"Downstairs," came her reply.

Satisfied that she wasn't in any danger, Angel took a shower and changed into a wifebeater and sweats before heading downstairs. He was hungry and had been intending to find something to eat, but the scene that met him at the bottom of the stairs stopped him in his tracks.

Buffy.

Buffy doing aerobics.

Buffy doing aerobics in only a sports bra and a tiny little pair of bicycle shorts.

He couldn't have moved from that spot if his life depended on it. Sure, he'd seen her naked before. Yes, they'd had sex only a few hours ago. He loved her with all his heart. He was completely committed to her for the rest of his life.

But this was different. This wasn't the love of his life doing her best to maintain her health. This was Angel the loser getting to watch the prom queen stretching her hamstrings in hardly anything at all. There were males at school, student and teachers alike, who would kill for this view.

His jaw dropped. He stared and gaped with no shame whatsoever. He had no intention of moving himself from the spot where he stood unless someone forced him to do so. She jumped and bounced and twisted in the most wonderful ways and he, feeling like a voyeur, could do nothing but watch.

But he did that with enthusiasm.

It wasn't easy to forget that he was engaged to and having a child with the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on. She was the wet dream of the male population of Sunnydale High. At that moment, she seemed untouchable again, set high upon some pedestal where someone like him could never reach her.

It was at that moment, as he stared over her sensuous curves not yet rounded with his child, that he realized that he was luckiest man alive. He settled in against the doorframe and ogled her goodies until she got irritated and chased him away. He went into the kitchen whistling a happy tune.

---

Saturday was a fun, relaxing day that made Angel wonder what it would be like when they were married. She showered when she was finished working out and convinced him to take her for a spin on his motorcycle around town. He suspected that his sweet little prom queen was becoming a bit of a thrill seeker. The knowledge didn't bode well for someone who just found out she was pregnant.

Of course, he had a few ideas on how she could achieve those thrills in relative safety, so it was all good. The ride was short and quiet. Sunnydale on the whole seemed to be recovering from the holiday. When they pulled into the drive again, Giles' car was home.

Angel hung back as Buffy bounded into the house to welcome her father home. Giles looked tired from his trip and he carefully looked over Angel, Buffy and the house. It was apparent to Angel that Giles knew his rules hadn't been followed while he was gone, but since he had no direct evidence, he held his tongue.

---

Monday morning was interesting. Angel was woken by Giles yelling down the basement stairs. He was still blinking, looking between the barely pinkening sky and Giles in question. Why on earth would anybody be up two hours early for school?

Giles merely shook his head. "Seems that in some respect you are still quite naïve," he said.

Angel's brow furrowed.

Pointing up the stairs, Giles said, "Trust me, if you aren't in that shower in the next five minutes, you'll have to wait an hour and a half for Buffy to vacate the bathroom."

Angel laughed. This was indeed a novel situation. Mock saluting Giles, he headed up the stairs. He doubted that Giles would appreciate him suggesting that he and Buffy could simply shower together to save both time and water. Nope, best to just shower now.

Freshly showered and changed, Angel headed into the kitchen intending to scrounge some sort of food for breakfast. He stopped as he saw that Giles had set the small breakfast table with three bowls, a variety of cereal, milk, juice and coffee. Giles was sitting at the table reading the paper as he sipped his own coffee. Looking up, he motioned Angel to the table.

Wordlessly, Angel took a seat. Was this how normal people got ready for school? He sat down and poured himself a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice. He was still at the table, reading the sports section when Buffy finally entered the room. She looked at the table and rolled her eyes. "Did he already give you the 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' lecture?" she asked.

---

Angel followed behind Buffy's car on his bike as they went to school on Monday morning. There was something surreal about getting up in the morning and having cereal and coffee with Buffy and Giles, then going to school together. He retrieved his book bag from her car and kissed her softly on the lips before taking her hand in his and walking toward the usual pre-school hang out area.

She turned and smiled at him as they strolled in comfortable silence. It was a dazzling smile, a I'm-going-to-marry-you-and-have-your-children smile. It was a I'll-see-you-in-the-supply-closet-later smile. It made his cock jolt with desire. For a young male only in high school, it surprised him that the idea of spending his life with her was so appealing. The idea of making love to her thousands of times and knowing every inch of her body, every twist of her hips made his mouth go dry.

When the bell rang for them to head to their first class of the day, she kissed him so carnally every hair on the top of his spiked head singed. She strolled toward her class with Willow without so much as a glance behind her. He watched her until she turned around the corner and disappeared. He was so in love with her that the rest of the world just fell away.

"Is it just me," Devon mused, blowing smoke out from his cigarette in the direction Buffy had gone, "or is your girl getting sexier?"

"It isn't just you." Angel groaned.

"You sure you're gonna marry the prom queen, Angel?" he asked. Devon squinted up at the morning sun as if he had nowhere to go and nothing to do.

"Don't make me kill you, Devon," Angel growled. He was almost thankful for the break in mood. He couldn't go into any class half crazy with hormones. Irritated was much better.

"Chill man," Devon chuckled. "I was just asking."

"And I'm just telling you," Angel snarled.

Devon nodded casually, flicking his cigarette away to let it smolder in the grass. They fell in step together heading for their first class, metal shop. Devon seemed to be mulling something over pretty hard. Angel was surprised he couldn't smell something burning from all the effort. "She's damn fine," Devon finally offered, "but are you sure? I mean, the band is really just starting to take off. Groupies, Angel. Groupies. How can you really think of tying yourself to one chick for forever?"

"I love her," Angel said tersely.

Devon sighed. "Yeah, but you should give it some time. I mean, that's gotta be a drag livin' with her and her old man. Sure, your pop is a jerk, but I bet Giles has rules and shit. Like, I bet he expects you to keep curfew. How can you live like that?"

Angel searched for a way to sufficiently explain the situation to Devon's little pea brain. He smiled as it came to him. "Cindy Crawford workout tapes," he said.

Devon came to complete stop, gaping at Angel. Cindy Crawford workout tapes were sacred things. Devon had already worn out three different copies. "Don't tease me, man," he threatened.

"She does them every morning," Angel said. "In the living room."

Devon looked away, clearly thinking hard. "Dammit," he cursed. "Maybe I should get married."

---

The day went by fast and the week faster. Angel, Buffy and Giles made up for the changes a newcomer brought into their lives and they fell into a mostly happy harmony together. Buffy and Angel were suffering by being forced to sleep separately but at the same time neither would ask Giles for permission to change the arrangements. And much to Buffy's dismay, Angel wouldn't sneak into her bed when Giles was in the house. All the pouting and flaunting of skin could not get him to go upstairs in the middle of the night.

Angel was all for fooling around in the living room and quickies in the supply closet at school, but she wanted to make love for half the night, not a wham bam thank you ma'am. After a week, Buffy was simply done with trying to persuade him. She decided to bring out the big guns.

It was dark, the house was quiet and she was tired. It stood to reason that she should be asleep by now, but she wasn't. She tiptoed to her closet and took down the box hiding in the back. Inside, nestled in tissue paper was her weapon of choice.

She discarded her nightgown and panties and slipped on the crimson negligee gleefully. She shoved the box back in the closet before looking in the mirror. She turned around carefully in the dark to look at herself. The bottom was short, barely covering the tops of her thighs and the top dipped down leaving an embarrassing amount of chest in plain view.

With a wicked smile on her face, she put on the matching lipstick she bought the same day and made her way to the basement as quietly as she could. He awake and sitting at the desk she made her father buy him with only the desk lamp to illuminate the room. He was bent over the desk, wearing only boxers.

"Hey baby. What cha doin?" she asked, posing for effect before closing in on him with a hefty swing to her hips. She was glad now that her bare feet landed on the area rug that she had fought tooth and nail for it.

He swallowed audibly and stared at her for a moment before answering. "You should be…ah…" he mumbled as his eyes raked over her body. He licked his lips and struggled to stay in his chair.

"On your lap?" she finished, smiling innocently at him. "Okay."

She straddled him in his chair and rubbed herself against him.

Part of him wanted to tell her to march back upstairs and go to bed before her father caught them. But frankly, for all Angel cared, that part of him could fuck right off. One arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her to his healing chest while the opposite hand threaded through her hair, holding the back of her head so he could kiss her breathless.

Buffy wasn't even aware that they were moving until her back hit the bed. She started to push herself up into a sitting position, but he pressed gently on her chest, pinning her back against the bed. "Baby," she whined, "you're still all broken."

"I'm feeling much better," he countered, the warning in his voice evident as he used one hand to shed his boxers. She grinned, loving the fact that he was indeed feeling better. His bruises were fading fast and the cast would come off his hand next week. She knew he was anxious to get back to work at the shop. But right now, she could think of so many more exciting uses for his healing body.

He didn't bother to remove her lingerie. Instead, he moved inside her, anxious to be hugged by her snug channel. They both groaned in pleasure at the joining and began moving together in a deliberate and tender rhythm. Moans were engulfed by long, enticing kisses and they devoured each other with mutual desire.

Long after they had finished making love, they held each other and memorized their lover's body in inching caresses that took them full circle into lust once again. When the sun was starting to peak over the horizon, Angel and Buffy were dozing.

"You have to go upstairs," Angel whispered, kissing her brow. She whimpered at the thought of leaving his warm body for her own bigger bed. "Your father's going to wake me up in less than an hour, baby," he said, nudging her gently.

Muttering under her breath in complaint, she rose from his side and padded up the stairs. Yawning, she climbed in bed and glanced at the clock. She would be sleeping through her classes later that day, but her in opinion it was completely worth it. As she drifted off to sleep, she idly wondered if she could sneak a nap in the stacks without her father finding her.

---

Angel was just pulling on his jacket as he saw the headlights of Buffy's car. "Bud, I'm takin' off," he called.

Bud grunted from underneath a '93 Buick. Angel just smiled. In the two weeks since he'd had the cast off, he and Bud had made quick work of the backlog that accumulated while he couldn't work. It was nice to feel useful again, and to be pulling in money. Christmas was a week away and he had yet to buy anything for either Buffy or Giles. But no gift shopping was going to happen tonight. Tonight was for the Christmas tree.

By the time Angel got out to the car, Buffy had already switched over to the passenger's side. It amused him to no end that she hated driving in front of him. Surely, she had to know he'd never openly criticize. But it seemed to make her too self-conscious.

He slid behind the wheel, leaning over to give her passionate kiss before anything else. She beamed at him and snuggled into her seat. He knew all too well that she had been excited about buying their first Christmas tree together as a family. Since his mother died, he hadn't really thought much of the holidays. They were for people who had a real family and affection for each other. He grinned when he realized that after all these years he finally had it again.

There were a lot of people milling around Sunnydale's only tree lot. Buffy and Angel nodded at several people they knew, but there wasn't time to stop and chat. Buffy wanted to get the perfect tree and Angel was perfectly amenable to letting her pick over the less desirable specimens before she got the perfect one.

When they got back home, the phone was ringing. Angel hauled the tree in himself despite the massive size of the thing. Even with Buffy's complaints, there was no way he was going to let his pregnant fiancé struggle with the evergreen.

Just as he was leaning it against the wall, Giles appeared in the doorway. His expression was grim as he held out the portable phone. "Angel," he said tersely, "it's your father."

Angel stared at Giles for a moment before crossing the room and taking the phone from him. It wouldn't have surprised him more if Buffy's father had punched him in the gut. He held the phone to his ear and turned toward the window. He was well aware that Buffy and Giles stood listening. Neither seemed to have the desire to walk away and leave him in privacy. He could have walked out the room, but he didn't feel the need to hide anything from them. They were his family now, not the broken man on the phone.

"Hello?" Angel said in voice that belied his frustration.

"Angel, I need your help at the bar. Business has been picking up for the holidays. Can you work tomorrow night?" Angel snarled at the phone. He wanted to be shocked, but he wasn't. His dad always acted as if nothing had happened after he beat him. The only difference this time was that he had somewhere to go.

"I'm busy," Angel replied.

"Look, we had a fight. No need to make a big deal."

"It is a big deal," Angel growled. "I gave that ring to Buffy because I intend to marry her and raise our child together."

"So, you knocked her up. Way to fuck things up, boy. Always knew you were a chip off the ole block."

Angel was dead silent for a moment. "I'm busy," he repeated, clicking off the phone. He looked up to find Buffy and Giles staring at him with so much concern he wanted to scream. He swallowed thickly, wishing to gods he could crawl under a rock and hide. "I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know how he tracked me down here. I don't think he'll call again."

Angel participated in the rest of the evening, but only physically. With Buffy's directing, he and Giles managed to get the tree into the treestand in a vaguely level manner. The thing was enormous, but as always, Buffy was prepared for this contingency and she managed to produce box after box of ornaments and lights. Angel did his part, hanging ornaments where Buffy directed, stringing lights where she couldn't reach.

He laughed and talked, but it was all just a sham. Just like his father said, he was a chip off the ole block. If he truly loved Buffy, he'd let her cut her losses now by walking away. He belonged with his father on the bad side of town in their shitty little trailer fighting and fucking just to remind himself he was alive and then drinking himself into oblivion when life got to be too much. But above all, he didn't belong here and he definitely didn't deserve the love that shone in Buffy's eyes when she looked at him.

---

Hours later, her was still awake, staring blankly at the dark ceiling. Thoughts whirled through his mind, logic warring with emotion. He was so intent on his internal dialogue that he didn't even hear Buffy until she climbed into the little bed with him.

If she had spoken, it would have given him the perfect opportunity to set her straight, to unload all the self-loathing that threatened to choke him. He could have reminded her why they could never work, why all he could ever bring her was pain and shame. He could have pushed her away for her own good, spared their child the horror of knowing his or her father.

But Buffy didn't speak. She simply wrapped herself around him and kissed him with such pure, gentle love that he couldn't stop the tears that wet his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her, buried his face in her neck and clung to her. Tears that he had held in since he was a child, since he lost his mother, since he joined his father in no man's land, came to the surface and he held her tighter. He held on to the one person who made all the difference and knew he should get up then and walk away.

"I love you so much," she whispered, holding on to him even more tightly. "You're everything to me, Angel." Silence pressed around her. She smoothed her hands over his back and rubbed in wide, soothing circles.

"You're not him," she whispered.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. It was so easy to hold her in the dark, to feel her and smell her without having to look into those eyes that could see right through his soul. "I don't want my child to be ashamed of me," he admitted quietly.

"Angel," she said, sharply sucking in a breath. The depth of his pain never failed to wound her to the bone. "Our child will love you just as much as I do."

And for once, he pushed the pain away and let himself believe her.

---

Angel was breaking down his drum kit when he looked up at the young man sitting alone at one of the Bronze's tables. It was early Friday evening and Tommy, the manager at the Bronze, had given them the go-ahead to practice since they didn't have any bands scheduled. Normally Fridays would be prime real estate, but this close to Christmas, the schedule was dead. There were a few customers milling around, but not many. "Hey, man," he said to Oz, "isn't that Willow's friend?"

Oz looked up from re-stringing his guitar and nodded. "Xander," he said.

Twenty minutes later, they were done loading equipment and ready to leave. Oz and Angel stopped by Xander's table. "Busy?" Oz asked, nodding toward the comic book Xander was reading.

He smiled wryly. "Can't you tell?"

"Buffy and Willow are having some Christmas party tonight," Angel said. "I doubt there will be anything more exciting than the Island of Misfit Toys and some alcohol free eggnog, but you're welcome to join."

---

Angel was in hell. He didn't mind Christmas or chaperoned Christmas parties. He was even willing to live with the fact that Buffy had chosen a teensy black skirt and a red silk camisole to wear that had his hormones raging on over time when he couldn't touch her unless Giles wasn't around. The sad part of the party was the mixing of two worlds. Buffy had graciously invited the Cordettes to attend the party as a sort of peace offering and unfortunately, they all had the nerve to show.

Cordelia Chase and her fashion police friends looked down their nose at him every chance they got and made snide remarks when Buffy wasn't around. As much as Angel wanted to defend himself, he couldn't very well kill one of her friends without her noticing their absence. He sighed into his eggnog. Pity.

Angel retreated to the kitchen where he was quickly joined by Oz, Xander and Spike. They were standing around bullshitting when Cordelia pranced into the kitchen in all her glory. Angel was steeling himself for some bitchy comment, but as soon as her eyes lighted on Xander, all the snobbishness vanished. Tight lipped, Cordy quickly grabbed a diet soda out of the refrigerator before turning on her heel and leaving. "Did I just miss something or did Cordelia Chase just forego an opportunity to insult me?" he asked.

"You're not wrong," Oz offered. "Plus, I think she was blushing."

Both Oz and Angel turned to look at Xander who was doing his best to memorize the titles of Giles cookbooks.

"Oh, this is too good," Angel nearly purred.

---

"What?" Buffy asked.

With a sigh, Angel lifted his head from her breasts enough to be intelligible. "I said," he repeated, "that Cordelia has something going on with Xander."

"Nuh uh," Buffy snorted. "You had too much eggnog, sweetie."

"If I were going to tease you," he said huskily, inching her skirt up, "I wouldn't waste the opportunity talking about Cordy and Xander."

Buffy hummed in appreciation as Angel rubbed her through the silk of her red lace holiday panties. She ran her fingers through his spiky hair, smiling down on him. He didn't benefit from it. He had his attentions elsewhere on her body. With a sigh, she looked at the festive tree they were laying under.

"Do you want your present tonight or tomorrow morning?" Angel asked.

She ground down against his denim-clad erection. "You can wait 'til tomorrow?" she teased.

"That present," he assured her, "you're getting tonight and tomorrow. I meant the one I wrapped."

"Well, in that case," she said, smiling, "now, of course."

"You have no patience."

"Neither do you. Now gimme."

Laughing, Angel reached out and dug through the presents under the tree until he found the one he was looking for. He handed it to her and she sat back, straddling his waist as she opened it intently.

As she lifted the lid off the small box, she gasped. "Angel," she said, her eyes shooting to his face. Very carefully, she pulled the delicate bracelet out of the box, avidly eyeing the way the tiny diamonds sparkled in the twinkling light from the Christmas tree. "How?" she flustered. "Why?"

"I hope you like it," he said. "I saw you looking at it in one of your magazines."

"It's beautiful," she said honestly.

"I want to see you in it," he told her seriously. She smiled down at him, dutifully threading it around her wrist. "I want to see you in only the bracelet," he amended wickedly.

Buffy looked down at him, scandalized but smiling. She glanced around the living room. "Angel, my dad could walk in at any time," she whispered.

"He won't," Angel said with a smirk. "Did you see how much eggnog he and Ms. Calendar put away tonight? He's out for the evening." Angel didn't add on that he'd seen his future father-in-law and the computer teacher doing some serious making out underneath the mistletoe. Right now, he was much more intent on his own sex life than Giles'.

"Good point," she mused. "But first, I have to give you your present."

"All I need is to see you in that bracelet," he said, but watched her shapely backside as she rooted through the presents under the tree. Carefully, she balanced two boxes and set them in front of him. She twirled the bracelet around her wrist and watched him intently. It occurred to him to tell her she got him too much but he knew his little shopper would just be upset by the comment.

The first box was a bit on the larger side and he tore open the paper and lifted the lid. Inside were the black leather steel toed boots he had been eyeing for years. They had to have set her – correction Giles – back two hundred bucks. His jaw dropped.

Buffy clapped her hands with glee. "Open the other one!"

"Buffy," he gaped. He was speechless. "How did you know?"

"Baby, all I had to do was follow the trail of drool to the store," she said, giggling. "Come on, quit stalling. Open the other one."

Angel pulled her into his lap with a huge grin on his face and kissed her breathlessly. Keeping her in his lap, he opened the second present. Inside was a sleek black picture frame holding a picture of the two of them he hadn't seen before. Buffy was in jeans and one of those tank tops he loved so much and he, apparently unaware of the world around him, had his arms wrapped around her waist from behind. He hadn't been aware until that moment how his face looked when he was with her. It was plainly obvious how much he loved her.

"You like?" she asked, biting down on her bottom lip anxiously.

He smiled at her. "I love," he told her, kissing the end of her nose.

She nearly purred, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling against the underside of his jaw. She kissed his neck wetly. "Now where were we?"

---

The sun was already up on a bright Christmas morn as Rupert Giles made his way very slowly down the hall. He had to go slowly otherwise his head might explode. Lord, what had those children spiked the eggnog with? He hadn't felt like this since his Oxford days.

He groaned, rubbing his temple as he steadied himself with one hand on the banister. He turned, glancing inside Buffy's room and stopped. He blinked and looked again. He sighed, slowly turning and making his way down the stairs in defeat. Yes, Angel was asleep in Buffy's bed, curled around her body. Yes, it was painfully apparent that both of them were nude under the covers. But honestly, what could Giles possibly say about it on Christmas morning? He wasn't sure if he had honestly expected the two of them to be capable of behaving under his roof anyway.

---

Giles was sitting at the kitchen table an hour later when Buffy and Angel finally came downstairs. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a glass of Scotch in the other.

Buffy gaped at him. "Daddy?"

Angel just snickered. "Little hair of the dog, Rupert?"

Giles glared at the young man. "Considering that I know you slept in my daughter's room last night," he said darkly, "perhaps you best cut an old man some slack."

"Uh..I think I'll make breakfast," Angel said, turning quickly toward the refrigerator. Giles groaned pitifully behind him. "On second thought," Angel said. He quirked a grin as he looked through the refrigerator and cabinets. Having an alcoholic loser for a dad might pay off after all.

"Baby, where's the blender?" Angel asked, rummaging through the cabinets. She looked at him with amusement as she pulled it out of a lower cabinet.

"Are you trying to poison us?" She looked over the various ingredients sitting on the counter. Angel just laughed as he blended his concoction. Buffy sat down and looked from her father to her lover and back again and held in a laugh as her dad swayed on his chair. When Angel set a suspicious glass of thick fluid in front of him, Giles looked at him in horror.

"Trust me," Angel said. "It's a proven cure for hangovers. It tastes horrible though."

Giles gasped and turned green after the first sip, but with Angel's encouragement, he kept drinking. He resorted to holding his nose and trying not to gag. Angel was ten minutes into preparing breakfast for everyone when Giles gasped, "That gruel you gave me is a miracle cure!"

"Told you," Angel said, winking at Buffy.

She gave him a heart-stopping smile and hugged him. "Can I help with breakfast?" she asked cheerfully.

He smiled at her. "You have many glorious talents, my love. But none of them are to be found in the kitchen."

Buffy mock growled, but Angel flicked the hand towel, snapping her on the backside before finish his task sans help.

---

"This is just … I, uh, wow," Angel said, looking at the new jacket Giles had bought him. It was a leather jacket and wouldn't look out of place in his closet, but it was much nicer, and warmer than his other jacket.

"I noticed Buffy seems to have commandeered your other one," Giles noted offhandedly. "I thought it best not to let you freeze to death." He sent his daughter a pointed look, "Regardless of how unlikely I find that scenario given we live in Southern California."

"Your present is in your office," Angel said self-consciously.

Giles' brow furrowed, but he rose to his feet and headed for the office. Angel followed him nervously. After buying Buffy's bracelet, he hadn't had enough money to purchase anything for Giles, so he'd been forced to make something. He only hoped it was appropriate.

"Good lord," Giles said in awe, looking at the office. While Giles had been occupied with Ms. Calendar the previous evening, Angel had snuck in the office and installed the new wall of bookcases. He'd made them in woodshop and personally thought they were better quality than you'd find in most stores. But he still knew that some people wouldn't appreciate that fact.

Giles walked over to the shelves and lovingly ran his hand along the woodwork. He turned, looking at Angel. "Did you make these yourself?" he asked quietly.

Angel merely nodded.

"I can't … " Giles trailed off. "Angel this is a very thoughtful present. I can't begin to thank you enough. It's perfect."

---

Buffy and Angel spent the days between Christmas and New Year's together as much as possible given that Angel refused to take any time off from the shop. Thankfully, his father hadn't called again. Angel was amazed how much he felt he was part of a family despite the fact that he now had no contact whatsoever with his family members.

On New Year's Eve, practically everyone they knew showed up at the mansion for another big bash after the band played at The Bronze. The Dingoes were playing the song at midnight, but Buffy refused to allow Angel or herself to miss the sacred New Year's kiss. As Devon was screaming out the countdown, she made her way to the stage and snuck up to the side of his drum kit. One the count of one, she pounced, turned Angel's face toward her and gave him the hottest kiss she could muster. No one seemed to care that Angel missed his part of the celebratory noise but several chuckled when he dropped his drumsticks.

Buffy and Willow waited around with the guys as they packed up their equipment and headed over to the mansion where the party was already in full swing. Everyone was drinking, couples were making out in corners and taking over the mansion's many bedrooms. Given that Buffy and Willow hadn't gone over to stake out rooms before the crowd hit, they were out of luck as far as having a private place to celebrate. Buffy pouted for a little while, but mostly it was a show for Willow. She would simply sneak down into the basement when she and Angel got home. Getting one of the rooms at the mansion was no longer the big deal it had once been.

But not having a room also meant that they got to spend the entire evening with the drunken revelers. Buffy kept pulling Angel into a quiet corner of the mansion's sunken garden, but by virtue of being a very large, very well built man, people kept borrowing him to break up fights or pull Devon down off a ledge before he killed himself. Someone even asked him to help jump their stalled car in the driveway.

By the fourth interruption, Buffy's patience was completely used up. As Angel shrugged sheepishly and allowed himself to be dragged off to see what was wrong with Larry's car, she was glowering full force. She wasn't about to play dutiful little woman, waiting patiently for her conquering hero. With a huff of indignation, she stomped back inside the mansion, snaking her way through the drunken throngs. She was in the kitchen, sorting through the various coolers looking for a soda when Riley entered.

When he offered her a beer, Buffy smiled but said, "Thanks, but no."

"Buffy," he whined. "Come on. You always used to party with us. Won't you just have one for old time's sake?"

Drying her hands off on her skirt she frowned. "Sorry, I can't."

He sighed dramatically. "Well, at least come hang out with us."

Buffy rolled her eyes, glancing toward the French doors that led out to the garden. There was still no sign of Angel. But while she was irritated with him, she really wasn't in the mood to goad him. And going anywhere with Riley Finn would most certainly goad Angel. "Maybe some other time," she offered.

"Buffy," he said, grabbing her wrist. "Please, just for a little while."

Buffy smiled, but tried to extricate her wrist from his grip. She couldn't. When he felt her struggling, he held her tighter. Normally, Buffy wouldn't dream of being afraid of Riley. He was like a giant puppy, boisterous but harmless. But tonight he'd obviously been drinking freely. He was already swaying unsteadily on his feet.

"Riley, I need to go," she said firmly.

"Just for a little while," he pled. "Angel will never know about it." He started pulling her towards the dining room where Graham and Percy and a handful of the other preppy jocks and their dates were hanging out.

Buffy tried again to twist out of his grip, but Riley was far too strong. Not that he was intentionally hurting her. It was just that in his current inebriated state, he didn't know his own strength. She pulled harder but he was unaware of the struggle and continued to drag her in the direction of his friends.

"Riley!" Buffy finally shouted, "Let me go!"

"Buffy," Riley said, stopping to drunkenly sway in her direction. He didn't release his grip on her wrist, but tightened it. "Why're you being like this? Come on-"

Riley stopped in mid-sentence and Buffy looked up just in time to see Angel's right fist fly toward Riley's shocked and drunken face. With his left hand he pulled Buffy safely from harm's way, making sure Finn didn't pull her down with him.

"How dare you fucking touch her!" Angel roared. He dropped down to where Riley landed and rained a succession of blows so severe that even the most drunken of the party began to get worried.

When Angel didn't stop, Oz finally jumped in, trying to pull him off Riley. It was a futile attempt, but at least it got a few other people moving. Unfortunately, by the time Xander, Spike and Larry managed to completely pull Angel away, the cops had arrived. They saw what was going on and immediately had Angel pinned to the ground. Buffy started to run towards them, to explain it was just a misunderstanding, but Spike clamped his hand around her upper arm, steering her quickly towards the basement and a back entrance to the mansion. "Don't even think about it, pet," he told her. "You get arrested and we'll never hear the end of it. He's a big boy. He'll be fine."

---

The sun had just crested the horizon and Buffy was sitting at the kitchen table, her hand wrapped around a quickly cooling mug of coffee. She looked up as the back door opened and watched her father enter, followed by a very sheepish looking Angel. Giles looked at both of them before saying wearily, "I'm going to bed."

When Giles was gone, Buffy pushed herself out of the chair and went to Angel. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burrowing into his embrace. He sighed, hugging her gently before carefully nudging her back a step. She was quiet as he gently urged her out of her robe. He sucked his breath sharply between his teeth as he looked at her clad only in her spaghetti strap nightgown. Her right arm where Riley had been grabbing her was deeply bruised from wrist to elbow. Angel touched her cautiously, testing her range of motion. She winced as he rotated her shoulder. "Baby, you have to go to the doctor," he said.

She grimaced. There was no way she was going to the doctor. Once again burrowing into his embrace, she said, "I'm fine now that you're home."

Angel grunted. "Yeah," he said derisively. "It only cost your dad a thousand dollars to bail me out."

"A thousand dollars," Buffy gasped. "Why?"

"Felony assault doesn't come cheap," he said wryly.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said. "It was a misunderstanding. Riley was drunk and even if he didn't mean to, he was hurting me. You were just protecting me." Though she did tack on, "As ill advised as that may have been."

Angel shrugged. "I have an arrest record, Buffy," he said. "The cops aren't too inclined to believe my version of events."

"But Angel, you didn't-"

"It's okay," he said kissing the top of her head. "It's my fault. I can't even blame this on Finn's stupid ass."

"But you explained to my Dad," Buffy said eagerly. "You told him what happened, right?"

"I'm going to bed, baby," he said gently. He wrapped pulled her robe back over her shoulders and nudged her toward the door. "You go upstairs and go to bed too."

"No," Buffy huffed. "You can't just pat me on the head and send me up to my room! I want to talk about this, Angel. We need to fix it."

"We don't need to do anything, my love, " Angel said, kissing her gently. "I'm really tired. I just want to go to bed and think about this later, okay?"

Buffy's lower lip protruded. "You don't want me to come down there with you?"

"I want to not entice your father to kill me tonight," Angel said quietly. He kissed her softly and told her he loved her before she went upstairs and he went down. As she curled up in her bed, cuddling under the covers, she realized that he did exactly what she had not wanted – patted her on the head, told her nothing of importance and sent her up to her room. With that thought in her mind, she punched her pillow with her good hand before she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

---

It was late when Angel got home from the shop on a Thursday night, the first week of February. He was cold, hungry and tired. He glanced at Buffy doing her homework on the couch, but didn't speak to her before heading up and taking a shower. He was in the kitchen, helping himself to leftovers when she walked in. He looked at her, but didn't speak.

"I was thinking that maybe we could catch a movie tomorrow night," she said quietly.

He grunted. "There's something wrong with the transmission on your dad's car," Angel said. "As soon as I'm done at the shop, I'm working on that."

"Dad can borrow my car," Buffy offered. "We haven't had a date in weeks."

Her emphasis wasn't lost on him. By date she meant they hadn't had sex in weeks. Ever since Giles sprung Angel from jail, Angel had felt inordinately driven to abide by his future father-in-law's house rules. He stayed in the basement, Buffy stayed upstairs. They hadn't even had a meaningful supply closet groping in weeks.

"Your dad paid my bail money, Buffy," Angel pointed out sharply. "The least I can do is fix the man's car."

"Okay," she snapped. "What is going on? You've been working like a mad man for weeks and I haven't complained because I know you have this freaky hang-up about being able to take care of me and the baby. But dammit, you've been spending more time with my father than you have with me. And now you're all grouchy about something else and you're not even telling me what."

Angel pursed his lips together, glaring at her. "My lawyer called this morning," he said. "Apparently Finn dropped all the charges. Now, why would he do that, Buffy?'

She frowned, dropping her gaze to the floor. "So I talked to him," she admitted.

He smacked the counter. "I asked you to stay away from him."

"Angel, once I showed him the bruises and explained that he had been hurting me, he felt really terrible. Riley isn't a bad guy. I think he really felt like he deserved to have the crap kicked out of him for what he'd done."

"And the fact that I explicitly asked you not to speak to him doesn't mean anything does it?" he demanded.

She growled in frustration. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at him. "You want to protect me," she snapped. "Why can't you understand that I want to protect you too?"

"It's different," he said flatly.

"Why, Angel?" she demanded. "Why is it different?"

"Because you're a girl," he yelled.

"Oh, so I'm strong enough to go through the excruciating pain of giving birth to your child but I can't have a conversation with someone to help you and our future?" she screamed back. "Is that what you're saying? You're the big man, you do all the work and all the protecting and I'm seen and not heard, is that it?"

"Don't be fucking ridiculous, Buffy. Has it even occurred to you that I have nothing to offer to you but my protection and the money I earn for us?" he said, glowering down on her. "I'm sorry I don't have time to see chick flicks, but I'm trying to take care of our family!"

"I need more than a working car from you, Angel!" she shouted. "Can't you spend an hour with me, hell, maybe even two? You can't make love to me ‘cause you're afraid of my father?"

"Is that what you think, Buffy?" Angel roared. "If I don't break your father's rules and fuck you on a regular basis then I'm not taking care of you? So, if I give it to you right now on the kitchen floor, maybe I can fix your dad's car and we can skip the movie?"

Buffy's jaw dropped open and despite her struggle, tears sprung from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. She stared at him through wounded eyes and didn't bother to wipe her face. "I can't believe you said that to me."

"Buffy," he said gently, stepping toward her.

"Don't fucking touch me," she said, in a low, cold voice. The cut of her voice and the hurt in her eyes was like a knife to the gut. He had never seen the warmth go out of her like that before. Turning on her heel, she walked out of the room and flinched when she heard the back door slam behind him.

---

"Ah yes, then," Giles said uneasily as he opened the door to Willow on Saturday morning. "Thank you so much for coming over. Ah, Buffy's upstairs and I'll just be completely unavailable for several hours. Thanks so much."

Willow watched wide-eyed as the normally reserved librarian brushed past her and out the door. She shrugged and stepped inside the house, closing the door behind her. Buffy had been out sick on Friday but Willow hadn't really thought much about it. Apparently it was much more serious than she'd thought if Buffy's dad would go so far as to call her over to talk to his daughter.

Receiving no answer when she knocked on Buffy's bedroom door, Willow tentatively pushed the door open. "Oh, Buffy," she gasped. She ran to the bed where Buffy was lying, her eyes and nose red and puffy from near ceaseless crying. "Buffy, what's wrong?"

"A-a-angel," Buffy sobbed.

"Did something happen to him?" Willow asked, frantic.

"He left me," she wailed. Willow helped Buffy sit up in bed and then listened as she recounted the story of their recent troubles, their fight and Angel's departure. "He hasn't called," Buffy said morosely. "Nothing. Not even a note."

"Maybe he's just trying to give you some space," Willow offered helpfully.

"I don't need space," Buffy pointed out. "I just need ... I just need him."

Willow hugged Buffy. "I'm sure everything will work out," she said, trying to be optimistic.

Buffy sighed. "The fact that I'm feeling huge and unattractive and my hormones are all wonky isn't helping either," she admitted. "I just can't believe he just walked out without a word. I mean, we've argued before, but he's never just left."

"It's a guy thing, I think" Willow offered. "Sometimes they just have to bail in the middle of an upsetting conversation. Oz has tried to explain it to me before."

Buffy's lower lip trembled as tears threatened to spill once more. "What if he doesn't come back?"

"Buffy, he'll come back," Willow said with her resolve face set firmly in place. "I know what you're thinking, but Angel, he loves you. He'll be back."

"Will, he's been gone for days and I'm so afraid," she whimpered. "What if really left me?"

"Buffy…I'm sorry." Will said, grabbing her hand. "It must be horrible."

"I think horrible is still coming," Buffy choked. "Right now, it's worse. Right now, I'm just trying to keep from dying." Sobs wracked her body as she leaned over and laid her head in Willow's lap.

---

By Monday morning, Buffy still hadn't heard from Angel at all but much to Giles' surprise, she got up and went to school. She knew if she stayed home again, sitting around eating chocolate and feeling sorry for herself, she wasn't going to get any better. She had to try to keep living even if she felt like she was dying. She had a baby to think about.

She made it until lunchtime before she saw Angel. He looked like he had been rode hard and put away wet. He had several days growth of beard on his face, he was wearing the same jeans he left in on Thursday night and the snug t-shirt he wore looked like it belonged to Oz. His eyes were bloodshot and the way he was moving told her he might still be drunk. Instead of eating lunch, he was sitting on the end of the table with his head in his hands.

"Buffy," Percy called out. He jogged past Angel's table and snorted as he got closer to her. "I heard you and The Loser broke up. That's too bad."

Buffy's eyes widened from his insensitive words and she stepped back in shock. Percy didn't notice as he turned around to face the table. He cocked his head to the side as he looked over Angel.

"Damn, Buff," Percy added, "I didn't realize just how much you cleaned him up until just now." Percy chuckled and turned to face her again, grabbing her hand. "So if you're done with him, maybe you wanna give me another shot."

"Percy," Buffy managed to choke out. She was about to clue him in on the fact that she was pregnant with some other guy's kid so she probably wasn't going to be dating anyone in the near future, but she didn't get that much out before Angel had made his way to where they were talking. He picked Percy up off the ground by his shirtfront and slammed him against the wall.

"Do you want to die?" Angel snarled.

Buffy immediately burst into tears and was sobbing so uncontrollably that Angel dropped Percy and scooped her into his arms. "Buffy?" he asked, slightly frantic. "Baby?"

She stopped sobbing long enough to pull herself out of his embrace and she smacked him as hard as she could in the middle of the chest. "How could you do that?" she demanded.

Angel blinked down at her and then looked at Percy, who was trying to slink away. Angel seemed to deflate. "Fine," he said, "I'll leave you two alone."

Buffy grabbed his arm before he could turn away. "What are you talking about?" she asked in pure exasperation.

"You seemed pretty upset that I touched your new boy toy," he snapped.

Buffy looked from Angel to the cowardly jock. "Percy?" she asked incredulously. "Percy can take a flying leap. I was talking about you leaving me."

"Oh," Angel said. Then the light bulb seemed to go on over his head. "Oh," he repeated, much more upbeat.

"Where have you been?" Buffy demanded. She lightly fingered the worn edge of his t-shirt. "You look terrible."

"I didn't think you'd want to see me after the things I said," he admitted quietly.

She looked up at him, tears swimming in her eyes. "I love you," she said softly.

Without a word, Angel grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the lunchroom. "Where are we going?" Buffy asked, trotting to keep up with him.

"Supply closet," he said tersely.

---

Giles merely nodded at Angel later that night as he walked in the door and shrugged out of his jacket. Though nothing had been said, he surmised from Buffy's much improved mood that whatever conflict transpired between her and Angel had been resolved. The look on Angel's face confirmed as much.

"Where is she?" Angel asked, walking over to the sink to wash the grease off his hands.

"Taking a bubble bath, I believe," Giles replied.

Angel nodded and an odd, strained silence descended between the two.

"So, uh, Friday is Valentine's day," Angel said.

"Ah, yes, I believe it is," Giles concurred.

"Any plans?" Angel asked.

Giles pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Why do you ask?"

"I just thought maybe you and Ms. Calendar might be spending some quality time…somewhere."

"Jenny and I don't have any plans, so far as I'm aware," Giles replied.

Angel nodded. Silence descended again. "Okay, the thing is," Angel finally said. "Rupert, I respect you more than I've ever respected anyone in my life. The chances that you've given me, the things you've done for me, I can't begin to repay you for that."

Giles looked at him expectantly.

"But man," Angel said sighing, "I need some quality alone time with Buffy on Friday and I'd rather not have to sneak around behind your back or rent a motel room or something."

"Well, then," Rupert said, looking around the room, anywhere but at Angel. "Perhaps I could, uh," he said, rising out of his chair, "make other arrangements," he mumbled, walking out of the room.

---

On Valentine's Day, Buffy woke up at her usual time and swung her legs over the side of the bed. As she was preparing to stand, she noticed a yellow blur on the floor. Curious, she blinked her sleepy eyes open and saw that a single rose lay at her feet with a note beneath it. Smiling, she picked them both up.

The card simply had flowers on the front. Inside it read: "Happy Valentine's Day, Buffy. I love you. Follow the yellow roses. Angel." She slipped on her robe and carried her rose to the door where she found another. She scooped it up and kept going, picking up a yellow rose every couple of feet. Her brow wrinkled in confusion as she opened the door to the spare bedroom ala junk room.

She sucked in a breath as when she walked inside. Turning around, she took in the changes of the room. He had painted the walls a cheerful pale yellow and they were covered with hand painted characters from Winnie the Pooh. There was beautiful furniture, all hand made with intricately carved designs in the wood. She ran her fingers over each one in turn – a cradle, a little bitty dresser with tiny silver knobs on the drawers, a changing table and in the far corner was a big rocking chair. In the chair sat a big brown teddy bear with a red bow around his neck and half a dozen yellow roses in his lap.

She made it full circle and found Angel leaning against the doorway looking nervous and freshly showered in just a pair of blue jeans. He looked over her face and scanned the room before looking at her again. He searched his mind for something to say and came up surprisingly blank.

She sniffled, a tear trailing down her cheek. "You did all this for me?"

He shrugged. "Actually, I did it for the baby. You're little, but I think you're probably too big for most of this furniture."

She frowned at him, walking over to where he stood to wrap her arms around his chest. "Stop being funny," she sniffled.

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "All right, baby," he said. "No more jokes. Yes, I did this for you and our child."

"Th-th-that's so sweet," she cried.

---

Oz joined Angel at the lunch table, slowly taking in his appearance. Over the last five months, Angel's style had changed quite a bit. But the change happened so slowly, that you didn't notice until you saw him the way he was looking earlier in the week. Little by little the stained jeans had all been exchanged for sturdy but slightly more fashionable replacements. The wifebeaters now only came out at band practice or if you stopped by the shop. His leather jacket and boots were still vintage Angel, yet much nicer than anything he'd previously owned. He was still all lean muscle, but he no longer had the slightly haggard, underfed look. All in all he appeared downright respectable.

"You're looking better," Oz noted..

Angel nodded. "I'll get your shirt back to you next week."

"No problem."

Oz looked around the cafeteria and back to Angel. "Can't help noticing that while you look better, Buffy looks worse."

Angel looked over at Buffy who was standing in line with Willow, experimentally prodding something that claimed to be a cheese derivative. Her eyes were still red rimmed, but she was smiling happily. "It's good crying," Angel explained.

Oz frowned. "Guess I'm not familiar with that one," he said.

Shrugging, Angel said, "I don't get it either. I turned the spare bedroom next to hers into a nursery for the baby. Showed it to her this morning. She burst into tears. All I know is that good tears are much better than bad tears."

Smirking Oz asked, "So I guess you probably have Valentine's Day plans?"

"I have lots of Valentine's Day plans," Angel said deviously.

---

"I still can't believe you asked my dad to go out for the night," Buffy said, scandalized.

Angel snorted. "He needed an excuse to see Ms. Calendar anyway."

"I don't know about her," Buffy hedged. "She tried to take him to that monster truck rally a few weeks ago."

"Buffy," Angel said in exasperation, "I am not going to spend all night talking about your father's social calendar, now quit hiding in the closet and come out here."

She poked her head around the corner frowning. "I can't," she said, her bottom lip protruding.

"Why not?" he asked, pushing himself off the bed and stalking over to her.

"I look so fat in this, Angel," she whined.

He smirked at her in pure carnal appreciation. Buffy was without a doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even more so now that she was finally showing. She wasn't due until the middle of July, but she already had what he lovingly called 'the bump'. She was so deft with fashion that when she was dressed, you really couldn't tell, but wearing nothing more substantial than the black silk nightgown that draped her every curve, it was very evident. "So take it off."

"Very funny," she chided.

He sighed. He truly did think that her changing body was breathtakingly beautiful, but the cold hard truth of the matter was that he hadn't had sex in a month and a half. The make-out session in the supply closet the previous day was good, but it didn't come close to actually making love with Buffy. She could have been covered in slime and wearing a potato sack and it wouldn't have slowed him down. Not that she would appreciate that tidbit of information. "You're not fat, you're pregnant."

"Yeah," she snorted, "like I'm really appreciating the difference when I can't see my feet anymore."

"If you lay down on the bed, I'll throw your feet over my shoulders and you can see them then," Angel offered helpfully.

"You're cracking me up," she said dryly. "Really."

"Come out," he demanded playfully. He walked around to the closet and opened the door wider to see that she was frowning at herself. "Baby, you're beautiful."

"I'm fat," she complained, moving away from him and more into the closet. "Now stop looking. I'm taking this off."

"Yes," he agreed. "You are." He swept her off her feet and into his arms. The amount of steps it took from the closet to bed seemed unreasonable but he managed it without exploding. He set her gently against the pillows and moved between her hips. He kissed her ravenously before sliding down her neck with hot, wet openmouthed kisses. He nibbled along her collarbone, trying desperately to slow himself down.

"Gods, I crave you," he murmured against her shoulder, tasting her flesh there. "You're the most beautiful thing in the world."

Despite her very real belief that no man could possibly find her attractive in her current physical state, Buffy was forced to re-evaluate that stand in light of Angel's very pronounced erection rubbing against her thigh. "You're insane," she muttered between kisses, "but that's probably why I love you so much."

His hands swept over her body, trailing up her thigh, pulling the nightgown with it. With her help, they pulled the material over her head, tossing it to the floor. Her fingers immediately went to work, peeling his t-shirt off while he fumbled with his belt. Angel jumped off the bed only as long as it took to kick off his shoes and lose the rest of his clothing. Buffy took the opportunity to reach over and click off the bedroom lamp.

Angel frowned in the darkness, but decided it would be infinitely easier to humor her. When he joined her on the bed again, they were both blissfully nude. Angel nearly purred in satisfaction at the raw sensory pleasure of having her bare skin against his own.

---

Saturday morning, Buffy woke up in Angel's arms. She stretched languidly, rubbing her body against his before rushing off to the bathroom and vomiting out her morning sickness. As annoying as it was, she was getting used to it now and so she was already humming when she stepped in the shower minutes later.

She was rising shampoo out of her hair when Angel stepped into the shower with her. He looked sleepy and grouchy and carnally delicious. She immediately turned toward the spray to hide the front of her body from him and thought it was a shame she couldn't look directly at him. While she was bloated and fat with a queasy stomach, he was lean and muscular and delicious.

"No, no," he grouched, spinning her back around easily on the slippery floor. "Don't hide from me, baby."

"Angel-" she started, but he covered her mouth with his own, pressing his body against hers. Much to her dismay, he began kissing down the front of her body, loving every part of her that she was trying to hide. Before she could protest, he moved between her thighs, pressing his face into her moist folds. Carefully, he tossed both of her legs over his shoulders and leisurely traced his tongue over her nether lips before teasing her open. He found her little nub and lapped at it until she had forgotten all about him seeing her and was writhing against his mouth.

An hour later, when they were both glowing from the aftermath of steamy shower sex, Angel led her back to bed. She yawned and closed her eyes, deciding that another few minutes of sleep might be nice for a lazy Saturday. When Angel crawled in bed with her and curled his body against hers, however, she was confused.

"You're not going to work?" she asked, stunned. She rolled over to face him.

"I took the day off."

"So…you're not going in at all?" she repeated. She couldn't even remember them spending a single Saturday together unless he was hurt. There was no way he just took the day off.

"I heard what you said when we were fighting," he admitted. "You were right, I need to make time for us. So, I took the day off. If we ever get out of bed – which I really hope we don't – I'll take you out to lunch and to your little chick flick."

---

"Oooh," Buffy chirped, "what'd ya get?"

Angel dropped the plastic bag on the counter and leaned over to kiss Buffy gently on the lips. She kissed him eagerly, but quickly turned her attention to the DVDs he had rented. "You got the Princess Bride," she said, tears twinkling in her eyes.

He looked at her like one would look at a wild animal. Her behavior these days was completely erratic going from soaring highs to bottomless lows in the blink of an eye. "You told me to get it," he said carefully.

"Well, yeah," she sniffled, "but you did."

He held very still as she hugged him.

An hour later, they were curled up on the couch, eating popcorn as they kicked off Spring Break with a mini movie fest. Willow and Oz were curled up in the oversized armchair. Cordy and Xander were getting soda in the kitchen. Nobody was mentioning that they'd been ‘getting soda' for the last half hour.

Angel was sitting up, leaning against the arm of the couch. Buffy was lying on her side, her head pillowed on his thigh. As Angel popped a kernel of popcorn in his mouth with one hand, the other absently rubbed Buffy's stomach.

Buffy felt his body go rigid and she looked up at him in question. He was staring at her, wide-eyed. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He looked at his hand, on her stomach. "The bump moved," he whispered.

She smiled at him goofily. "It does that every now and then, Angel. It's a baby."

He looked at her helplessly, "Well, yeah, but it's .. it's ... "

She sat up and kissed him on the cheek. "Welcome to parenthood, daddy."

Angel was stunned. He knew she was pregnant and logically he understood that would mean she was carrying a child in her womb, but until the baby moved it hadn't really hit him that he was going to be a father. Inside his lover's rounded belly was an actual living little person. He continued to keep one hand spanned over her stomach and the other in the popcorn while he stared ahead lost in thought.

---

Time had really flown from Valentine's Day and into Spring Break and flew faster still to the end of the school year. By the beginning of May, everyone was talking about graduation and what they were going to do after school was over. Buffy applied for college for the fall at UC Sunnydale and was making plans for the baby. Buffy squealed with happiness when she found out that Willow, who had been accepted to every University with a stamp, decided to stay in boring ol' Sunnydale. The only Dingo matriculating with the college's newest class would be Oz. The rest of the Dingoes were mostly focused on their summer tour around the West Coast.

The week before graduation, everyone was suffering from massive amounts of Senioritis and couldn't wait to walk across the stage. Buffy was seven months pregnant and depressed from the stares she had to endure the whole semester. She felt like everyone was whispering, "Hey, look at the pregnant girl!"

She was relieved no one had actually said anything to her, even though she was certain there was only one reason why she wasn't being made fun of right now. Angel probably threatened the whole school. She could already hear the growl in his voice as he described to someone how they would be using crutches to get across the stage for saying something mean to her. She sniffled at the thought. It really was sweet. It didn't change the fact that she was going to have to graduate in a week with a huge belly and pronounced waddle.

Angel had decided to take off from work early that night and surprise Buffy by taking her out to dinner. He found her weeping in front of her full-length mirror in her bra and panties.

"Oh fuck," he muttered. Picking up his step, he pulled her into his arms. "What's wrong, baby?"

"E-everyone's t-talking about the p-pregnant girl," she sobbed. "They'll all m-make f-fun of me at graduation."

"No baby," he crooned, feeling a full measure of guilt partially because it was his fault she was pregnant and partially because he was lying through his teeth. They probably would talk about her at graduation.

"A-and then you'll beat them up and then you'll get arrested," she continued, sobbing wholeheartedly. "And you haven't said anything about m-marrying me."

He held her tighter. "You said you wanted to wait until after graduation," he reminded her gently.

"Well, yeah," she said, her voice shrill and slightly hysterical, "but if we wait too long, the baby is going to be here and I don't want to be an unwed, teenage mother."

He rocked her slightly. "Okay, so graduation is the first week of June. When do you want the wedding?"

"I don't know," she wailed, snuggling into his embrace.

He rocked her, smiling despite his frustrations. "What if we do it graduation night, since everyone will already be around?" he offered.

She looked up at him. "That's uh," she said, brow furrowing. She extricated herself from his embrace and sat down at her desk, leafing through her day minder. "That's a really good idea," she finally announced.

"Okay," he said, waiting for her to change her mind.

She sniffled one last time, rubbing her nose with a tissue. "Yeah."

"We should probably mail invitations," he said.

---

Willow looked at Angel's sober countenance as he opened the door. "She's in the kitchen," he said.

She couldn't help but snicker, thinking about a time when Giles had done almost the same thing. She followed him through the house to the kitchen where Buffy was seated at the small breakfast table. The tabletop was overflowing with various items, catalogs, magazines, stack and stacks of graduation invitations.

Angel sat down and indicated the vacant seat for Willow. As she took the seat, she saw that Buffy was leafing through bridal magazines and invitation catalogs, her eyes puffy and red rimmed. "What about this one?" she asked, holding up a magazine to Angel.

He made a sharp hissing noise and pointed at Willow. "I'm a guy," he said. "I have no opinion. I went and found you another girl so she could help."

Buffy smiled weepily at him. "That's so sweet."

Angel looked at Willow. "She's gone completely insane," he said seriously. With a huff, he turned back to the graduation invitations he was addressing. Most of the enormous stack was Buffy's. With relatives and family friends scattered over two continents, she was sending out nearly two hundred invitations. Angel himself had mailed only four. One to his maternal grandparents with whom he hadn't had any contact in nearly six years, one to Bud at the shop, one to his cousin Doyle in Los Angeles and after much deliberation, one to his father. Though the last one was sent mainly to let the old man know that he had graduated without his help.

Angel was stuck in his own version of hell. Yes, he felt compelled to help Buffy out however he could, but he had his limits. It wasn't enough that they had both their graduations and the wedding to account for, there were also the rest of the trappings. Willow was throwing Buffy two separate bridal and baby showers. Devon had informed Angel there would be a bachelor party. Between all the social events, Angel didn't have a moment of peace. What little spare time he did have was spent working extra hours at the shop to save up money, putting the finishing touches on the nursery or merely taking the time to hold Buffy and remind himself why he was doing all of this.

He kept telling himself that if he could just make it through the month, then everything would be better. The band would go on tour, he would be happily married to Buffy and the baby would come. Knowing that and experiencing it, however, were two entirely different things.

He looked over the mountain of invitations, all the magazines and his teary eyed wife to be. Enough was enough. With a grunt, he finished the invitation he was working on, slapped it in the finished pile and turned to Willow.

"Where's Oz?"

"Home," she said, shifting nervously under his unintentional hard glare.

"Right." Angel nodded. He leaned over and kissed Buffy firmly on the lips. "I'm going out."

"Where?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Somewhere…" he said, looking around him in near panic, "…that's not here."

---

Later that night when Angel came home, it was dark in the house. He made his way up to Buffy's bedroom and peeked in. He could tell by her breathing she was still awake, so he made his way over to the bed and sat down beside her.

"I don't mean to be crazy," she said quietly, looking off at the wall. "I can't help it."

"It's okay, baby," he said, kissing her brow. "I just needed a few hours away."

"Willow said that in an upsetting situation, sometimes a guy just has to bail," she sniffled. "I'm upsetting, aren't I?"

"No, Buffy," he sighed. He bent over to take off his boots and shrugged off his jacket before lying in bed with her and taking her in his arms. "I'm just tired, that's all," he said. True to his word, he pulled her close, closed his eyes and despite his intention to stay for just a few minutes, he fell into a deep sleep.

---

Buffy hadn't slept so well in a long time. The baby was always so active at night that he or she could make getting any rest almost impossible. But for whatever reason, the bump decided to give them a night off and Buffy had slept deeply and soundly, cocooned in Angel's protective embrace.

She opened her eyes, blinking into the grayish early morning light. It was Saturday morning, but Angel would have to be up soon to be at the shop. Normally Bud wouldn't want him in until nine, but Oz's van was having some trouble and since that's what the Dingoes were planning on using for this upcoming tour, Angel was trying to track down all the problems.

Buffy rolled over and looked at her sleeping soon-to-be husband. There were dark circles under his eyes and she could tell he'd lost some weight. She honestly couldn't imagine how she had ever thought of him as a loser. He was wearing himself to the bone making sure that everything was taken care of. He was always checking up on her, making sure that she was as happy as she could be with the hormone war her body was waging. When he wasn't looking after her mental and physical well-being, he was fixing things around the house, working on someone's car for free, putting in overtime at the shop, or trying to make sure he passed enough classes to graduate.

Angel really needed more credit. And love. He definitely needed more love. Buffy smiled deviously. After all he did for her, he deserved some payback.

Angel came awake with a gasp, his body on fire as he arched into Buffy's mouth. She squeezed his balls gently, taking him deeper into her throat as she increased the suction. Angel whimpered, his hands wrapping around the slats in her headboard with crushing force. He yelped her name once before his body corded, his eyes rolling back in his head as he climaxed.

When he finally regained his senses some time later, Buffy was sitting up in bed, looking down at him as she licked her lips. He reached out, threading one hand through her hair to pull her close. He kissed her deeply, whispering against her lips with perfect vehemence, "I love you, Buffy."

---

Snyder scowled at the assembled crowd. "It's now my duty because it definitely wouldn't be my pleasure to present you with the graduating class of Sunnydale High. May you leave and never return."

Graduation was as long and boring as Snyder could possibly make it without putting them all in a coma, but in the end, he had some satisfaction for the torture he put them through. Buffy had been nervous all week, but when the moment came, she walked across the stage, took her diploma and walked off. No one yelled out or sneered. There were no shocked gasps from the audience. And when she looked out in the crowd, she saw her father beaming with untarnished pride, her fiancé smiling just as lovingly and her friends grinning ear to ear.

When Angel finally walked across the stage, he felt the world around him grow brighter. He never thought he would get this far. When the crowd dispersed over the grounds and people were milling toward their family and friends, Angel spotted Buffy and Giles hugging each other. It was interesting to think how losing his mother destroyed his life and his father's, but the loss of Buffy's mom just brought them closer together. They were a real family. As Buffy spotted him and held her hand out, he realized, they were his family too. And they were about to make it official.

---

"Damn," Devon exclaimed, looking at Angel in his tux. Angel frowned, pacing nervously around the basement. The sun was just beginning to set and the entire house had been rearranged in order to host the wedding. It sounded like herds of buffalo were tromping overhead. How could they possibly have this many friends and family? Angel had almost choked when he realized his grandparents were at the graduation. He hadn't been prepared for the emotions their attendance caused in him. He had been worried they would disapprove, but they both beamed with pride as he showed them his diploma and introduced them to Buffy. His grandmother positively fawned over her.

Angel had been so busy recently that he hadn't taken the time to appreciate just what a big deal this wedding was. Of course, he was prepared to commit himself to Buffy for forever, but the idea of doing it in front of two hundred people was a bit daunting. When Buffy had suggested a ceremony at home, he'd thought small. Leave it to Buffy to add just a little here and there. All the furniture had been moved gods only knew where. The living room and dining room were both filled with folding chairs. The backyard was all set up for the reception and dance where the Dingoes were playing, along with Shy.

The worst part of it was Angel hadn't even seen Buffy in hours. She shooed him down into the basement as Jenny, Willow and surprisingly, Cordelia, whisked her off upstairs to prepare for her grand entrance. He didn't know that it would be so difficult to just hang out in another part of the house than Buffy, but apparently, it was next to impossible. He was greatly relieved when Oz finally came downstairs.

"Is it time?" Angel demanded, already brushing past Oz on the stairs. Oz pivoted on the bottom step and headed back up, smiling silently. He had expected Angel to have the normal sort of wedding jitters, but instead he was ready to plunge into the fray. Devon cursed under his breath as he headed up the stairs behind Oz. He thought it was fucking stupid to waste his life in marriage at the very beginning – Cindy Crawford tapes or not.

When Angel got to the top of the stairs he was ushered by Cordelia into what used to be the living room. "Don't move," she said, turning his shoulders just so. "Maybe, if you behave you won't screw this whole thing up."

"Well, gee Cordy, thanks," Angel said dryly.

"No problem," she said, nodding and brushing off his shoulders. "Remember," she warned.

"I know," he said, holding up his hands. "I won't move from this spot."

Oz was still smiling as he stepped into his spot next to Angel. Angel glanced at his best friend and then expectantly to the back of the living room, searching for Buffy. The house was packed with people, at least half of whom Angel didn't even know. Some of Buffy's relatives from England were there and an aunt and uncle from Illinois. It looked like almost the entire school was present, as well as Angel's maternal grandparents and Doyle. With all these people looking at him expectantly, Angel began to get very nervous. Was this a joke? All these people here just to witness him marry Buffy? The universe must have some sick sense of humor. He felt like the biggest fake to ever walk the planet. There was no way he was good enough for her.

But at that moment, the music queued and Buffy and Willow stepped into view. Every thought flew from Angel's mind as he looked at his bride.

Everyone stood as Willow, and then Buffy walked down the small isle between the chairs. Willow was wearing a simple sage green slip dress and an upswept hairdo that made her look elegant and sophisticated. But Buffy ...

Angel took a deep breath. She had never looked more radiant. Her skin positively glowed, her eyes twinkled. But one look at her gown and he forgot to breathe. Being in the late stages of her pregnancy, the bump was quite pronounced, but the rest of Buffy was slim and toned as always. Except for her breasts. Oh, Angel loved her breasts, plump and firm from pregnancy. She'd gone up two cup sizes and Angel wanted to drop to his knees and thank god at least twice a week for that little perk. The gown was made of a stretchy, cream lace that clung to her curves. It was strapless, displaying ample amounts of cleavage and leaving her neck and shoulders deliciously bare. It trailed to the floor, but was split up one leg to mid-thigh giving a luscious look at her shapely legs and beautiful ankles. Leave it to Buffy to manage to look graceful and elegant in stiletto heels just weeks before giving birth. Her hair was curled in gentle waves, loosely swept up and laced with fresh flowers. She was without a doubt the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Buffy couldn't help but smile as she looked at Angel. He was so damned handsome standing there. His hair was still semi-punk in wild black spikes all over his head and his tuxedo fit him perfectly. Buffy thought it was the perfect way to taunt everyone else on how lucky she was. He was undoubtedly the most gorgeous man in the room. Her eyes pricked with tears as she took her father's arm and walked down the aisle toward Angel.

There may have been moments when she regretted getting pregnant so early or she was worried about raising a child and having a husband, but the one thing she never doubted was Angel. She loved him so much more than he would ever understand. Giles stopped at the end of the aisle and kissed her cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, Buffy," he said in low voice. The tears that were already filling her eyes were dangerously close to spilling over, so she nodded gratefully. Giles met Angel's eyes and nodded with approval. "You take care of my little girl," he said quietly. With a lump in his throat, Giles moved quickly away and sat down.

The ceremony was short and sweet. Buffy and Angel both were jittery and filled with emotion, but neither hesitated with their vows. They kissed lightly when the minister prompted them and stood together as he announced loudly, "May I present for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Angelus Roarke."

Angel looked down and grinned broadly at his new wife before sweeping her into his arms and kissing her deeply. Their friends and family laughed and clapped as he strode down the aisle and into the back yard with her and the bump firmly in his grip.

---

Hours later, Buffy smiled, reaching across the table to clasp Angel's grandmother's hand. She looked down at the little photo album the woman had brought, filled with pictures of Angel growing up. From his first day to teething, him as a toddler and then a young boy with shades of the man he would become. The album stopped abruptly when Angel must have been about five. The last page had a picture of him held firmly in his mother's arms. They were both beautiful. "Thank you," Buffy said quietly.

"You deserved to have it," she replied. "I don't know if Angel is quite ready for it yet, but I thought especially with your own child on the way that you would appreciate it."

"I do," Buffy said.

There was a loud yell and Buffy looked up, smiling wryly. The reception was in full force and she couldn't help but laugh. The backyard was overrun with people, most of them students from Sunnydale High. There was a small stage and the Dingoes were playing, including Angel who had stripped down to nothing but his tuxedo slacks. As usual, Devon was howling into the mike, jumping around like a monkey on crack. Angel seemed to be having a great time and Buffy was thrilled.

She watched as they called an end to the set and Shy took the stage. Angel searched her out immediately, pulling her against his sweaty chest and kissing her breathless. He threw a heavy arm over her delicate shoulders and headed over to sit down when Giles stopped them.

"I was wondering if I might have a word with the two of you," he said, speaking just loud enough to stretch over the din.

Buffy and Angel looked at each other curiously but followed him into the house. Angel sat down in a chair and pulled Buffy in his lap. She giggled but Giles gave Angel a stern frown.

"It's my wedding day, Giles," Angel laughed. "Unwind a little."

Chuckling, Giles nodded, "I'll never get used to you two. I wanted to speak to you about living arrangements."

"Daddy, if you're going to kick us out can you please wait until after my honeymoon?" Buffy groaned.

"Actually, I'm kicking myself out," he explained and grinned when both of their faces were contorted into looks of shock and surprise and confusion.

"Huh?" Angel blurted.

He stood up and paced around the kitchen. "I could barely sleep when you two were separated and Buffy was sneaking to the basement on a weekly basis," he said. When Buffy gasped, he turned and eyed her severely. "I know what's going on in my house young lady."

"But I was so quiet!" Buffy shouted in exasperation.

"You were quiet by yourself," Giles admitted, "but I assure you, the two of you together were not."

"Oh my fucking god," Angel groaned, leaning his head on Buffy's shoulder.

"Precisely," Giles agreed. "So in the interest in keeping all of us sane, I have sought out different living arrangements. I have a bachelor's flat on the other side of town and I will be signing the deed to the house over to the two of you immediately."

Buffy sniffled, pushing herself out of Angel's lap as she went to hug her father. "Thank you so much, Daddy."

 

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