Willow glanced over at her friend Buffy. She looked pretty bad. She had circles under her eyes, she was pale, and she just looked, sick. Willow noticed Riley Finn staring at Buffy from his desk. Riley was nice, but lately, he had been *SO* corny. Willow hoped Buffy wasn't actually *attracted* to him. The bell rang and they got up to leave. "I'm gonna go lay down Will, okay?" Buffy said. Willow nodded and headed off to her next class. Buffy headed to her dorm. "Buffy! Wait!" a voice called to her.
Buffy looked back to see Riley Finn running like a dork to catch up to her.
"Hey," she said tiredly.
"So, what are you doing, I mean going to do now? Gosh, I rehearsed this to myself earlier today..." he said, and Buffy noted that he muttered that last part to himself.
"I don't feel to well Riley. I'm just gonna go lay down in my dorm."
"Well, would you like me to come? I could sing you to sleep, and tell you stories, or just keep you company seeing is how you're in college and everything..."
"Don't you have your lesbian group to go to?" she asked.
Riley laughed, "I was only kidding ya know." Could've fooled me...' Buffy thought.
"You know what, I'm going to lay down. I'll see you later." Buffy turned around and walked off. "Buffy wait!" Riley called after her. Buffy rolled her eyes as she heard him approach her again. He was getting *really* annoying...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Doyle, he's worse. I know that he's depressed at some degree about Buffy coming back, but all he does is mope!" Cordelia said, watching her boss stare at his picture of Buffy.
"Well Cordelia, imagine how you would feel if you had everything you wanted with the one person that you've ever truly loved, and than only you could remember it afterwards." Cordelia sighed, knowing he was right. "I just wish that he could be happy. I mean, I know that Buffy isn't my favorite person, but *no one* deserves that kind of pain." Doyle nodded in agreement as they looked back at Angel, who looked lost in his own world.
/That's such a good sound...thump thump, thump thump.../
Angel put the picture down and looked over at Cordelia and Doyle. He knew they were concerned, but they didn't know. He had been *human*. He had been with Buffy, and they had been *happy*. They would never know. No one ever would. He looked back at the picture, losing himself in thoughts of cookie dough fudge mint chip ice cream...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Buffy finished losing whatever food she had in her stomach and walked back to her bed. She opened her planner and checked her calendar.
'A week and a half late' she thought. 'Why?' she decided to go see a doctor the next day, and laid back down, convinced that it was just the flu.
Willow walked in a little later to see Buffy sleeping. She quietly put her bag down and moved to the computer. Then there was a loud knocking at the door. Buffy woke up and Willow went to answer it. It was Riley. "Hey Willow, is Buffy here? I wanted to see how she's feeling." "Just great," came a moan from inside. "Willow, can you take me to the hospital? I'm late, really late," Buffy said. "Late? You work at the hospital? I didn't know that," Riley said, his hair hanging in his face. Willow understood what Buffy meant and nodded as she waited for her to get ready. "Riley, Buffy'll call you. We have to go." "And get a comb for that hair," Buffy muttered as she and Willow walked away.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Congratulations Miss Summers. You're pregnant."
"I'm WHAT? How can that be? How far? Are you sure? I-"
"Calm down Buffy. Yes, I am sure, and you're about 3 weeks along. Is there anything else?"
"No..." Buffy said quietly as she got out of the hospital gown she was wearing and back into her clothes. She walked out of the room and back to the waiting room where Willow was.
"Well?" Willow asked when she saw Buffy.
"I'm 3 weeks pregnant. I don't know how or who, but I am."
Willow just looked at Buffy, who looked shocked.
"Wow, well, I guess we better go see Giles then," Willow said.
Buffy nodded, not even hearing her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You got knocked up? This is great!" Spike declared as Giles looked at Buffy in a shock resembling her own.
"Buffy? How..who?"
"I don't know."
"Oh! Even better! You're having some fellow's kid, and you don't even know who the guy is!"
"Shut up Spike," Willow said.
"Buffy, try and think. Where were you 3 weeks ago?" Giles asked.
Buffy thought for a minute. There was Thanksgiving, and then she had gone to LA and seen Angel...
"I went to LA and saw Angel," Buffy said quietly.
"Oh man! It's Angel's kid! This just keeps getting better and better!" Spike declared.
"I was there for 5 minutes and we kept our distances. It couldn't have been him," Buffy said.
Giles, Spike, and Willow all gave her doubtful looks.
"Fine, you don't believe me? I'll go to LA to see Angel and *prove* that he didn't...you know..."
"Get jiggy with it?" Spike offered.
"Thank you Spike," Buffy said sarcastically. She turned back to the matter at hand. It couldn't have been Angel. They were together for *5* miutes. It wasn't like they were together for a whole day or anything. No, she would go to LA and prove that Angel was NOT the father of this mystery child.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
/It's not enough time!! Buffy, shhhhh. I'll never forget, I'll never forget, I'll never forget, I'll never forget..../
"Angel."
Angel looked up and saw Buffy standing in his doorway, like she had that day...
"Buffy. Hi, uhhh, what are you doing here?" He said getting up and straightening things up. "Angel, let me get to the point here. I'm pregnant."
Angel froze. Thoughts scrambled through his mind. Who! How! When? Why is she telling me? Does she want to hurt me???
"Congratulations Buffy," was all he could manage.
"Angel, according to modern medicine, I am 3 weeks along. 3 weeks ago, I came here. You are the only guy I was with accept my dad, and I *know* it wasn't him."
More thoughts went through Angel's head and he panicked. How could that be? They gave us back the day! It can't be mine, it never happened!
"Angel? Do you know anything? If not, I need to get back home and-"
"Sit down Buffy," Angel said as he looked up at her with his face even paler than usual.
"When you came here, I didn't kill the Mora demon. We went after it. And it's blood mixed with mine and turned me human. We were...together. But then I went after the Mora demon myself, and it almost killed me, but you came along and saved me. Then I realized that I couldn't be mortal because I would get you killed. So I asked these powers called the oracles to change me back into a vampire. They said they would erase the day so I could kill the Mora demon. Then they said only I would have the memory of that day. That's why I knew how to kill the Mora demon when it came through my window."
Buffy was silent, taking in everything Angel had just said. "So if they took back the day, how is it possible?"
"It shouldn't be Buffy. Are you sure it wasn't your friend with the fish face?" Angel asked with a pain in his voice.
"Riley? No! I would never...not Riley. He's just a friend Angel." They were both quiet before Buffy put her hand on his. "I'm glad it's yours. I wouldn't want it to be anyone else's." Angel looked at Buffy with love shining through his eyes. He grinned and placed his hand on her stomach.
"It's really there?" he asked. She smiled back at him and nodded.
"Buffy, I can come back to Sunnydale and-"
"No Angel. Don't up root your life for this. I can handle it. I just needed to know who it was. I'll call you, I guess, later. I better go," she said as she stood up, not wanting to leave but not knowing how to stay. She walked to the door.
"Buffy," Angel called after her. She turned around.
"Are you still my girl?"
She smiled and repiled, "Always."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So it's Angel's then?" Giles asked. Buffy nodded. Xander was quiet, and Buffy knew he was upset. "Look guys don't be upset about this, I'm not. I'm excited actually."
"Does Angel know? Does he care?" Xander asked coldly.
"Yeah, he knows. And he cares. Angel isn't cold-hearted Xander. Look, I have to go tell my mom. I'll see you guys later." They nodded and Buffy left.
"Xander, we need to be supportive of this," Willow told her friend.
"I know," Xander said softly.
"And if it hadn't been Angel, you'd be even more mad, and you know it," Willow told her friend. "So let's just all be happy for Buffy and help her through this. Okay?" Willow asked. Giles and Xander nodded.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Buffy, how could you do this? How could you let yourself get pregnant?"
"I'm sorry mom. Please, don't be mad-"
"How could I *not* be mad! Who was it Buffy, who?"
"Do you remember Angel..."
"It was him! Buffy, I am so disappointed in you. You know better than to do things like that. Look where it gets you!"
"Look mom, I love Angel, and that's what makes it okay. I'm *glad* that I'm having Angel's kid. I wouldn't want to have anyone else's."
Joyce was quiet. She couldn't believe her baby was going to *have* a baby. "Congratulations," Joyce whispered to her daughter as they hugged. It was a start.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Buffy was lying in her bedroom. She had decided to go back to the dorm the next day. She heard a knock at her window. She opened it and saw Angel sitting on a branch, holding a box wrapped in baby paper. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Present for the mother to be," he said as he handed it to her. She laughed and opened the box. It was filled with baby things. Bottles, bibs, a blanket, formula, and a couple of yellow and green outfits.
"I figured that pink and blue wouldn't be good for clothes because you don't know what it is, but yellow and green look good on both boys and girls."
Buffy laughed and looked back in the box. "I think you forgot one major thing Angel. Diapers." Angel gave her a sly grin.
"Nope. The truckload just isn't here yet."
Buffy laughed. Angel turned around on the branch and grabbed something and threw it to Buffy. It was a package of Luvs diapers. "It wouldn't fit in the box," he said.
"This is so sweet Angel. You didn't have to do this."
"Yes I did. Buffy, every day I hate myself for going to LA, and every day I wonder if you still love me as much as I love you. Buffy, I don't want to be in LA. I want to be here, with you. I would even if you weren't pregnant. This baby just gave us a push."
Buffy was crying tears of joy. "Do you want to come in?" she asked. He came into her room and they both looked at each other. "You're going to stay, right?" she asked. "Forever," he replied as they kissed passionately. "I love you Angel," Buffy said. "I love you too." And they kissed again. They were interrupted by a movement in Buffy's stomach. "It's moving," she whispered. Angel put his hand over her stomach, and felt the very tiny movement. Buffy pulled his head up to look into her eyes. "Marry me Angel," she said. He looked at her with a shocked expression before smiling. "Yes," he said before they kissed again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Buffy! Wait up!" Riley called after Buffy. She stopped and grinned. This would be fun. "So you're feeling alright?" he asked. "Yep, never better."
"So, what was wrong? Are you okay?"
"Yep. I'm great. In fact, I'm the best I've ever been. You'll have to meet Angel. He's my fiance. And then you'll have to come to my baby shower." Buffy enjoyed the look on Riley's face. "Fiance...baby..what...." 'Bet you didn't rehearse for that one' Buffy thought.
"I have to go Riley, but it was great talking to you," Buffy said as she walked over to Willow.
"You told him, right?" she asked.
"Yep, and the look on his face was priceless," Buffy replied.
Willow laughed as they walked to their dorm room. Willow opened the door and Buffy followed, being shocked when Xander, Giles, her mother, Anya, Oz, Cordelia, Angel's friend Doyle, and Angel himself leapt out and yelled "SURPRISE!"
Buffy looked around the room and saw that they had decorated it and set up a baby shower.
"You guys! This is so great. Wait, Oz! You're back!" she declared as she walked over to give everyone a hug. "Yep. He came back last night. We decided to give you two surprises," Willow said as she hugged her boyfriend. "That you everyone, this is so great."
She turned to Angel. "Was this your idea?" she asked, grinning. "Yeah, kinda," he said.
"A little excited Angel?" she teased. He just grinned and would've blushed if vampires could.
"Come on Buffy! Open your presents!" Xander said as he handed her a couple of boxes.
After she had done that and they had eaten the food, everyone decided to leave Buffy and Angel alone.
"Angel, this is so great. I'll never have to buy baby supplies ever again!" she said. Angel laughed and wrapped his arms around her.
"You know what my best present was?" she asked him.
"What?"
She turned around to face him. "You."
And she kissed him passionately, filling it with all her love for him, and he returned it in the same way.
Take THAT Joss!!!
