Part XXXVI

“You have been very quiet for the past few hours,” Travers commented while he and a few of the Watcher’s were driving away from the London Airport in one of the many Rolls Royce’s that were rented for this particular situation. “I saw you go back every once and a while to check on her, did something happen?”

She paid no attention to his comment and remained ever so silent.

“Mary, dear,” he continued. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing sir, nothing at all,” she stated with little to no inflection in her voice.

Not satisfied with her answer, he continued. “I don’t mean to pry but I have a feeling that something is wrong. You can tell me, you can trust me.”

“Really sir, there is nothing amiss here.” ‘Except for the fact that we have a very pregnant woman chained to the walls of a utility truck while, while we sit on our fat asses and go on our merry way.’ Mary turned her face towards Travers to look him with contentment in her eyes, even though the effort was a huge challenge.

“Are you upset about the slayer?” he asked knowing that is probably what was causing her distress. “You can tell me.”

“Well, if you must insist, I am slightly unnerved over the way that we have treated her,” she shook her head in frustration. “No woman, no slayer, or no person for that matter should be drugged and chained up to a wall to restrain them. It is cruel and inhuman.”

“So you sympathize for our charge?”

“Not only do I sympathize her, I pity her.”

“How so?” he asked as he cocked an eyebrow her way.

Mary didn’t want to reveal all her grievances at the moment, so she looked to the floor and shook her head. “She is a mother for God’s sake,” she sounded exasperated.

“A mother of what? Demon spawn? Antichrist? Vampire?” he shot back at her trying to convince her not to waste any time fretting over the slayer’s situation. “What will this ‘woman’ release in this world if we don’t intervene and take the thing?”

“I don’t know,” she stated in truth but she still believed deep down that there was the possibility that the baby is just that. What right does anyone have to decide anything about this child’s fate when Buffy had not given birth to the baby yet?

“Exactly, we don’t know. That’s why we need to look at this predicament now before this goes from bad to worse. It is better safe than sorry,” he tried to convince her.

Feeling the bile rise in her throat over her oncoming lie, she gulped loudly before raising her eyes to him and looking deep into their icy depths. “I can understand that.”

“Good,” he nodded his head, and then looked her up and down. “Mary, you look exhausted.”

“It has been a difficult couple of days, sir and yes I am weary from this trip.”

“Don’t worry, my dear. We will be arriving at the Council head office soon and you can go home and get some sleep. You most definitely deserve it with the great job you have done.”

“Thank you sir,” she accepted his compliment as easy as one would swallow a large boulder.

The remainder of the car ride was kept in silence. No conversation could be made because Mary’s thoughts kept on returning back to the same spot- the pregnant woman held captive by the hands of people such as she. She leaned over so that her back was curved toward the roof of the car and her elbows rested upon her bent knees. With a heavy sigh, she rubbed her face in her hands and felt completely bone weary.

~ ~ ~

“Umm… Angel,” Willow spoke up as soon as his car stopped when they reached LAX.

“Yes,” he growled as they all began to pile out and into the terminal.

“What airliner are we going to be flying?” she asked.

“Nightflyer,” he responded shortly as he lead the group on a winding chase through the thousands of people waiting for their planes to arrive and family members waiting for their loved ones to arrive.

“That’s a new one on me,” Xander stated in confusion.

“You probably never heard of it because that is my personal plane that I use for emergencies only.”

“Oh…” they all whispered as he led them to a secluded portion of the terminal.

When they arrived at the gate door, a man dressed in completely black pilot’s attire greeted them. “Good evening, Sir,” he stated when he took off his hat and bowed courteously at the group.

“Samuel,” Angelus greeted as he walked past the vampire who would be their pilot for the evening. “We need to go to London. Fast.”

“Yes, sir,” he agreed shortly and watched the rest of the gang with the exception of Angelus who stayed behind to give him a few more instructions before take-off.

When the two achieved privacy, Angelus turned to Samuel and glared at him with his amber eyes. “I don’t give a fuck how we get there, I want us in London before day break.”

“Well, sire, that could be a problem due to the fact that we are flying east and will most likely meet the sun in only a few short hours.”

Angelus promptly grabbed the fledgling by the lapels of his jacket and pulled in close to his face, releasing a growl in warning. “You will do as I command or I will see you meeting that daylight.”

“Y-y-yes, sire,” he stuttered in fear.

Accepting his reply, Angelus let go, to put him on his feet and turned to walk where the rest of the group had gone. He dug deep in his pocket to retrieve his cell phone when suddenly he heard Samuel’s voice that caused him to look back at the pilot.

“Um… Sire,” Samuel called out to him.

“Yes.”

“Will there be an in flight meal this evening?” Samuel asked with an evil glint in his eye.

“As much as I said that you could dine on either of the other men, now would not be the appropriate time,” Angelus answered him and turned only to turn back to him quickly. “But when we come back, that might be a whole different story.”

~ ~ ~

The plane rose off the ground with little to no problems and began to soar swiftly eastward towards London. Conversation between people maintained mostly superficial due to the fact that it was force.

Angelus kept mostly quiet as he brooded over the fact that Buffy was stuck somewhere in that huge city and he had no way of finding her right away. Like a broken recorded, his thoughts revolved over those same thoughts when finally Tara’s voice interrupted his reverie.

“So, Angelus, how does one like yourself get a plane?”

Making eye contact with her, he began to answer her question. “Over time, you can acquire a vast fortune and since I have lived close to 250 years, I have done just that.”

“Now won’t Cordelia be quite upset,” Willow said in mock sadness.

“How so?” Angelus wondered.

“Cordelia falls in love with a poor drunken Irishman, where Buffy falls for a wealthy vampire who will by chance be handsome for the rest of eternity. What a kick in the pants for our Queen C,” Willow laughed.

The rest of the gang laughed along with the Wicca until Angelus’ cell phone began to ring in his pant’s pocket. “What,” he grumbled as he placed it to his ear and listened on the other end.”

“Penn… You will get you ass to Sunnydale and protect it while I am away… No, I don’t want anyone to take over my territory… I don’t give a shit what you are doing at the moment. You will listen to my command… I mean right now… If you fail me, I will make sure there will be enough of you to fit an ashtray!” he yelled as he hung up the phone.

“Things go well?” Xander asked.

Growling was the only response that Angelus could muster to shoot back at the dopey man sitting in his dark tinted window plane. He was getting a little too restless to just sit there anymore, he desperately needed to get up and do something before the crowd that accompanied him, drove him to drink. Not alcohol drink, but deep rich blood flowing from their veins.

He stood up momentarily to pace the walkway in the center of the plane. On his second lap around, the sound of his cell phone went off again and he quickly pulled it to his ear and bellowed, “WHAT!”

“Angelus?” a young woman’s voice whispered on the other end.

He could not recognize the voice and grew over cautious of the person on the other end. “Who are you?”

“A friend of Buffy’s.”

Hearing his lover’s voice, a low grumble rolled from his throat causing all the passengers to scoot back in their seats in fear. “Who are you?” he asked again.

“My name is Mary. I work for the Council that took her. I want to help her and she told me to call you.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” he inquired incredulously. “This could be a set up.”

“Yes it could be, but I am the only person who can help you right now. I know where she is being held,” she clued him in. “The slayer’s life is in danger and her child’s. If you want to save them, you have to trust me.”

Angelus remained silent as he contemplated whether he should really trust her or not.

“’If anyone is going to kill you, it is going to be me,’” Mary said breaking the silence.

“What did you say?” he asked her to repeat herself.

“’If anyone is going to kill you, it is going to be me.’ That’s what you said to Buffy the night that you made love to her in your mansion. You left her in the middle of the night and Buffy awoke the next morning alone. The next night that you would spend together, she left you the way…”

“How did you know that?” he asked her.

“She told me. Believe me when I say, I want to help you. You must trust me. She is waiting for you.”

Sighing in defeat, Angelus said, “Where is she?”

Part XXXVII

“Do you need to know anything else?” Mary asked as she clutched the phone in her hand while she was giving direct instructions to Angelus as to where he could exactly find his girlfriend.

Hearing no response from the other end, she continued on her directives to the Sunnydale gang. “If you need me to, I will meet you somewhere so that we can figure out a strategy to…”

“Whom are we talking to?” a voice from behind her promptly caused her to decease in her phone conversation.

“I’ve got to go…” she said quickly and placed the receiver back down on the jack and thus ending their conversation before turning back around to face the man who owned the voice. “Quentin, what are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you. You seemed so tired on our flight back to London and I thought I might extend my kindness to you to come over to your home just to make sure that you were all right. I knocked on the door once and no one answered, so I just made myself at home,” Travers stated cordially. “Now, might I state my previous question, to whom were you talking to?”

“Why do you want to know?” she shot back at him, refusing to admit that she was just giving information to the enemy.

“The Council takes great pride and reverence in protecting our own and it is not at all good to see that one of our own, is by chance betraying us with a dastardly phone call to those who would oppose our cause.”

“I have a basic right to talk to whomever I please on the phone with or without the Council’s consent. It is entirely my business who I converse with, not yours,” she quipped.

“I hate to admit it, but all your basic rights and privileges are taken away when I see you talk to the enemy,” he shook his head at her and waved a hand behind him inviting a few more unwanted guests in the room.

“You have no proof that I was doing anything against the Council,” Mary began to defend herself and feeling slightly scared over the entrance of some of the Council’s muscle men into her home.

“Well, it is good for me that in this particular situation, I don’t need proof, only a premonition. You should obviously understand my reasoning considering your station here with the Council.”

“My position, wonderful of you to bring that up,” she started saying but was quickly stopped by the two men coming behind her and grabbing her arms, thus leaving her helpless to fight back.

“We really don’t have time to discuss this topic at the moment. Guests are most likely on their way and we must prepare for their arrival.”

With that having been said, Travers hastily turned on his heels and made his way out of Mary’s home, with the two men practically dragging the protesting woman from the room. “You have no right to do this!” she screamed.

“Oh I beg to differ.”

“Bloody hell,” she hollered. “I really hope the Scourge of Europe rips your lungs out of your nasal passages!”

~ ~ ~

“Do we know where Buffy is?” Willow asked as the gang got off the plane just as Angelus heard the other end of the phone goes silent.

“I hope so, but I it could be a trap,” Angelus commented. “Giles, tell me the truth to my answer or I will make sure you never walk again.”

“What?” the older man asked slightly afraid of the question.

“Do you know of a woman by the name of Mary who works for bastards such as yourself?”

Racking his memory of all the people that he had become acquainted with while his employment there, he shook his head. “Did she give you a last name? I know at least 5 Mary’s that work for the Council.”

“She sounded younger and she had a slight accent to her voice,” Angelus clarified.

“I can think of two that match that but I would assume that it was probably Mary Smyth that you were talking to,” he thought aloud.

“Can she be trusted?” Tara asked.

Giles shook his head in agreement. “Due to her circumstances with the Council, I would say, ‘yes’ you can trust her.”

“Her circumstances? What circumstances?” Xander asked.

“Very long story.”

“One, which we probably won’t have to hear at the moment. We need to leave now,” Angelus proclaimed then practically sprinted from the airport terminal with the rest barely able to keep up with him on their way to get Buffy.

~ ~ ~

“You can’t do this!!!” Mary screamed, as she was being pulled and tugged from all directions by the Council’s men. Her anger seemed to rise incredibly as she watched them dragging her through a long, dank hallway, to be most likely thrown into a cell much like they threw Buffy in. “LET GO OF ME!!!”

Even though she keeps on kicking and screaming, nothing seemed to help. With every foot she traveled her anger got darker and darker until she saw them swing the door to her cell open. In her whole life, she had only released her temper and rage once but now it was coming dangerously close to come out again. She had one more try before she was locked in the room and suddenly she pulled one of the man’s hands, close to her mouth and bit down as hard as she possibly could.

She gripped with all her strength into his calloused flesh and could feel his blood fill her mouth and run down her chin.

“Fuck!!” the man yelled then threw her off of his hand and into the dark room that she was to be held it. “GOD DAMN BITCH! YOU FUCKING BIT ME!!”

“I hate to admit it, but you deserved it,” she stated while her tongue lazily began to lap up his blood around her mouth. She could tell that the man wanted to come in there and hit her, but the other stopped him in his tracks.

“You better not do that. We have to get that wound to the infirmary before something bad happens to you,” Mary heard his muffled voice stated while he shut the door and walk away.

Mary leaned up against the door, desperately trying to hear anyone coming down the hall but all she heard was the men’s muffled voices. A smile started to creep across her lips as she heard them growl angrily and then her smile reached a hundred fold when she heard the man’s she bit, next comment.

“How in God’s green fucking earth did she leave exactly two puncture holes in my hand?? I AM GOING TO KILL THAT BITCH IF SHE TAINTS ME!!!”

“Enjoying the commentary?” a voice came over from the room next door.

Mary quickly got to her feet and went to the wall to look through the hole in the wall where a broken piece of stone chipped away. “Buffy, how are you doing?” she asked with much concern in her voice.

“I’ve seen better days, let me tell you,” Buffy muttered under her breath as she attempted to stand up but was inhibited by the chains that bound her to the wall. “How’d you get thrown in the dungeon?”

“Called you friends and Travers caught me. I am so sorry that I let you down,” she apologized sincerely.

“Believe me, you didn’t let me down. Angelus will find us, I know he will and he will get us out,” Buffy stated with much confidence. “I wanted to ask you, why are you doing this for me?”

Mary sighed loudly and said, “It’s a long story.”

“I think we have enough time,” Buffy encouraged her.

“It all began about 25 years ago. My mother was a member of the Council and one night while she was walking down the streets, she was attacked. There was not one part of her body that wasn’t bruised after that night. It took many months for her to recover from this incident and by that time she found out something else that would be a forever reminder of that horrible night.”

“You,” Buffy insinuated.

“The man raped my mother and I was a result. The Council kept on trying to tell her to get rid of me, but something deep down told her that she couldn’t. For all those nine months, the Council took her under its wing and from what I had heard, but now know it to be false, they treated her with kindness. As soon as I was born, I was taken from my mother and raised by men such as Quentin. I have known nothing besides what I have learned here and believe me, I would have tried to get away, but they kept on bringing me back. I saw what they were doing to you and I saw what they probably did to my mother and I couldn’t stand it.”

“What was you mother’s name?” Buffy asked with her voice shaken with emotion.

“Elizabeth Smyth… Slayer, 1972 to 1974. The day I was born was the day the Council killed her.”

“So your father was a vampire?”

Buffy could see Mary’s head nod at her statement. “I know I should hate my father for what he did, but I love what he was able to give me. These little gifts are wonders at All Hallow’s Eve.”

“Gifts?” Buffy asked.

“Oh yeah, I don’t need fake teeth in order to dress up as s vampire and plus I have never been a day sick in my life. That’s probably a good thing, I never really got a taste for good homemade soup which most people say are good remedies for illness.”

Hearing the lightness flow through Mary’s voice, Buffy couldn’t help but to laugh at the poor woman in the cell next to her. “I guess you are right. My mother’s homemade chicken noodle soup wasn’t something to be eaten. Maybe used as drain cleaner, but most definitely not as food.”

“I wish I knew my mother.”

“Don’t worry, when we get out of here, I will bring you to meet my mother. I think she might change you mind about that subject.”

The two women enjoyed light laughter while they both slid back to the floor and continued their conversation. In both their hearts they prayed for their rescuers to come quickly.

~ ~ ~

“Is this the place?” Angelus asked knowing what Mary told him and wanting Giles to confirm her instructions.

Giles just shook his head and pushed him to continue further.

“I hate to bring this up but how are we going to get in there?” Xander asked.

“How about we light you on fire and you go in there running and be a distraction?” Angelus asked.

“I think I might have to object to that one,” Xander shook his head.

“Might I suggest something else?” Willow stated as she looked up at the building in front of them.

“Be our guest,” Angelus bowed and waved her forward.

Before everyone could bat an eye, Willow’s green eyes made their transition from light emerald green to deep black. Her hair began to stand on end as her feet began to float over the ground. She raised her hands to the sky and screamed, “IGNITO!!” and suddenly a huge fireball fell from the sky and landed on top of the building.

After only a few seconds, people began to flood out of the building like a bunch of bats out of hell.

“I think we may enter,” Willow stated calmly as she lead the group forward still floating about the ground.

Part XXXVIII

The explosion on the roof completely rocked ever inch of building. Jumping from their seats, the Council members screamed with their shock of what had just happened and sprinted towards the front door to get out of their rooms which were slowly filling with thick, noxious smoke.

“I think we are about to have company,” Travers stated smoothly as he sat there with a few people waiting for their guests to arrive.

The screaming lulled down to a weak whisper. “I think it is about time to make sure our two special guests downstairs make themselves ready for them,” he commented when he rooted through the top of his desk drawer for his handgun, then led a few men down the hazy hallway towards the stairs that lead to where Mary and Buffy were being held. “We need to get there as quickly and quietly as possibly and just maybe by the end of the evening, we will have both the slayer and her vampire lover in our grasps.”

~ ~ ~

“Giles, which way now?” Xander asked as he pulled the front of his collar over his mouth and nose to protect himself from the smoke. “I would like to get out of here before I die of smoke inhalation.”

“You should be thankful that is all that you will get by the end of this trip,” Angelus sneered.

“Most likely,” Giles stopped momentarily to cough loudly. “Buffy is in the lower portion on the building. If we follow this hallway, there should be a staircase at the end, which should lead us down there. At least I think it does.”

“You had better be certain.” Angelus said in a threatening tone.

“I might be able to help in this,” Tara found her voice and promptly pulled Willow’s hand in hers. “Aradia, goddess of the lost. The path is murky. The woods are dense. Darkness pervades. I beseech thee… Bring the light,” she chanted with Willow at her side and suddenly in front of them, a faint blue light began to glow in front of them.

“Find Buffy,” Angelus growled at the little light and suddenly it shot forward leading the group down the hallway.

“I think we have a winner,” Xander muttered through his shirt as he walked briskly with the rest of the group following the tiny light that was barely seen through the thick air.

~ ~ ~

“So is there anything else that you can tell me about being half vampire?” Buffy asked, curious to know everything about this woman.

“Besides the fangs and the immunity to illness, not much,” Mary admitted with a shrug. “I see slightly better at night than most people I know. As a child I remember sometimes the Council member’s would bring their children here to play with me and they never wanted to play tag with me at night because I could always see where they were going. But basically that is it.”

“Do you think my child will be just like you?” Buffy asked.

“Not sure. I bet that every single one of us is different. So what I received might not happen with you baby,” she said truthfully.

“Did you ever want to meet you father?”

“Ever since I was born, the Council had told me that my mother and father were both normal human beings. It wasn’t until I was around 15 did the truth of everything come out because I had this constant feeling that I was different, unique and I wanted to know why. Then I finally heard that my father was not only a vampire but he raped my mother. I hated him. I began to say to myself that if I would ever come across a vampire, I would think of him then I would get suddenly angry. Never did I imagine that I would want to meet him, until…” she broke off.

“You met me?” Buffy asked.

Mary remained silent for only a moment, and Buffy took that as a yes. “I have to admit now, I am actually curious about him. For one I don’t know if she had a relationship with him like you have with Angelus, or was it true that he raped her. I have so many questions, I don’t know where to begin.”

“Awwww… Are two of my most favorite women having a little heart to heart?” Travers came inside Buffy’s room.

Mary and she were too busy talking about everything; they didn’t even hear that anyone was coming inside. There shock of his arrival was quickly replaced with overwhelming anger on both parts.

“You miss me?” he asked as a few more people filtered into the room.

“Almost as much as a bad cold,” Buffy snarled. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, my dear. You friends and the vampire are currently on the way in here and I can’t just let them take you without my say so or the Council’s for that matter. You are quite important to us, as you very well understand.”

“I can see why you would want me, but why are you holding Mary hostage?” Buffy asked.

“I am guessing she has told you why she is here? If not, oh well it doesn’t matter. For most of her life, we have monitored everything; she has outlived her usefulness to us. That’s where you and your child come into the picture. You have officially become,” he looked to the ceiling pretending to be deep in thought. “Let’s see, how do you Americans put it, our new guinea pig.”

“Over my dead body!” she revolted and strained against the chains.

“Be careful what you wish for Miss Summers, they sometimes come true in the most bizarre situations.”

“Let Mary go,” Buffy retorted. “As you said, she is of no use to you, you can let her go.”

“No. I am sorry but we don’t have time to release her due to the fact that your friends will be here momentarily.”

Buffy wanted to scream at the top of her lungs but as soon as she felt it rise in her throat, someone slipped behind her and shoved a rag deep in her throat, muffling any and every cry that she might have.

“Don’t want you to be giving away anything too soon, now do we?” Travers asked as he slinked next to the person that gagged her. He turned towards one of the men in the room and commanded them to bring Mary in here then turned his attention back towards Buffy. Behind her, he leaned over her shoulder to whisper softly in her ear. “Make sure you smile for our guests.”

~ ~ ~

He was the first to step down into the basement and s soon as Angelus stood there, he could smell her all around him. She seemed to permeate every crevice of the darkened dungeon and right away he could tell that she was afraid.

For the first time since he became a vampire, the smell of fear did not excite him, did not want him craving for more, or make him elated. No, for the first time, he was infuriated by the smell of that fear and who the wearer was.

The light that Tara had conjured began to loose its power minutes before and now; its light had virtually been extinguished.

“We are close,” Angelus whispered.

“Which room is she in?” Tara asked.

“I’m not sure,” Giles said truthfully. “She could be any of these rooms.”

“Be quiet!” Angelus commanded quietly. With that, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of heavy breathing. “I can smell her.”

“Lovely little trick you have there,” Xander scoffed.

“Shut up!”

The gang crept across the room with Angelus leading the pack with his keen eyesight through the darkness and sense of smell. Only a few doors to where Buffy lay, Angelus stopped suddenly to look around for danger.

Unexpectedly, Travers’ voice broke through the darkness to waft in the direction of Buffy’s rescuers. “Come on Rupert, no need to be shy. We are all friends here!” he screamed.

“Don’t move,” Angelus commanded as he walked closer to the sound of his voice.

“Don’t worry, you can come on in. I have a young woman here that is desperately wanting to see you,” Travers continued.

Hearing the man mention his slayer, Angelus started to walk forward with his hands metaphorically in the air in surrender. Willow quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “You can’t go in there.”

“She’s right, you know. The Council is probably not only wanting Buffy, they are probably wanting you too,” Tara agreed with her lover.

“I have to make sure that she is all right,” Angelus shook off Willow’s hold to step closer to Buffy’s door.

“Well, then we are going with you. You have a better chance with us in there than if you go in alone,” Willow knew she could not argue with him any longer.

Angelus nodded his head at the rest of the group, and then led them to where the voice was coming from. The sight that befell his eyes when he stepped into the room caused his blood to boil in his veins. Buffy was chained to a wall covered head to foot in dirt and grime while Travers stood behind her, using her petite body as a shield.

His eyes scanned the room, memorizing every face, then he stopped looking as his glare came upon a dark haired woman also seeming to be held against her will. “Mary, right?” he asked.

“You need to get her out of here!” Mary yelled as she felt the hands that held her tighten to stop her movements.

“All in good time, my dear,” Travers said. “Now, look what we have here. Three friends, an old Watcher and the Scourge of Europe, now all I need is a one legged nun and I think we might have a party.”

“Let them go,” Angelus snarled.

“I don’t think so. We have big plans for you and your wench here.”

Hatred and loathing seemed to fill every pore in his body as he watched Travers hold onto her body. Angelus felt his human visage melt from his face to reveal his enraged demon. Quickly he stepped towards Buffy, but was stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw the man standing next to Travers pull out a long dagger and placing it next to Buffy’s distended abdomen.

“Now, now, no rash movements or you baby will die,” the head Watcher taunted in a songlike voice. “This is completely amazing that you actually care for the slayer and a baby. I would have thought that you would give anything to have eaten them.”

“Actually, I don’t really. Go ahead, kill the baby, it means nothing to me,” Angelus gave him a sinister half-smile. “But you have to consider something, all your precious research will go flying out the window if you do it. Ever think of that?”

The pain in Buffy’s face after he said that he didn’t care about the baby almost broke his heart, if it had the ability to break. He wanted to run and say that he didn’t mean it, but now was just not the time.

“Actually, no, I haven’t thought about it. You make a good point with that statement, but still I believe that this child is more of a loss to the slayer and you, than it would be to me.”

From behind Angelus’ and Travers’ conversation, the rest of the Sunnydale gang had been whispering among themselves as what to do. “Willow and Tara you need to make a diversion,” Giles suggested silently.

“What do you suggest?” Xander asked, now feeling uptight about getting Buffy out of there.

“How about this??” Willow asked as she took Tara’s hand in hers and felt her magic begin to flow openly in her body once more. The lids of her eyes shuttered closed, and when they opened, they were as black as night.

A swirl of color began in her eyes and suddenly, a very bright white light flashed from her eyes, blinding everyone momentarily, leaving Angelus time to make his move.

Before any of the Council members could react, Angelus was attacking them all one by one. With his hands in the forms of talons, he grasped at their throats and with one swift motion, the entire front of their necks were left in gaping holes as their blood painted the floors and walls as it sprayed from them.

Angelus was able to quickly plow through most everyone leaving Travers last on his list to exterminate. He quickly pulled him from behind her and threw him across the room so that his back would slam against the cold stonewalls. Travers was stunned momentarily as Angelus stepped close to Buffy to briefly check her for wounds.

No one saw him pull out his gun and point it at Buffy; that is everyone except Mary. Seeing the dim light glimmer off the dull metal of the gun, she finally was able to move and quickly sprinted towards Angelus and Buffy.

All hearts quit beating at the sound of the gun firing. After the explosion, a woman’s scream pierced the room as Buffy watched her friend slink towards the floor as she was hit with the bullet. “NO!!!! MARY!!!!” Buffy screamed as she watched Angelus move from her side to attack Travers and she fell to the floor to cradle the injured woman’s head in her lap.

As soon as Angelus reached the elderly Watcher, he promptly ripped the still smoking gun from his harsh grip, only to shove the barrel of the gun into Travers’ open mouth. With a quick punch, the gun lodged itself in the back of his throat as the Watcher began to gasp for air. Quentin fell to the floor, writhing in pain as Angelus stood above him with the amber blazing in his eyes.

While the Watcher crouched on the ground, Angelus’ foot connected with his midsection helping to fall full out on the floor. Reaching down, the vampire ripped the gun from his throat and aimed it. Shot after shot hit the Watcher in places not to kill him, only to cause him extreme pain, until the entire clip had been used.

Travers entire body was caked in blood but he wasn’t dead yet. His body forcefully took in breath and tried to remain functioning as Angelus crouched down to stare at his empty eyes.

“You should be thankful that I didn’t get more than a few minutes to torture you. I hope you have a great time in hell,” Angelus growled.

“I’ll see you there,” Travers voice was garbled as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Those were the last words that he muttered before, Angelus’ strong hand punched through his chest and he pulled out his black heart. Travers broken and bloody body crumbled to the floor as Angelus stood up and threw the dead man’s heart across the room.

Everything went silent in the room after the Watcher’s death, the only sound that could be heard was Buffy’s soft crying as she rocked Mary’s limp body with hers. “Come on, Mary. You must wake up, please wake up,” she cried as she stroked her hair and pulled her into her body.

Part XXXIX

Buffy could not stop herself from rocking. Her tears and pleas for Mary’s life fell to the floor, mixing with her blood pooling on the floor from the gunshot wound in her abdomen.

“Mary, please open your eyes,” she lamented. “Please…”

Everyone was silenced over her grief and pain. Stunned, everyone was cemented in their stance and unable to move. Only Angelus even dared to come near her.

Before he stepped towards her grieving body, he wiped most of the blood off his hands and slowly made his way towards her. “Buffy… Buffy baby,” he whispered soothingly.

Buffy didn’t even register that Angelus was talking to her; all her efforts were concentrated at the pliant body in her arms that was rapidly getting cooler.

“Buffy,” he whispered again and sat down next to her to wrap an arm around her shoulders as they trembled.

Finally acknowledging his presence, Buffy turned her teary, red-rimmed eyes at him, silently pleading him to do something. Then she returned her attention back to Mary and softly stroked her hair from her face.

“Buffy, I think she is gone,” Angelus said softly to her.

She ignored his statement and repeated her previous words over and over again as she rocked Mary’s lifeless body. “No, she can’t be gone. She can’t!”

“Buffy, I don’t think there is anything you can do,” Giles shook his head at his slayer as he walked towards her. “I’m sorry.”

“Angelus, tell me you can do something, please,” she pleaded as she looked at her lover with sad eyes.

“It’s too late,” he muttered under his breath.

“And besides Buffy, do you want her to live for eternity to never see the sunshine again?” Giles asked her again.

“I don’t care!” she screamed in anguish. “Willow, can you help her?”

Willow and Tara had gripped each other’s hands with so much strength that their knuckles gleamed white. They looked into each other’s eyes at the question then turned back to Buffy. “I’m sorry, Buffy. But we shouldn’t.”

“If we would bring her back, it wouldn’t be her. Plus, she’s probably in a better place now and we have no right in taking her from there,” Tara included.

“Please, I beg of you!” she pleaded one more time before her whole body was torn with her loud sobs.

“Buffy,” Angelus whispered before she launched herself into his open arms and cradled herself against his silk covered chest. Her fingers dug into his clothing and skin as she buried her face into his shoulder and cried everything that is inside her.

Angelus gently rubbed her back as he held her. He was quite new about the comforting business and he tried to use everything he knew. Softly he spoke comforting words into her ears and poured everything he felt into his embrace. “We have to leave soon,” he mentioned to her as her tears slowly lost their force and they trickled down to a few faint sniffles.

Buffy nodded her head still against his chest then lifted her head to look at him deeply in the eyes. “Can we go home now?” she asked him sweetly.

“Did we win?” a faint, raspy voice was heard from below Buffy.

Looking down quickly, she saw that Mary’s eyes were trying to flutter open and her lips trembled. “MARY?!” Buffy called as she gripped the pliant woman’s head and neck.

“You don’t need to shout at me, I am right here,” she whispered back with a slight laughter in her voice.

“OH MY GOD, MARY!” Buffy sighed in relief as she leaned over and pulled her friend’s body into hers in a pseudo-hug. “I thought you were dead.”

“Me too,” she said shortly. “But I guess I found out a new characteristic that I got from my father.”

“Well, don’t ever get shot again and almost die on me,” Buffy threatened with a smile on her face.

“Believe me, I wasn’t planning on testing this trait out… EVER!”

“I can understand that,” chuckled Buffy.

“Buffy we ought to be leaving soon,” Angelus reminded her with a smile on his face.

“Mary, are feeling well for a plane ride?”

“I will let you know once someone helps me stand up,” Mary said as Angelus led Buffy to her feet while the other woman just lay on the ground, weak with the blood loss that had officially stopped.

Buffy rose on wobbly legs and Angelus quickly pulled her into his body to make sure she didn’t fall back towards the ground. She wanted to lean over to help Mary to her feet, but Angelus wouldn’t allow her to move a muscle as he held her tighter and tighter.

“Angelus, I think you are cutting off my circulation,” Buffy comment.

“Sounds like a personal problem to me, due to the fact that I don’t have any circulation,” he joked with her and she playfully slapped his back, then let her hands wander slightly lower to his buttocks and gently squeezed them.

Mary struggled to sit up and get on her feet but it seemed like all her efforts were for naught.

“Here let me help,” Giles and Xander both said at the same time as they walked toward the injured woman to help her up.

“Such service,” she stated as the two men pulled her arms around their shoulders and assisted her in standing and walking out the door. “What is taking so long?” she whined playfully. “I don’t know about you guys, but I seriously don’t want to spend another minute in here more than I have to.”

Just walking was making both women completely tired. Most of Mary’s weight was distributed to the men that were carrying her as she felt her feet barely lift up not to scrape against the stone surface of the floor. Seeing Buffy’s tiredness, Angelus quickly put his arms around her shoulders and the backs of her knees and pulled her swollen body into his muscular chest. Buffy quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her face into him, and smelling his unique aroma that she could never tire of.

The gang quietly slipped between the smoke filled building while the fire fighter’s were fighting the fire on the roof caused by Willow.

“Well, that was fun,” Xander said snidely as they all made their way through the front door and walked over to an ambulance that was parked in the street.

“I have an injured woman over here,” Giles yelled aloud hoping that a paramedic would come to their aid.

At his cry for help a few came to there aid and started working on Mary while she lay down on the cot. “You are going to be alright?” Mary asked Buffy as she came over to her and gently squeezed her hand.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Buffy smiled.

“Oh, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me, you have that baby to think about,” she commented then beckoned her to come closer. “Plus I think that by the look in your boyfriend’s face that if he doesn’t have some alone time with you in the next couple of hours, I think he may kill someone. I am guessing one of the men that carried me out here.”

“I think you might be right about that, but Angelus will kill them for no apparent reason, that just gives him an excuse,” Buffy smiled. “Are you sure you are going to be all right?”

“Yeah, sure, just great. I’m tougher than I look. Well, that is most of the time.”

“Did you want to come to Sunnydale with us?” Buffy offered.

Mary shook her head slightly trying not to move too much for the paramedics were still working on her and stabilizing her on the bed. “Not right now, I might come later for a visit, but I have things to do here. But don’t worry we will keep in touch and I will come and see you when I get a chance.”

“Of course,” Buffy stated, while Willow walked up to her and started to pull the slayer away as the paramedics tried to load her in the back of the vehicle. “Mary, I don’t think I introduced you to Willow. Mary this is Willow,” she said then turned towards her red headed friend. “Willow this is Mary.”

“Hi,” Willow said shortly.

“Hello,” Mary returned. “Can I just mention that I love the black streaks in your hair, they look really good.”

Willow beamed at her comment, then said, “Thanks,” and turned her attention back to Buffy. “We need to be leaving soon, I think Angelus is getting a little antsy due to the sun about to rise.”

“Thanks Will,” she understood her friend. “Well, I probably should be going soon and I will talk to you later.”

“Most definitely,” Mary said as she was loaded into the back of the ambulance and waved one more goodbye before the paramedics shut the doors and sped away.

Angelus walked behind her and pulled her into his arms one more time as they watched the vehicle disappear down the street. “God, I can’t wait to get home,” Buffy muttered faintly.

“Buffy, can I ask you a question?” Angelus asked.

“Hmmm…” she responded not looking at him.

“Can I kill Xander and Giles now?”

Shaking her head, she said, “No. Not yet but don’t worry there will be more opportunities ahead.”

“So, stewardess, oh stewardess,” Xander said as he came up behind them. “Will there be an in flight movie or entertainment this morning?”

“I have a slight list of movies that we can watch on the way. I have a pretty good collection of Sean Connery movies,” Angelus said.

“Oh good, ‘I’ll take The Rapists for 7000,’” Xander quoted in his best Alec Trebek voice, and then promptly walked away.

“Are you sure I can’t kill him?” Angelus asked in annoyance.

Part XL

Angelus refused to let go of Buffy the entire way back to the London airport. He kept her on his lap with his hands and arms resting protectively on the large mound that now was her stomach.

Once and a while she would try to wriggle her way off his lap, but he would promptly growl and pull her even more tightly into his chest. A smile would spread across her face at his sign on protectiveness and she would lift a hand to cradle the side of his face and turn her head to give him a quick kiss on his neck.

“So Buffy are you all right?” Tara asked as she clutched Willow’s hand in hers.

“We’ll be fine,” Buffy answered her in a smile as she caressed Angelus’ hands on top her abdomen. She never looked once at Tara when talking to her, he eyes were kept constantly on her lover that held her in his arms.

Taking the cue that she didn’t want to talk anymore, no one said anything else. Buffy was lost in Angelus’ deep brown eyes while Tara and Willow were caught up in each other, leaving Xander and Giles all by themselves.

“I think we are the only ones in here that aren’t feeling the love. Are you feeling just has left out as me?” Xander leaned over and muttered to Giles.

“No,” the ex-librarian stated curtly. “And don’t expect to get any love from me.”

With a disgusted look on his face, Xander shook his head. “Never thought to ask you. Do you know when we will get home?”

“When we get there,” Giles said through gritted teeth.

Feeling Giles’ anger begin to rise, Xander decided it was time to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the trip back to Angel’s airport.

As soon as they arrived, everyone quickly made haste towards where Angelus’ airplane was docked because the sun was beginning to rise and the vampire wanted to take cover in his dark tinted airplane.

“Hey there, my good man,” Xander greeted Samuel with a quick punch in the shoulder, as he stood steadfast in front ready to meet his master and the crew that he would be escorting back to California.

Samuel bowed his head faintly as he watched everyone except for Buffy and Angelus walk past him and board on the plane. The sight of his master with his arms around the petite woman threw him momentarily because never in his life would he imagine the vampire to act the way that he was.

“Samuel,” Angelus stated.

“Sire,” he returned.

Angelus turned towards his slayer and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. Samuel saw the devious smile that fell on her face then saw her turn and follow the other humans back onto the plane.

“Can I please eat him, sire?” the pilot asked in a whine.

“I can’t make you any guarantees, but I will tell you one thing,” Angelus said and said quietly into his ear, “you can’t do anything while the slayer is around but as soon as she isn’t looking, he is fair game.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Samuel smiled.

“I don’t know how good he will be, but he is yours for the taking.” With that having been said, Angelus turned on his heels to find shelter from the sun in the plane and back into the arms of his lover.

~ ~ ~

“How’s everything going with you?” Buffy asked Willow as soon as she stepped onto the plane.

“Fine, I guess. We were really worried about you though. I could have sworn Angelus would have found some way to swallow the world into hell if he couldn’t get you back,” Willow said with a smile.

“Sorry you guys didn’t get the pleasure of fighting an apocalypse without me,” Buffy chuckled.

“Buffy, can I ask you something?” Tara found her voice again.

“Hmm…” Buffy responded.

“What are you going to do about Xander and Giles?”

Thousands of thoughts clouded her mind at the mention of their names. “In all honestly, I have no idea. I should want to tie them down into a cave in which vampires are frequent to visit and leave them for dead, but we have been through so much together it is hard to hurt them.”

“Just in case you are interested, I have already given them something to help remind them of what they did, if you don’t or can’t hurt them,” Willow snickered.

“Oh Will, what did you do?”

“Well lets just say that if they would ever hurt anyone again that I would by chance feel the necessity of getting back at them, they will feel the burn of my wrath.”

“That wasn’t cryptic or anything?” Buffy laughed.

“She burned a line down their chests…” Tara started but Willow quickly finished.

“And if I ever want to have some fun, I can heat their scars up a little,” Willow giggled as her eyes started to turn from her normal green to black.

“Is that were you got that interesting hair design?” Buffy asked.

Willow insecurely grabbed one of the black streaks in her hair and twirled it between her fingers nervously and Buffy quickly put her hand on top of hers to stop her administrations.

“I like it,” she assured her friend.

“Sit down,” Angelus said from the alley way and quickly everyone took the hint and went to their seats to get ready for take-off. Once again, he pulled her into his lap and refused to let her go until the plane had successfully lifted off the ground.

“So this is your plane?” Buffy asked meekly to her lover.

Angelus said nothing and Buffy took that as meaning yes. “You know what that means right?”

“What?”

“You get the opportunity to buying all the baby furniture and things,” Buffy said.

“I hate to interrupt you, but Buffy, can I talk to you?” Xander asked as he came up behind them before Angelus could even retort a response for Buffy.

“What do you want?” Buffy said in a huff, still quite upset over what happened.

“Alone?” Xander clarified.

Angelus shook his head but Buffy shook herself from his grip to stand away from her vampire. “I’ll be right back,” she said softly to him and placed a quick kiss on his lips before following Xander to the back of the plane.

“Look Buffy,” Xander began, “I just wanted to say… Umm… I’m sorry.”

Buffy cocked an eyebrow as he stuttered through his apology and folded her arms in front of her body to rest them on top of her distended stomach. She said absolutely nothing and he thought it was his cue to keep on talking.

“I know tha…” he started to say but her fist slammed into his nose thus stopping all talking. “I think you broke my nose,” he said as he started to feel blood run down into his mouth.

“What do you expect me to say?”

“I don’t know, maybe something with your mouth instead of you fist,” he retorted back and promptly Buffy slammed another fist into his stomach.

All air escaped his lungs and he bent over, “I guess I deserved that.”

“You guess?!” she yelled back at him and pulled up another fist to hit him.

Quickly, Xander crossed both arms in front of his face to block her jab. “Hear me out, would you please?” he pleaded.

Once again crossing her arms in front of her chest, she stared at him incredulously waiting for him to start.

“I can understand why you would be upset with me, but here me out. I know my behavior for the past couple of months has been well, there are no words to describe how I’ve been…”

“How about stupid, cruel, evil, manipulative…”

“Okay, okay. I think we get the picture.”

Interrupting him again, “No, Xander I don’t think you do. Can’t you see how happy I have been? How excited? I guess not because what kind of friend calls up someone that would kidnap me, take me across the world and then chain me to a wall while I was being held. I have never, ever been so pissed at anyone in my entire life. I swore at least a hundred times that I would figure out the worst way to maim, eviscerate and kill you but…” she was stalled in her rant by Xander speaking.

“Which you have every right to do, but…”

“I can’t kill you Xander even though I really, really want to.”

“Well, that is good.”

“I can’t forgive you for what you’ve done to me, and if I ever do learn to forgive you, there is no way I will ever forget what you’ve done. I can’t trust you ever again, unless you prove to me that you can actually show that you are a human being and not a monster, such you have shown the past couple of months.”

“But I still have a chance to be your friend again?” Xander asked with fear in his voice.

“There is always a chance, slim as it may be, but there is a chance.”

“Thank you Buffy,” he said as all the air rushed from his lungs.

“Don’t mention it,” she said and then quickly punched him one more time for good measure and walked back to Angelus.

“I have fun, honey?” Angelus asked as she came back to his lap with a large smile on her face.

Before she could answer his question, Xander walked past them with a string of curses sewn from his lips. The sinister half-smile graced his face and then looked back to Buffy. “I guess so.”

“Uh huh,” Buffy agreed with him and met his lips in a kiss.

~ ~ ~

“I hope you all enjoyed your flight,” Samuel said as he watched everyone exit the plane when they landed at LAX.

“Always a thrill,” Xander said sarcastically as he repetitively dabbed his nose with a Kleenex making sure he sopped up all the blood that had been trickling since Buffy felt the necessity of connecting her fist to his face.

“He’s all yours if you want,” Angelus said as he walked past Samuel with the rest of the gang following behind him on their way to his car.

With a smile on his face, Samuel quietly followed behind the dopey young man waiting for the moment when he would fall a few steps behind everyone else. Then it would be dinnertime…

~ ~ ~

“Get out!” Angelus commanded everyone as soon as he drove to the front of the Magic Box.

“What do you expect us to do? Walk home????” Xander asked. “I basically had to run to keep up with you and Buffy in the airport, I need my rest!”

“No you don’t and like I said ‘Get Out!’” he stated again.

With a huff, Xander jumped from the black convertible and made his way down the street. Giles, Tara and Willow were a little less quick to exit the car.

“I’ll see you later you guys,” Buffy said as she watched Tara and Willow wave as they walked along the street.

Tentatively, Giles stepped next to the passenger side of the car to talk to his slayer. “Buffy, I need to talk to you.”

“Giles, I am sorry, but I am really tired and I really just want to go home,” she let out a sigh.

“I know, I know but I really need to talk to you, but if you want to talk tomorrow, I can understand.”

Buffy nodded her head and said, “Thank you.” Then before Angelus could peel away from the curb, Buffy opened up the car door into Giles sending him sprawling to the ground.

“I guess I deserved that,” Giles said.

Buffy shut the door and smiled at him. “That made me feel a little better but I we still have to talk. Tomorrow.”

“Sure. Goodbye, Buffy,” Giles said still laying on the ground and Angelus pressed the gas to the floor and sped away towards his mansion.

“You know I didn’t mean what I said about the baby when you were down in that dungeon,” Angelus said.

“I know. I trust you enough not to be that ignorant to say that to a very hormonal and extremely pregnant slayer,” Buffy smiled at him. “Because if I believed that you meant it in any way, I would find a way that you would remove your ability to procreate.”

A low growl fluttered from his throat as his eyes stayed averted to the road ahead of him.

“But for now,” she whispered as she leaned into his shoulder and brushed the front of his silk covered chest with her hand that slowly traveled lower till her hand was inside his tight leather pants. “I can think of something else that we can do.”

Part XLI

“So Buffy are you coming??” Cordy asked as she cradled the phone to her ear as it rested on her shoulder.

“I don’t know, Cordy,” Buffy sighed and Angelus quickly came in behind her and yelled so that Cordelia could hear him on the phone.

“She is not going anywhere!” he screamed.

“Angelus… shush!” Cordy laughed when Buffy giggled. “Come on, Buffy. You have to come.”

“I’m not really sure I am up for the whole Bronze experience,” the slayer admitted. “I am due in a few days and I am not wanting to be known as the walking mansion as I make an entrance.”

“Oh come on Buffy, you are not as big as a mansion. A rather large cottage, but most definitely not a mansion,” Cordy attempted to compliment her.

“I think I should be insulted at the moment.”

“Don’t be. At least I can say that I did well for you clothing shopping. I mean, honestly, people could have sworn that you got all your wonderful house decorations and accessories from Christopher Lowell. Gotta love his work!”

“Now I am hanging up the phone on you!”

“Come on, Buffy,” the dark haired woman began to whine. “When have you ever known be to beg? Willow, Tara and Doyle are going to be there.”

“Hold on a second,” Buffy said in the phone then covered up the receiver and turned toward her lover that she was sitting up against on her bed.

“Do you want to go to the Bronze?” she whispered to him.

Almost at the same time that they words came out of her mouth, Angelus quickly shook his head and pull her tightly into his chest with his hands forcefully laying upon her stomach. “You can’t leave!” he said in a commanding manner.

With a sigh and a fake pout, Buffy turned back to the phone. “We’ll have to see Cordy. I just have to be a little more persuasive if I want to go.”

“Whatever you do, let me hang up the phone first because I don’t want to forever lose all ability to hear.”

Through his keen vampiric sense of sound, Angelus could hear everything that Cordy had just said to his slayer. Leaning towards the phone he whispered with a deep tone of eroticism in his voice, “Don’t worry about that Cordy, all I have to do is make her scream and you don’t have to have that good of a sense to hear how loud she can get.”

Buffy playfully elbowed him in the ribs to have him stop now before he might just have to stake him. In retaliation to her action, a low growl escaped his throat and he quickly ran his hands lower on her body, bury themselves underneath her pants and underwear and promptly attacked the mound between her thighs. The electric sensation that coursed through her veins made her squeal loudly at her lover.

“Ok, that is more than I ever wanted to know in a lifetime. I am hanging up on you now and hopefully we will see you tonight and fully clothed.”

“Sure… Uh huh…” Buffy panted as Angelus prodded her sensitivity with his seeking fingers. The phone slipped from her fingers as her entire body was focused on the humming sensation that flowed through her as her vampire pleasured her.

Angelus dove three fingers into her tight heat as his other hand traced the smooth line of her ribs through her soft cotton blouse before he began to gently palm her over sensitized breasts. Her climax slammed through her body as her vaginal walls quaked around his fingers and a deep sigh escaped her lips when he removed his hand and she leaned further back into his embrace.

“We should probably make an appearance tonight just too see how everything went while we were away,” Buffy said breathily.

“We just got off the plane yesterday, I think it is time for you to rest.”

“I wanted to ask you, did you send someone here to protect Sunnydale while we were in London?”

Nodding his head, “Yes, I called a childe of mine into town just to make sure that I still have every opportunity to destroy the world before I would get a chance. He has been in America for the past couple of years after making a few trips around Europe. I heard he had an encounter with a slayer in England in the 70s. She disappeared after that and no one ever heard from her again.”

Quickly changing the subject, Buffy asked impatiently, “Are we going to the Bronze or not tonight?”

“We can only go for a little while, then you are coming back here.”

With a mock salute, she shot, “Aye aye, Captain! And remember, let me deal with Xander and Giles.”

“And what if I refuse?” he asked with a sinister smile on his face.

“I might have to use my powers of persuasion then,” she grinned at him seductively and pressed her body into his, forcing him to lay his back flatly on the bed.

~ ~ ~

Angelus and Buffy met up with the rest of the gang on their way to the Bronze later that evening after an exquisite show of Buffy’s many gifts.

“So, what did you mom do when you came home last night?” Willow asked as she walked between her lover and Buffy.

“I have never felt so much love in my entire life,” she sounded exasperated. “I would try to take a step back off of her and she would quickly pull me back into a hug. She was almost scary for a minute and not much scares me anymore.”

“We’re just glad to have you back and safe,” Doyle stated to her as his arm was over Cordelia’s shoulders. “Nothing much happened in town while you were away the only thing that we had to worry about was Anya’s constant whining as she went through withdrawal from sex for a day.”

“That was brutal!” Cordelia said loudly as all her breath escaped her lungs.

“Oh come on, I wasn’t that bad!” Anya stated as she and Xander came from behind the group.

“You don’t mind if we come with?” Xander asked meekly.

“Yes,” Angelus growled but was ignored.

“I wasn’t…” Xander started to retort but was stopped by Willow as she flicked her wrist and suddenly his scar on his chest got incredibly hot and all thought processes were deceased.

Leaning down to whisper in his lover’s ear, Angelus said, “What would we do without Willow?”

“I don’t ever want to know,” Buffy whispered back to him.

“Well now isn’t this a pretty picture?” a hiss came from behind the group. “I heard about you slayer and how you got knocked up by a vampire. Just had to come to town to check it out myself.”

Everyone heard the voice behind them and when they turned to see who owned it, they all came face to face with a rather lanky and dilapidated vampire. A smile came on Buffy lips as she saw him and she stepped forward to turn around in a circle. “So, what do you think?” she asked.

“Something pretty pathetic if you ask me,” he snarled and stepped back as he watched the master vampire next to the slayer lunge at him. But Willow quickly extended a hand out and stopped him in his tracks.

“Now Angelus, you can’t take all the fun. I think we need another trial, don’t you think so girls?” Willow asked with a gleam in her eye.

“I’m still good to go,” Buffy chided and stepped forward only to have Angelus pull her back. “Don’t worry, this will be over soon. I won’t get hurt so let me have just one more.”

Nodding his head he let the slayer walk towards the vampire and meet his dark stare. “Are you sure you can take me with all that extra weight?”

“Oooooh, Buffy, that is excess taunting. Not too good in my books!” Cordelia said. “Usually those types talk big but when it comes to action, they are less than adequate.”

“Well, ‘Delia, that all depends on the man,” Doyle came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Not a good way to start a fight,” Buffy condescended. “Beware of what you say you might eat those words later.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure,” the vampire stated then lunged forward towards the slayer, which she promptly blocked his attack and sent him sprawling to the floor.

“I guess a good thing about this added weight is that it is a little bit harder to knock me over,” she said then jumped straight in the air to avoid his leg coming to sweep her from her feet. He quickly jumped to his feet but Buffy sent him straight back to the ground returning his attempted move.

“C-C-Clumsiness is not a good trait to have, could pose major problems in times of trouble,” Tara shook her head.

“My God Buffy, this guy isn’t even worth our time here. Would you just stake him please?” Anya whined.

“All in favor of a little dusting?” Buffy called behind her as she moved and placed a foot on his chest, pinning the losing vampire to the wet ground.

“You have my vote, Buffy,” Angelus agreed with her and she quickly turned towards her lover when he tossed a wooden stake in her direction. A smile was on his face the entire time that he watched his lover because he knew that even though she was vulnerable right now, she will still as strong as ever.

Buffy leaned down to come closer to his face to taunt him just a little before she drove the stake into his chest. “I hope you enjoyed our little judging session here, you know I did,” she said then hastily buried the stake into his heart and his body immediately began to dissolve into dust.

Xander quickly turned on his heels in a circle with his arms raised up in the air. “All right…” he yelled with excitement in his voice.

“Uh guys…” Buffy called from behind them as they turned their attention to the ecstatic young man.

“Bom, bom, bom… Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust and another one gone and another one gone, another one bites the dust, eh. Hey, I'm gonna get you too. Another one bites the dust,” he started singing.

“Uh guys!” Buffy said a little more demanding as she leaned over and placed a hand on her stomach.

“Hey. Oh take it. Bites the dust - bite the dust hey. Hey! Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust, ow another one bites the dust, hey hey! Another one bites the dust, heeey Ooh show down,” he continued now starting to dance on the street.

“UH GUYS!!!!!!” Buffy screamed as she got their attention.

“Oh come on, Buffy. You are ruining my little musical moment,” Xander poked fun but at that moment, nothing was funny to her.

“Sorry, Xander but I need to get to a hospital. And I mean, NOW!” she punctuated the now with a grunt as she leaned over as her body began her painful contractions. “Baby, NOW!”

Angelus quickly ran up to his lover and pulled her into his arms and sprinted towards his black convertible. “We’ll meet you at the hospital!” Buffy screamed as he gently threw her in there and jumped into his side to speed away.

~ ~ ~

“Where’s my daughter!?” Joyce came screeching through the hospital trying to find Buffy. Grabbing the nearest nurse, she asked. “Miss, which room is Buffy Summers in?”

Leading her to the front counter, the head nurse looked through some of the paper work that was lying there. “She is currently in delivery room C on the 9th floor.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she chanted as she ran through the hospital to find her daughter’s room.

She reached Buffy’s floor in record time and was quickly greeted by everyone, except for Angelus, were sitting in the waiting room. “Any word yet?”

“Nothing so far,” Giles said to her as he took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his starch white handkerchief. “She has been in there for a few hours now and no word yet.”

“Would you like to sit down, Joyc… Buffy’s mom?” Xander said as he stood up and offered her his seat.

Joyce quickly took his seat and pulled Willow’s hand into hers for a little comfort in this stressful time. Seconds seemed to pass with the length of hours as they waited there, wanting to hear anything but nothing came.

The two-way doors suddenly opened and everyone got to their feet to see who came through. Their eyes widened as they saw Angelus being pushed through.

“What happened in there?” Willow asked.

“I tried to rub her back and she yelled at me to ‘STOP TOUCHING HER!’ and the doctor thought it would be a good idea to leave. I almost tore his throat out with the command but then when I saw Buffy’s face, I thought it would be a good idea to get out here.”

“Anything new?” Joyce asked her daughter’s boyfriend.

Suddenly before he could answer her question, the sound of a baby wailing at the top of its lungs was heard through the thin doors. Angelus quickly ran back into the room to see the doctor clean the baby and wrap it up in a small blue blanket.

The doctor turned his attention to the man that just entered the delivery room. “Congratulations, you have a son,” he said as he stood up from his position and left the room to clean up.

The tiny baby boy was wrapped in its blanket then the nurses quickly carried him over to Buffy and laid him in her waiting arms. “Hello there,” she greeted weakly feeling more tired than she had ever felt in her entire life.

Angelus walked over to Buffy and his son, just watching as the small child slowly began to be quiet and his eyes opened slightly to view its new world. He had dark brown tufts of hair on top of his head and as soon as Buffy looked into his eyes, she saw the same dark eyes that Angelus possessed.

Both were completely speechless as they watched their son squirm lightly in her arms and his eyes slowly close and encase the small boy in sleep.

“Buffy,” a nurse called out to her. “We need to take you to your room but as soon as you are settled in there, we will bring your son to you.”

With a slight nod of her head and a tear in her eye, she handed him over to the nurse and watched as she carried him to the nursery. Angelus kept by her side the entire time she was taken to her room then left momentarily to let the rest of the gang the news of his son.

As soon as Buffy was situated comfortably, her guests came into her room carrying plenty of congratulatory gifts and greetings. “Hey you guys,” she greeted tiredly as they all huddled around her bed.

“How are you feeling?” Giles asked.

“Like I just pushed a watermelon out of me,” she groaned and everyone smiled at her.

“Excuse me, Miss Summers,” a nurse called from the door carrying her tiny son in his blanket. “Would you like to hold your son?”

Buffy reached out to the woman and she gently lowered the baby there. Instinctively she softly rocked the baby back and forth and hummed faintly to him.

“So, what’s his name?” Tara asked.

“We haven’t really talked about it,” Buffy said truthfully. “What do you think Angelus?”

“How about Alexander, that is a perfect name!” Xander puffed out his chest.

“Not on your life,” Angelus snarled and turned towards his lover. “What do you want to name him?”

“I always wanted to name my baby, Brandon. What do you think?”

“Strong name,” Giles commented. “Means fighter.”

Angelus shook his head in approval and smiled down at Buffy and his son. He smoothed a hand over the little boy’s head and suddenly his eyes opened up to see everyone that stood in the room.

“Brandon, this is everyone,” she whispered to him as his curious eyes wandered across the room.

“Awww… Buffy, he is so cute,” Willow smiled down at him, holding Tara’s hand in hers.

“I am so sorry for what I tried to put you through, Buffy. Can you forgive me?” Giles asked as he looked upon woman whom he considered a daughter.

“You can’t just ask for my forgiveness. I am sorry, but you are going to have to work for it,” Buffy answered him not letting her eyes off her son as she rocked him. “Would anyone like to hold him?”

Quickly taking a step forward, Xander said, “May I?”

Buffy and Angelus took a quick look at each other as Xander stepped closer to them. With unsteady hands he reached out to touch Brandon. Tentatively he moved his hands but suddenly he pulled is hand back after the baby lightly bit him leaving two very small pinpricks on the ball of his thumb.

Pulling back and yelping in pain, Xander swore softly under his breath. “Your son just bit me.”

Angelus stood there with his sinister half-smirk on his face as he saw the young man rub his hand. He leaned down and kissed his son’s soft head and whispered to him, “That’s my boy!”

~@~@~@

THE END!!!!

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