TITLE: Shopping, Tantrums and an Orange Haired Barbie (A.K.A Angel's nightmare).

AUTHOR: Kelly Rowe

EMAIL: angels_bath_towel@hotmail.com

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Angel and all other characters (except those I make up) are the absolute property of Joss Whedon, Fox, UPN, Mutant Enemy and Warner Bros (If I owned them, the events of Buffy season 4 or most of season 3 wouldn't have occurred), Riley wouldn't have existed and Buffy would be with Angel forever.

SUMMARY: Secret Santa fic for Kasiya.

SPOILERS: All B/A.

TIMELINE: Future.

DISTRIBUTION: You want you can have it; just tell me where you put it.

PAIRING: Buffy/Angel

CHALLENGE: Pure fluff is the name of this game.

It's a couple days before Christmas and Angel takes the kids (his and Buffy's of course) shopping. I prefer that there be 2 kids any age (girls would be nice, but I have no preference) uh yeah and basically it is just Angel taking the kids shopping. I hope that'll be okay.

Would be nice to have:

* penguin fleece blanket

* the younger child having a fit over something insignificant

* a Barbie with bright orange hair (do those even exist? oh well)

* shrimp

* the colour purple

* a Spy Kids DVD

* popcorn

* Juicy Juice

"Angel?" Buffy said leaning over (well as far she could) and gently shaking him to wake him up.

Angel woke up with an expression of panic on his handsome features. "What is it? What's wrong? Is something wrong with the girls?" he asked panicked. He then looked at her protruding belly, "Is it time?"

"No" she told him, even though she was in some sort of discomfort. "I don't feel so hot, but…"

"So its time?"

"NO! Angel listen to me" Buffy replied. "We're all fine. I just am really tired and I promised the girls that I'd take them Christmas shopping today…"

Realisation dawned over Angel and the reason for her waking him up became crystal clear. "No way" he told her firmly, "Not in this lifetime. I DO NOT shop."

Buffy seeing that he wasn't about to agree put on her pouty face. "Okay, I respect your selfish decision" she said pretending to be on the verge of tears. "Since I can't and won't disappoint the girls, I'll take them. Even though I'm eight months pregnant and not feeling well…"

Angel knew that she was manipulating him; he also knew that he was going to give in and let her have her way. He knew that whenever Buffy put on the pouty face he couldn't disappoint her. "What do I need to buy on this trip to hell?"

Buffy just smiled, "There's a list on the kitchen table." After telling him this she snuggled back down into the warm bed.

Angel just stared at her, "I guess this means I also get to get the girls ready to go out?"

"Yep. After all, they are your children" Buffy answered sleepily.

Angel, resigned to his fate, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and then got up and went to get ready for the long day ahead.

Two hours later Angel was seriously regretting that he'd given into the pouty face and he hadn't even left the car yet. "Brea Kathryn O'Malley, behave" he yelled for the twentieth time in the last ten minutes.

"But daddy… Brenna's annoying me" Brea whined back, giving him the exact same pouty look that Buffy had used on him earlier.

Angel sighed, and then took a deep breath to centre himself. "Of course she annoys you, she's two" he said, "But your not so cut her some slack."

"Fine" Brea grumbled, muttering something under her breath.

Angel ignored whatever she was saying and focused himself on the task at hand. Christmas shopping… three days before Christmas. He got out of the car and then went and got the girls, putting Brenna in her stroller and firmly grasping Brea's hand.

"Da… chops" Brenna said clapping her hands, happily pointing at the mall as they started their long walk across the parking lot.

"See… that's annoying" Brea told him struggling to free herself from his grasp.

Angel sighed again; he just knew that this was going to be one of the worst experiences of his life.

The second that Angel stepped through the mall doors, he realised that the scene inside the mall was his worst nightmare come true. Everywhere he turned he saw nothing but crowds, pushy people and bands of wild parentless children roaming around aimlessly. He pulled the girls over to an area that seemed to be somewhat quiet and looked at the list Buffy had made.

The list didn't seem to hard, after all there were only two little items on the list. How complicated could it be?

A half an hour later he found out. It had taken him at least twenty minutes to weave through the crowds towards the nearest department store and then it took another ten to get to the baby department. When he finally got there he was amazed at the stuff that they had in there; he didn't recognise half of it. He found the blanket that Buffy wanted almost instantly, but he found himself with a choice to make. The fleecy blankets came in all the colours of the rainbow, plus assorted patterns.

After a few minutes of Angel's indecision Brea spoke up. "Just pick one already" she whined at him, "She's just a baby she doesn't care which on she gets."

Angel turned to her, "Then you pick one."

"If I do… can we go?" she asked him.

"I promise" Angel replied.

Brea took about two seconds to decide she picked a purple blanket with penguins printed on it. "Brenna would like this one" she handed to Angel.

Angel grabbed the package and went to the checkout and stood in line. After he'd paid for it, Brea started to whine again.

"Is it lunch yet?"

"Soon… just a few more things to do" Angel said trying to be patient. His nerves were already on edge from all this shopping and he didn't want to loose it in front of the girls.

"But daddy…"

"Soon" he promised cutting her off.

He then dragged a reluctant Brea towards the elevators, while pushing Brenna and carrying the package. Once inside he took a split second to wonder how Buffy ever managed to go shopping with them, but before he had time to blink they'd arrived at the next destination… the toy department.

Having always avoiding shopping, he'd never been to a toy department and he was even more amazed than he'd been at the baby department. As far as the eye could see there were toys of all shapes, sizes and descriptions and he silently wondered how in heck he was going to find a Barbie doll in all this chaos. He spotted a free salesperson and went in for the attack. The kind, friendly, yet evilly condescending salesperson showed him to 'Barbie Lane' and left him alone with all the other totally clueless parents wandering the maze of pink. One thing about his situation had changed however; Brea was now jumping up and down in excitement over being in her most favourite place in the mall.

"Daddy… am I getting a new Barbie?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry sweetie" Angel lied uneasily, "We're getting a present for Allie-Ann."

Brea scowled, she already hated Xander and Anya's eldest daughter and now she was getting a most prized Barbie over her… "She doesn't like Barbie."

"Your mommy said Barbie, so we get Barbie" Angel told her.

"Fine" she muttered glaring at all who looked in her direction.

After ten minutes of searching Angel finally found a Barbie that was close to what Buffy had specified. It was also close enough to cheese Brea off that a doll like she wanted was going to her so-called enemy. He took it to the counter, waited in a horrible long line and eventually paid for it. By the time they left the toy department he was pushing a sleeping toddler, grasping a six-year-old tightly and hanging onto two packages and he was ready to drop down dead in the middle of the walkway.

"How about lunch?" Angel asked Brea, trying to make peace with his angry daughter.

She looked at him carefully, "My choice?"

"Sure."

"Okay" she replied, "Food court."

*Oh no* Angel thought. "All right, let's go," he said walking off towards another frightening experience.

They were almost to the food court when the eagle eye of his younger daughter alerted her to the fact that they were passing the candy shop. All thoughts of sleep went out of Brenna's head and she began to fuss.

"What's wrong baby?" Angel asked rushing to fuss over her.

"Wolly" she told him.

Angel looked confused, "What's a wolly?"

"She wants a lolly from the shop. Mommy always buys us one" Brea informed him.

"But it's lunchtime…"

"Wolly, wolly" Brenna begged in a high-pitched whine.

"Okay, okay" Angel said in resignation, "I'll buy you both a lolly. Please calm down."

"I want purple" Brea told him.

Angel looked at his eldest, "What's with you and purple?"

"I just like purple" Brea told him.

By the time that they arrived at the food court Angel was a bundle of nerves and ready to kill all whom got in his way. Luckily neither of the girls seemed to notice that their father was going insane and were playing together. Angel lined up and eventually made it to the counter, "What do you want?"

"Shrimp" Brea answered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes… shrimp."

Angel put the order in. Shrimp for Brea, French fries for Brenna and two hamburgers – one for him and one for Brea, because he knew she wouldn't eat the shrimp. Rounding off the order was a coke and two juicy juices. They collected the order and sat down at the only available table, right next to Xander and Allie-Ann.

"Hey Deadboy" Xander greeted him as he sat down and picked Brenna out of her stroller.

"Xander" Angel acknowledged.

Xander looked at Angel and the kids, "Where's Buffy?"

"At home. She wasn't feeling well, so I got the girls" Angel replied wishing that he'd run into someone else like Willow or that girlfriend of hers.

Xander laughed, "Buffy conned you into shopping for her."

Angel looked over and saw Xander was missing an appendage, "Where's Anya?"

"She did the same thing to me that Buffy did to you."

Angel looked back to his daughters and saw Brea playing with her shrimp. "Want a hamburger?" he asked her.

"Yep" she pushed the shrimp aside and took the burger from her father.

Angel looked at the thrown away shrimp and congratulated himself on his foresight on this situation. Brenna happy munched on the fries and some of Angel's burger. It actually surprised him, but he and Xander seemed to get along, at least for the afternoon, even Brea and Allie-Ann behaved. Before Angel realised it, it was time to leave. He and the girls said goodbye to Xander and his daughter and headed home.

As soon as he walked through the door, Angel sighed in relief. It was so good to be home and away from that torture zone that was called the mall. He found Buffy sitting in the living room sitting there watching the kids Spy Kids DVD and eating popcorn. "I thought you weren't feeling well?" he asked her.

"I'm feeling better" she replied. Then she grabbed the girls, "Hey, how was shopping?"

"Okay. Daddy's not good at it" Brea told her.

"Wolly" Brenna added.

Buffy nodded in understanding, "Next time it'll be just us girls."

Brea went off to play and Angel picked up Brenna. "I think I did pretty good for my first time" he replied.

"You did. You're just not up to their standard" Buffy told him.

Angel walked out of the room mumbling to himself and Buffy laughed, then she continued to watch her movie. All the time thinking just how lucky she was to have an Angel watching out for her and the kids… but maybe she'd keep him away from the mall in future.

THE END