Gripping onto the rails on the side of the bed, Buffy let her teeth grind together as she let out a groan of pain "You're doing well, I just need you to breathe calmly and evenly" shooting a glare over to the nurse she nodded quickly.
Once the contraction eased off, she relaxed and laid back down, both hand's automatically cradling her bump lovingly. She said a silent prayer to the baby, hoping that if she was in labour that it would be easy and that although she didn't feel ready, she would do her best.
She looked to the clock on the wall and held back a sob, since last night the contractions were getting closer together, not quite the active labour stage but it definitely looked like they were headed there. Angel had stepped out to call his mom, who insisted on video calling every chance she got, so he decided to tell her before she panicked and thought the worst.
Dr Windham-Pryce came back into the room and looked around before smiling "No Angel?" Before Buffy could reply, the man in question walked in, taking his spot beside her bed "Ah, there you are… now I do believe we are coming to that point, the one where we will have to intervene to slow your labour down"
At the panicked look from his patient, he pulled out some pamphlets and handed them to her "Here is some information for you, once we get everything in order we can administer your medication this afternoon and by any luck, should your contractions slow down or even stop, you can go home until you are ready"
Buffy nodded mutely and sat those little pamphlets down on the bed beside her, she barely smiled at the Doctor as he left them alone then wiped away a stray tear, harshly from her cheek "What did your mom say?" Wanting to talk about anything other than what had been said.
Angel linked his fingers through hers and brought them up to his mouth to kiss her softly "I managed to talk her down, she was ready to fly out ASAP, shes not thrilled and surprisingly enough Damien hadn't uttered a word to her" that, he was a little surprised about. That pain in the ass done whatever he wanted, usually to spite him "When do you want to call your mom?"
Buffy panicked, she knew she would have to call Joyce but she didn't think she would be able to last the full conversation without breaking down.
Seeing that she was beginning to breathe harder, he squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss her softly "Why don't we call her together?" Seeing the barely there smile, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialled Joyces number and placed the call onto speaker so they could both join in.
Joyces happy tone dropped almost suddenly when Buffy said hello, she knew there was something wrong. Angel took over and explained what had been happening and that they were going to see what came from todays medications before they could even think about leaving the hospital.
He heard her keys jingle and he asked her not to rush down like he had with his own mother, he said it would do no use with everyone sitting around and waiting. He said that he would call back later with any update to their situation. Joyce told them that she loved them and that Buffy would do well but that she was also only a short drive away.
After the call ended he wrapped his arm around her carefully and held her tight, since she had been admitted, she tried to remain active but had to remain bed bound when being monitored on the belly strap contraption. All he wanted to do was scoop her up and take them back to their home and shut out the world.
When her belly began to move and become misshapen they both smiled widely and placed their hands over their child. The baby rolled and poked its limbs out, making her round belly go all out of sorts before returning to normal. Buffy sighed contentedly then looked back to Angel "I love you"
Pressing his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes "I love you too, Buffy" he pressed his lips against hers then ran his fingers through her hair again. He watched as she picked up the leaflets that the doctor had left and open them slowly, the visible shake in the paper giving away how upset she was.
They carefully read through the information and waited for one of the doctors to come back to ask some questions about what would happen and what they should be on the lookout for. Eventually Dr Windham-Price returned and administered the medication, then stayed for a bit to monitor the baby and Buffy before procuring discharge papers.
They were under strict orders for bed rest and to be aware of labour kicking back in, and if that happened at any point of day or night, to head straight to the hospital. All notes from Sunnydale would be passed to her local hospital and that their medical team would be prepared for them attending in the near future.
Buffy thanked the staff who had been caring for her and gingerly made her way out to Angels car and got as comfy as she could. The drive home was slower than normal, Angel wanted his full attention on the road and didn't want to chance anything.
By the time they got home the sun was beginning to set for the evening, rather than stop and pick up some groceries, they ordered in some pizza and laid on the sofa in each other's arms. When Angel said for Buffy to head up to bed she hesitated, admitting that she didn't want to go to bed alone, even if it was only for a half hour.
Angel cleared the left over pizza and left the boxes on the counter, not wanting to spend any length of time tidying up. One look at Buffy and he could see her eyes struggling to stay open, he took her by the hand and led her up to their bedroom.
Buffy pulled her hair up into a messy looking pineapple on top of her head and slipped into a thin nightshirt. She slipped into bed and curled around the massive pregnancy pillow that dominated more than half of the mattress. Angel stripped down to his boxers and slid in behind her, his hand coming over and spanning her belly as he kissed the back of her neck.
He felt her body shudder as she tried to hold back a sob but she let out a shaky sigh then yawned. Angel rubbed soothing circles on her belly and closed his eyes, they both laid in silence, hoping for sleep to take them soon.
Ooooooooooo
Damien took a long drag from his cigarette before flicking it away in annoyance, he was not long off a call with his mother who had chewed his ass over not letting her know about the Buffy and Angel situation. He had said he wouldn't say but she did reply that he wasn't one for caring about following orders.
Normally he would be the one to spout off, regardless of who or what he was told, especially when it came to Angel. They had spent so much time with bad blood between them that he felt like he didn't care about him, lately though, damn old age.
Since those sessions with Jenny and maybe since he realised he had feelings for Darla, he better understood why Angel was such a little bitch when it came to Buffy. All the hostility towards him and the love shown to her, he got it and wanted to make sure that his brother remained happy.
Darla had gave him some ideas as to teach Kate a lesson but like Angel had said, no harm should come to her and her dramatic ass didn't need ammunition to try to cause any further damage to his brother or Buffy. She still needed to be brought down a peg or two, how though, he was still struggling with.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped back inside Darla's house and poured a whiskey, he poured a second glass when he heard her stiletto's tapping off the tiles as she walked over to him "Perfect" she swiped the glass and downed the liquid in one gulp before tugging him by his shirt, so that he could lean down to kiss her.
Damien lifted her and sat her on the worktop and smirked as her legs wrapped around his waist "Thought you wanted to head out?" Her lips trailed down his neck and she sunk her teeth into him, making him wince.
"Of course Angelus, Lets go out" her legs let go of him and as he backed up she regained her footing on the floor "Rumour has it stalker girl is out tonight and I wanna have a chat with her" her hand came up and cupped him through his denims, before squeezing "don't you?"
His eyes rolled a little as his eyelids became heavy from her touch, the only response he could muster was a nod of the head. She had this charm about her, this unique ability to inflict pain but make it oh so good, for all the girls he met before, they were never as close to being perfect as she was.
She leaned up and bit his ear lobe and crooned "Let's go, lover" his eyes followed her as she walked out, each step she took, her hips swayed from side to side. He let out a chuckle and groaned, he tried to dampen down the lust she had sparked and followed her out to the cab that was waiting for them.
As they entered The Bronze, the bass from the hypnotic dance music washed over them, the overhead lights flickered dangerously on and off and the crowd dancing were in perfect sync. Damien pushed through the throngs of people to get to the bar and order them some drinks, he immediately turned to face the dance floor and scanned the crowd.
With no luck as of yet, he grabbed his drinks and headed towards a booth that Darla had managed to score from a couple who were just leaving. He slid into the deep booth and draped his arm over her shoulder, looking ever the menacing dark prince vibe that he always gave off.
Not before long they spotted her long flowing locks and that insufferable smirk she always sported. Once their mark had spotted them, she immediately came over and leaned onto the table, giving him the perfect view down her low cut top "Oh, I didn't know you were still in town, Damien"
Damien bit back the urge to roll his eyes "Nice to see you can tell me and Angel apart this time" he saw her jaw clench as she stood back up straight and placed her hand on her hip. Before she could say anything he scoffed "Do everyone a favour Kate and get lost, leave The Bronze, hell, even leave Sunnydale"
Kate narrowed her eyes and swiped one of his drinks before downing it "You don't get to dictate what I do OR when I do it, what gives you the right?! You nor your brother run this town" she looked between Damien and Darla, shooting daggers at them both.
Letting go of Darla, he leaned his elbows on top of the table and smiled at her. Darla came up behind her silently and gripped onto her hair with a searing grip, causing Kate to wince in pain "No, but when you interfere with them, then be lucky this is all that will happen to you" yanking once more, she let go of Kates hair and slid back into the booth beside Damien
Kate held her scalp and frowned "What, I barely even touch that little cheerleader, Angel said he wanted me and I was making her realise that"
Damien slid out the booth, towering over her "I can rhyme off a long list of idiotic things my brother has done but you, you would be number one. I don't know what he thought when deciding to fuck you, clearly he came to his senses when he kicked your crazy ass to the kerb, come near him and Buffy again and you'll regret it… if anything happens to that baby you'll regret that too"
Kate smiled and ran her tongue over her teeth "I bet you that brat isn't even his, shes just with him for his money"
He clenched his fist, doing his best not to come to physical blows with her. If it were anyone else he would have accused them of being a gold digger but not Buffy, she was too pure for that shit. Initially he had reservations about Darla but she rolled her eyes with a smirk and told him there was another sizeable asset that he had that she was more interested in.
Darla came up behind Kate, grabbing her arm and twisting his painfully behind her back "When he said that you were lucky, oh, he did mean that, he might take it easy on you but I won't" she pushed her towards the table and slammed Kates head against the wood, shaking their drinks.
Kate yelped "You can't do this!"
Darla twisted her wrist even further and groaned almost in pleasure "Who says that I can't? If I hear you are anywhere near either of them, I'll make your life so much worse" she pushed her arm against her before slamming her head off the table once more, before releasing her.
Kate brought her damaged arm across her body and held it safe with her good hand, whilst glaring at Darla "You're a crazy bitch, do you know that?!"
Darla tilted her head "Takes one to know one…" she raised her eyebrow and came closer to Kate, silently urging her to get lost. Kate took the hint, she shot a look at Damien before gingerly skulking out of The Bronze. "Don't think she'll be much of a problem but if she does…" she bit her lip.
Damien shot her a look, in the short time of knowing Darla be knew she was a little twisted and clearly, her display of bitch of the year had hyped her up. Her finger's twined through his as she strut her way outside of the club and into the alleyway, pulling him close and nipping at his lips.
Once out of sight of the exit she pushed him roughly against the brick wall of the building, her teeth scraping off his neck again. Damien winced then smirked when her hand reached for the zipper on his jeans and tugged it down, freeing him and taking his hardness into her hand.