symptoms that Anya had, when she was… with child" he pulled out a box from his coat and handed it to her.

Along with gaining Giles as a step father when she was younger, she also gained an older step sister Anya and most recently a niece, Hallie. She remembered a couple of years ago when Anya was pregnant and how ill she became. Looking at the pregnancy test she shook her head, there was no way she could be, they had been careful, hadn't they?

"Giles!" She whispered strongly forgetting that her mother was out of the house, now she realised that he had set that up so she could have some space "I, I can't be pregnant?" When he placed the box in her hand she wanted to throw up, without saying anything she forced herself to move to the bathroom to find out one way or another.

Oooooooooooooooo

For the past couple of days Buffy had been quiet, both calls and texts she seemed down, almost avoiding speaking to him. He put it down to her not feeling well, she had stated that she was sick and had been sleeping a lot lately so he didn't think much of it. He had offered to pick her up when he landed in LA but she said she was already back in Sunnydale, so he made his way back alone.

Just before he reached the city limits she had text him that Linds had let her in and he was going out for a while, so he just had to go straight to the apartment rather than her dorm. His smile widened as he climbed the steps and set eyes on her sitting on the sofa. He plucked her up and brought her into his arms, his mouth seeking out hers immediately.

They both melted into the moment, the vacation time apart had felt longer than the two weeks that it had been. His fingers worked their way through her hair and he smiled down at her when she leaned back to look at him "I missed you"

He could see nerves swirling away beneath her jade eyes and wondered what was wrong. She pulled out of the embrace, her fingers twitching and tapping off one another. She paced around in a small circle "Buffy?"

Taking a deep breath she steadied her nerves, she needed to tell him, sooner rather than later "I uh" she looked looked him in the eye as she pulled out a positive pregnancy test and handed it to him "I have something to tell you"

The smile fell off Angel's face as he looked down from her panicked eyes and onto that little white stick, he looked at the digital screen that said pregnant 3 (plus) and felt his stomach drop.

She could see him take a shaky step backwards and look up at her again, his features set to completely blank. All the did was blink and she wanted to cry "Angel?"

He shook his head side to side, taking a further step backwards and motioned to her stomach, feeling unable to say anything. His throat was dry, his head was a muddled mess and he didn't know what in the hell to say.