* Jewlzy24 this one's for you babe!

Buffy's eyebrows creased together as Faith started piling up numerous bags in front of her, "Wh-what's all this?"

Faith shrugged, taking a seat once she was done. "We might have done our best to get a little jump start on your list of demands," the sister slayer smirked. "And there might be some extra goodies in there, too, that were just too good to pass up," she added with a laugh. "But you are right in wanting to try and keep yourself occupied and do your best to try and keep Angel involved in this no win situation so... we thought it might help... even if in the tiniest way imaginable with what you're going through."

Buffy leaned down enough to grab up two of the bags and bring them into her lap, reaching in and pulling out some fill in keepsake books about the baby, several different styles of notebooks and a couple how to pregnancy and motherhood types ones to read as well. Feeling tears threatening to come again, she whispered a thank you Faith's way.

She had in fact stated her desires to try and find someway to make sure Angel wasn't just shit out of luck through all of this, to try and keep him as part of this journey even while they were apart. She knew how much it was going to kill him to miss out on any part of this pregnancy and there was no telling how long things would even take before they could be together again... and anything she could do to fill that void she wanted to give a try and while nothing was ever going to replace the memories and experience of being right at their side, doing her best to take pictures and videos and notes of what happened was at least something. Maybe it would help him later, and maybe help her get through this right now without him.

But still... Buffy held the last one she grabbed to her chest and gave Faith a worried look. "Do you think it's too dangerous to even do this though? To keep written, physical proof? I mean... someone could always find us and-"

Faith reached over and took Buffy's hand in hers. "I think there's a risk to any of it, yes," she cut Buffy off. "But honestly, B, I think there's a far biggest risk in not letting you have something... something, anything, that you need to get through this mess. Keeping everything buried down inside of you won't do you a damn favor. Letting you find some sort of a version of peace and happiness and something to keep you going is exactly what you need right now. You need to be able to enjoy this gift, too, ya know? Sure there's doom and gloom in the air but when isn't there? That's our gig! You should still get to be excited and scared and all the things like any other expecting mom out there. Any sense of normalcy..."

"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Faith shrugged and sat back in her seat. "There's more," she pointed down to the bag she had sat at her feet. There were a couple of books about pregnancy and caring for a newborn, but below them there was a stuffed pig that reminded her very much of one of her own. Except this one was much softer, and its eyes were simply stitches instead of the buttons Mr. Gordo sported.

"I tried to talk him into something else. You know, like a bear or something, but he insisted this was the one."

"No," Buffy said. "It's perfect. When did he pick this out? When did you have time to do all of this?"

Faith shrugged again. "Let's just say I had some down time while you two were busy with all your goodbyes."

Buffy felt her temperature rise. "Thank You."

Faith nodded. "It's all going to be okay, you know. I mean, I know it probably doesn't feel like that right now, but it will. Angel will come out on top, he always does. One day, I'm going to tease the two of you about how damn emotional you were."

Buffy relaxed back into the seat, hoping that Faith was right as she held the stuffed pig closer. But right now she couldn't even imagine what tomorrow might look like, hell she couldn't imagine how life was going to be once this plane landed. Forget any further into the future.

She wiped away a fresh set of tears. "I hope you're right. So, what happens now? We get to this supposed safe house, and then what?"

Faith sighed. "I guess we'll wait. Keep you safe and sound while Angel takes care of what he has to on his front."

In some ways, she envied all of them, wished that she possessed the same naivety. It wasn't that she didn't believe in Angel. It was just that she knew the man just as well as she did the vampire. She could see the stress in his eyes, and knew what a toll all of this was taking. Maybe in some sick way it was because she had been the one to send him to hell, but she knew that he wasn't invincible. That he could be careless when he was tired. She knew his weaknesses in battle. Knew that his left side was just a touch weaker than the right.

"Why don't you lay down for a little while." Faith said. "We may be in the fastest jet this side of the Atlantic, but it's still going to take a bit to get there."

True, she was exhausted, but Buffy wasn't sure that she could face the bedroom. Not with the memories it held. She shook her head. "I don't think I could sleep."

For as much as Faith used to wish to be in Buffy's shoes, she had learned over the years that the grass was, in fact, not always greener on the other side. Sure, she had a thing going on with Spike, but it wasn't anything like what Buffy and Angel had, and for the first time in her life, she was glad for it. To love someone that much meant a vulnerability that she wasn't sure she possessed. "Okay well, I'm going to go check with Spike and Wes. See if they have any more insight than I do… Is there anything that I can get you?"

Buffy shook her head. Nothing she needed was on this plane.

OoOoO

Even though Buffy refused to go lay down, she still ended up falling asleep at some point. Once again, everything was a blur, gathering their things, walking off the plane to find Giles waiting with open arms. Watching the plane take back off was almost as devastating as getting on it had been.

Knowing that it was going back to him.

Knowing that she couldn't.

She barely even remembered the ride to the house, which turned out to be more of a compound on the outskirts of the city. She hated this, running in fear. It reminded her too much of when Glory was after Dawn and they had tried to flee Sunnydale. She knew all too well how that had turned out.

"Hey pet," Spike said, coming up behind her. "Let me get that."

"I'm pregnant, not helpless."

"Ya, and? Last I checked, pregnant ladies weren't supposed to be lifting a whole suitcase."

She was about to snap that she wasn't just some lady. She was the slayer. But she bit her tongue. He was only trying to help, and as much as she hated to admit it, he was right.

"Thanks," she whispered, handing it over.

Spike sighed, then reached out to rub his thumb across her cheek. "Now, now, none of that. You're still the baddest slayer of them all. We just have to get you through these next few months, is all. Think of it as a vacation of sorts. What was it you used to say? How you wished there was a place for slayers to go when they needed a week off? Well, look around you, pet, 'cause this is it."

She grimaced as she looked past him to the large iron gate closing behind them. Sure, the house was nice. If it could even be called that, from out here, it looked like it rivaled the mansion in terms of square footage. But not with her last breath would she call this a vacation.

"It's just a precaution." Spike told her as he guided her up the steps to the door. "I tried to tell him all of this wasn't necessary, but you know how overbearing he can be."

All she could do was nod. She couldn't handle another Angel talk right now, and yet she felt oddly comforted knowing that he at least approved of the place.

OoOoO

Even though she had argued against it, everyone had insisted that she take the master suite. It was ridiculous. She didn't need this much space. Not when it was just her. It would have been better suited for Giles or Wesley and Fred, nevertheless it was yet another argument that she lost for the day.

"Knock, knock." Giles said as he stepped into her room.

"I just came to see how you were. Everyone is getting settled in their rooms. Spike and Faith are outside checking…"

Her eyes rolled. "It's okay Giles, you can say it. They're checking the perimeter. I know the deal. What this place is. Despite what Spike may think, we're not on vacation."

Giles seemed to have some silent argument with himself for a moment before taking a step closer, then having a seat at the foot of the bed. "Yes. I suppose it's not."

"Buffy, for the first time since I came to Sunnydale, I cannot pretend to know what you are going through. As a watcher, I am familiar with many things, but I'm afraid pregnancy isn't one of them. At least not outside of the general information that I suppose is available to everyone. But one thing I do know is you. I know how powerless you feel right now, and how much you must hate it. But as hard as it may be, do try to remember that this is all temporary, hmm?"

"It doesn't feel that way." She sighed. She knew Giles was only trying to help. But there wasn't anything he or anyone could say. She was still processing everything from the last couple of days, especially the tiny life growing inside of her. Powerless. Scared. Those words didn't even scratch the surface of how she was feeling.

She promised herself that she wasn't going to cry anymore. At least not tonight. But here she was. "Sorry," she said, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her eyes. "It's just… I can fight monsters. Slay vampires. Stop the world from ending. But my mom died when I was twenty years old. Twenty Giles! The last time I held a baby it was Dawn, and those memories aren't even real!"

"Buffy, out of all the years we have spent together, I have yet to witness you fail. Time and again, you have figured out what needs to be done. You may be the first active slayer on record to give birth, but you are hardly the first woman to find out that she is unexpectedly pregnant. You have excelled at something that no one else ever has. You are the greatest slayer in all of history. I have no doubt that you will make a remarkable mother."

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I really wish Angel was here."

Giles let out a long breath. It was true. He and the vampire hadn't been on good terms in quite some time. He didn't trust what he was doing in Los Angeles. Didn't understand why agreed to take over Wolfram and Hart, and was honestly leaning towards the notion that he had somehow reverted to Angelus before he received his phone call.

"I know, and I'm sure that he wishes that as well. But he made the right decision, Buffy. You weren't safe there."

"Well what do you know? All it took was a baby for the two of you to finally agree about something."

Giles chuckled. "Yes, well… Let's keep that between us, shall we?"

OoOoO

Those first couple of days, all she could focus on was getting through the next minute. The next hour. But then she made it through the first day, and the second. Each one bleeding into the next until one day she woke up and an entire month had passed. There was still no word from Angel, but she had been keeping an eye on the news and so far, Los Angeles was still standing.

"How's the little bean this morning?" Faith asked, moving her hand only for Buffy to swat it away.

Buffy was sure that it had something to do with Angel not being around. It wasn't fair, but she couldn't stand whenever one of them would try to touch her. She hadn't felt the baby move yet, but Fred told her that she probably would sometime in the next week or two.

"The same as it was yesterday and the day before that."

Fred began studying midwifery almost as soon as they got here. Like everything else, birth was yet another thing Buffy hadn't quite processed. She naively assumed that when the time came, she would go to the hospital like all of the other twenty-first century mothers out there, but then Giles and Wesley went and reminded her how dangerous that could be. As much as she despised hospitals, she still wasn't sold on the idea of giving birth here… or wherever the hell they ended up being when the time came.

"Turn on the news!" Dawn said as she came barreling into the room. Frantically scanning the room until she spotted the remote.

"Christ Dawn, can you chill-"

The words lodged in her throat. The woman on the television looked like she was standing in the middle of a war zone. Except the reporter wasn't overseas. She was standing at the corner of Sunset. Or at least that's what it used to be.

Buffy felt like she couldn't breathe when the screen showed a brief flyover of the greater Los Angeles area. There was so much destruction. Dark gaping holes now dotted the once glowing city.

"Incalculable." Buffy repeated, whispering what the anchorman stated when asked about the death toll.

"When did this happen?" Faith demanded, but Dawn just shrugged.

"I don't know. I just saw it." Dawn said, glancing at her sister. "It sounds like a few hours, maybe? But this is a good thing, right? I mean, this is what you've been waiting for."

"I don't think anyone was waiting for this pet."

Buffy didn't know where Spike came from. Couldn't tell you when Giles appeared. But when all of them started arguing over whether or not they would be sending a team to help on the ground, she snapped.

"We are not just going to sit here and look the other way while an entire city burns."

"And I'm not saying that we should," Giles said, his eyes landing back on Buffy. "We can send in a team led by Kennedy or whomever you like. But we can't risk Faith or Spike traveling there… it's too risky."

"Angel knows what he's doing…" Spike said, cautiously taking another step towards Buffy. Well aware of her tendency to lose her shit whenever the good old grandsire was involved.

"He knew this was coming." Fred said. "Maybe he didn't know the exact outcome, but he knew it was going to be bad."

"It's true, B. He wouldn't have sent you here if he hadn't known this was a possibility."

Buffy whipped around to look at Faith. Out of everyone here, she thought Faith would back her with anything that involved Angel. "Exactly." she stressed. "You can't look at that and tell me it isn't the worst case scenario. And you're all trying to what? Tell me it's not a big deal?"

Giles sighed. "Now Buffy, you know that's not it."

But she didn't know. They were meticulously feeding her just enough information over the last month to keep her pacified, and she was sick of it. Just because she didn't have her powers didn't mean that she wasn't still the slayer. Besides, if the roles were reversed, she knew without question that it would have taken an army to keep Angel at bay.

"So you're telling me that if I was standing inside Wolfram and Hart right now, you wouldn't care? You would just stand here, all of you… Shrugging your shoulders and wishing me the best? Bullshit."

"Now that's not fair," Giles said, adjusting his glasses. "Everyone here is worried about Angel. Even I want to see him turn up at the door. But as you said, he knew what was at stake. That's why he called me. He will get in contact with us-"

Buffy's head shook. How was she supposed to just sit here? "I want to talk to him."

"You know that isn't-"

"Make it possible. There has to be something. Some way that he planned on contacting someone."

"Well, don't look at me," Spike said, holding his hands up in the air. "Your side, remember? Last bloke he would trust and all that jazz."

Wesley cleared his throat as he stepped deeper into the room. "I'm afraid Angel didn't mention anything to Fred and I either."

"He will figure out-"

"I know a way." Faith said, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Fuck," she hissed. She told him to pick Wesley instead. "Maybe. It's just a number. He didn't want to risk a phone. It's supposed to go to a pager."

Buffy knew she shouldn't let her thoughts go there. But she couldn't deny the sting of jealousy. Of course, he trusted Faith. "Have you talked to him?"

"No," Faith said, shaking her head. "B, I swear. It's not like that. You know how he is. He wanted there to be a way… in case something went wrong… in case something happened to you or the baby."

Not trusting herself to speak just yet, Buffy simply nodded. "Get a page out," she said after another moment. "If we don't hear back within twenty-four hours, then you and Spike get ready to go. You can take whoever you want, but if I were you, I would leave Kennedy behind. She's always been uneasy with the idea of Angel and I want to know we can trust who you take."

"Listen to yourself," Giles said, his voice rising. "You are falling into the same trap you have time and again. Now, if Faith has a way to get in touch with Angel, then I fully advise you to use it. But we can not risk this. Angel would agree with me… You know that he would."

Buffy wanted to scream. Images of Acathla flashed through her mind. She couldn't go through that again. Not now. Not with a living, breathing part of him growing inside her.

"Twenty-four hours."

OoOoO

Buffy sank back into the hammock, taking another deep breath she focused on the sound of the leaves rustling through the tree above her. She had to get out of the house for a while. Between the glares she kept getting from Giles and the stress of waiting for Angel to call… She couldn't take it.

"Kinda chilly out tonight." Faith said, coming up behind her.

Buffy let out a small huff, watching as the small cloud of fog spread in front of her. "Don't worry. I'm not making a run for it. Yet."

Faith gave her a small smile. "Don't tempt me."

"You think we could make it? How far do you think we would get before they noticed we were missing?" Buffy was only half joking. It was taking everything not to take off after him. If she had even a quarter of her usual strength then she would have already left.

"Even if we did…" Faith pulled out a cigarette from the pack in her sock and lit it. Normally she wouldn't smoke anywhere near Buffy, but there was nothing normal about today. She was sick to her stomach. It went against everything she knew as a slayer. Of course the beans safety was their top priority, but holy fuck. Giles, Wesley, they didn't understand what they were asking. Her and Buffy weren't benchwarmers. It wasn't in their blood.

"You really wanna have to explain why you're standing in the middle of a war zone?"

Buffy shrugged. "He would understand."

That made Faith turn her head. "Would he? This isn't your run-of-sunnydale situation. You're like almost halfway pregnant with his baby, B. You might get away with some shit like that, but he would snap my neck and we both know it."

Buffy's temperature increased a notch, though getting upset with Faith wouldn't help anyone. "It would make for one hell of a story though. To say we did it. That me and you defied the odds. Again."

Faith sighed. "It would. In all seriousness though-"

Buffy and Faith both turned. Wesley was standing at the back door, and Dawn was running down the stairs with a phone in her hand. "It's Angel," she said as her feet hit the grass, "The line isn't very clear, and Giles doesn't know how long you will have but he wanted to give you a chance…"

Before she could even blink the phone was in her hand and up against her ear. Another breath and he was saying her name and causing the world around her to spin.

"Angel?"

There was a beat, and then a static line for a few seconds before his voice finally cracked.

"Hey beautiful," there was another pause, and it was half of an eternity before she heard him again. "Thought we agreed you weren't going to worry about me?"

"You blew up Los Angeles! You don't get to lecture me about worrying."

Angel chuckled softly. "Fair enough. How are you?"

Buffy closed her eyes. "Pregnant. Where are you?"

There was more static, but even through it she would almost swear to hearing his heavy sigh. Could just imagine the frustrated crease of his brow, his needy soulful eyes which always betrays absolutely everything he tries so hard to hide. Love, sorrow, the essence of her evil-stalking-murdering-ex-lover.

"We're stationed inside an abandoned sewer system outside of the city. Giles has the coordinates. I was able to take most of the circle down, but Archduchess Venobia got away."

"What does that mean?"

Buffy was a lot of things, but she had never considered herself the most intuitive person. However, she had one caveat, and that was Angel.

He was going to stay.

"You promised…"

It was a punch to the gut, even if she understood his reasoning. Why couldn't they be selfish for once?"

"Buffy…"

"No." She shook her head as more tears threatened. "It's already been a month."

"I know… I'm trying. I miss you."

Buffy sighed. He was missing everything. "Fred thinks I'll feel the baby soon."

The stench in the tunnels Angel was camped out in was almost unbearable, but he sank down to the filth covered ground beside the concrete beam all the same. "Oh yeah?" His cheeks tugged into an unfamiliar smile.

"I wish I was there."

Buffy wasn't sure when she started crying and didn't bother wiping the heavy tears rolling down her cheeks. Nevermind her small audience. Add in pregnancy hormones, losing her powers, and missing Angel, and her emotions just weren't something she had very much control of.

"So what happens now?"

Angel pulled the phone back and squinted so that he could see the date. Connor didn't have a phone when he found him, and Lindsey's got lost somewhere in the fight. It was difficult to find power, and even harder to find a damn signal in the chaos. He had no idea how long they had been down here. Gunn didn't make it through the battle, and Lorne took off before the city went dark.

"Yeah, about that…Connor is with me… and this ex-lawyer who tried to kill me a bunch of times. I don't know what game he's playing, but he's found a way onto Connor's good side. Not sure it would be the smartest idea to get rid of him now."

"Connor?"

Angel sighed. "Big surprise kid's got a stubborn streak. I secured his family a flight out of the Country but he sensed something was going down. He stayed behind."

Buffy listened as Angel gave her a brief overview of what happened in Los Angeles. Buffy's hand instinctively went to the small curve of her stomach as Angel detailed the destruction of the city she once called home.