What A Year!
Month 6
Month 6, One Day: Settling Down....
Angel smiled as he climbed down the stepladder. A sense of satisfaction washed over him as he studied his handiwork. The bright smiling animal boarder encircled the sunny yellow room as stuffed animals were lovingly placed around the two white cribs in the center of the room. The changing table that stood next to the floral curtained window was for action. Next to the changing table stood the armoire that would hold his children’s clothes and various necessities.
The twin sized bed covered with a white and blue down blanket was littered with more stuffed animals. Four teddy bears of different colors, stuffed cows, gorillas, and pigs. He looked at the cribs and smiled as he saw Mr. Gordo, the most prized pig of them all, sitting at his place of honor. Since there was going to be two babies, and only one Mr. Gordo, Buffy decided that there should be a small platform connecting the two cribs. So that he could watch over her babies. And so, Angel made a small platform for him, and smiled at his wife’s stuffed pig. “Hey, Mr. Gordo. It’s almost time for them. You’re going to be a busy little pig soon. Watching over the twins.”
Chuckling at his own silliness, Angel reached above the cribs as he arranged for the netting to gently cascade down, causing it to canopy over them. The netting had tiny crosses embroidered on it, and had been cleaned in holy water. As an extra precaution, it had also been blessed. For the finishing touch, Angel had hung two crosses over the cribs, one of gold, the other silver. No harm was going to come to his babies, not if he could help it.
“Can I come in now?” said a voice from the doorway. Angel smiled as he gave his pregnant wife his hand. ”Looks good. I like the canopy effect.”
Angel kissed the top of Buffy’s head, then rested his chin on it as his hands reached down to gently rest against the protruding belly. ”It’s done. Our babies are going to be protected, no vampire is going to touch them once they’re inside that canopy.”
“That’s a nice thought,” Buffy murmured. ”I made lunch. Let’s eat.”
Angel gave a mocking groan. ”We just ate an hour ago. Wasn’t that lunch?”
“Nope. Bagels and lox with tomatoes and Spanish omelets at ten in the morning isn’t considered lunch. It’s brunch,” Buffy said as she led Angel to the kitchen. ”Lunch is pizza with extra olives, ham, pineapple, pepperoni, and Japanese soba with extra soy sauce and shepherds’ pie is lunch. With butter pecan ice cream for dessert.”
“Who wants the pizza?” Angel asked, amused. ”Is it Angel Junior or Buffy Junior?”
“Actually, I think the pizza and ice cream is for me,” Buffy said as she sat down. ”The rest is for the twins, I think.”
“Whatever,” Angel said as he kissed Buffy gently. He watched as she piled the food away, and very nearly licked her plate clean. ”I still can’t get over how you could pile food away like that! It’s a good thing that Dr. Felipe said that it was normal for you to eat so much food, else I’d start worrying.”
Buffy let out a delicate burp. “It’s your children, they make me hungry. Which reminds me, another check up in a week at ten. Anyway, I never used to pile food away like that, even after I finished Slaying.”
Angel frowned at the wistful tone of her voice. ”You know that we agreed that it was too dangerous for you to be the Slayer now. Especially what Giles has found out about the alliance between Lith and Drucilla.”
“I know, but I don’t think that it’s right that Lien should take the brunt of the fighting, as well as the others,” Buffy said tearfully. ”And I *don’t* think that it’s fair that you would want me to slay you when the year is over, Angel.”
Angel sighed and then pulled Buffy on to his lap, holding her tightly. ”I never want to hurt you, Buffy. And I never want to hurt our children. You know my reasons, you’ve known them since we came back from Ireland. I killed my family, razed my village and destroyed everything that made me human when I first turned. When I realized that I had...lost my soul and the demon inside me tormented you and killed people, I nearly died all over again. I don’t want that to happen again, Buffy. Ever. I’d rather you stake me before it becomes too late.”
Angel whispered as his hand tenderly encompassed her womb, where his children resided. ”You have my love and you have my children. From me. Angel, not the demon. I’d rather be sent back to Hell and tormented again before I’d let that monster go after you and our babies.”
Buffy buried her face at the crook of his neck. “It nearly killed me the last time I thought I killed you, Angel. I don’t know if I can do it again.”
Angel brought her face to his. ”If I become a demon again, Buffy. Consider me dead, and hunt me down like a vicious monster I am. No matter what hope that you might have or thoughts. Consider me dead and just kill me. Take the babies to the other house, lock the door, and put on the defenses. Then come hunting for me, Buffy. Don’t let me near our babies. Ever.”
Buffy nodded reluctantly. Angel kissed her gently, then with more passion. “I love you so much, Buffy. And I love you pregnant with my babies.”
“I love you even though I’m starting to loose sight of my feet,” Buffy said as she kissed him back with increasing passion. ”Oh!”
“What is it?” Angel asked alarmed. Buffy smiled as she took his hand and moved it to the side of her stomach. His eyes widened as he felt something move against his hand. Angel’s eyes shot to Buffy’s. ”The twins are moving!”
Buffy laughed as she settled more comfortably on Angel’s lap and placed her hand on top of his. ”I’d say the twins are dancing, and they aren’t ready to settle down just yet!”
Angel laughed, and then simply enjoyed feeling of his hand over Buffy’s stomach and feeling his babies move for the first time.
*****
Month 6, One Night: Visits from the Past...
Angel was silent as he patrolled the cemetery. It was his turn to watch over Sunnydale in the wee hours of the morning. His eyes were watchful as he made his way around the headstones and statues. It was a strange night tonight. Normally he had no qualms about patrolling alone, but tonight...the night felt strange. Like the calm before a storm.
For the first time wished he had company. Giles was supposed to come and patrol with him, but he had begged off to do some research on the latest demon that was haunting Sunnydale and the history of the Mana-kai. [And maybe spy on Joyce with her date with the Picture Prefect Poof Franklin.]
Angel chuckled silently. The poor Watcher. Lately the man was involved in heavy research and when he wasn’t researching he was doing consulting work at the Sunnydale Museum and antique shop while having huge arguments with Buffy’s mother. Huge arguments. Not that he or Buffy ever heard them in person, like Xander, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia did. But he and Buffy had heard several accounts of them, including the biased versions of the participants themselves.
The last argument involved yet another date with Joyce made with the annoyingly wonderful Franklin and the sleeveless off-shoulder pink silk dress she wore. Angel chuckled silently as he remembered Giles’s red face as he told his version of the argument against the dress. And, of course, the date. [If she weren’t Buffy’s mother, I would have told Giles he should just grab her, tell her how he feels and kiss her.]
“Hello, Daddy,” a voice whispered. Angel spun around to see the mad vampire that he had made. Along with four other vampires. ”Daddy’s thinking happy thoughts tonight...about his Slayer-whore.”
“Drucilla,” Angel greeted coolly, his finger on the crossbow’s trigger. ”What an unpleasant surprise to see you.”
“My Angel never used to be so cruel,” Drucilla whispered, then her eyes narrowed. ”But then, he wasn’t human. He was a demon...my dearest demon Daddy.”
His eyes on the other vampires as they started to slowly surround him, Angel smiled grimly. ”And Angel is a human now, Drucilla. And he’s more than willing to kill you.”
Drucilla looked at him, madness starting to fill her yellow eyes. ”Bad Daddy...but Drucilla’s seen things that her human Daddy doesn’t know. Her Angel would know and understand...and he’ll kill the Slayer and her whelps.”
Angel froze as he heard Drucilla’s sing-song words. ”Oh, yes! Lith and the stars say that Daddy and me and Lith will all be together, and the Slayer’s brats will all wither in the fires. Screaming, screaming....”
“Screaming that’ll come from you, Drucilla,” said a nasal voice. Very aware of the vampires in front of him, Angel, from the corner of his eye, he saw Whistler standing beside him. ”Tell Lith this: Go near Angel and the Slayer, she’ll die. If she even looks at the Slayer’s children, she’ll die. Horribly. The death that never claimed her, it will come. From us.”
Drucilla hissed as the smaller demon. ”Lith is strong! Stronger than you! The brats shall die and the Slayer will suffer! She took my sweet Spike! She killed my Angel! The stars will fall around her and then she’ll burn!”
“Leave, now, Drucilla. Before I kill you,” Angel threatened as he lifted up his crossbow and aimed it at her heart.
As Drucilla bared her fangs at him, and took a step closer, Angel’s trigger finger on the crossbow tightened. As the other vampires started to close in on the two, Whistler lifted a stake from his jacket as he looked at the mad vampire coldly. ”You just had to make her, didn’t you?”
“Shut up, Whistler,” Angel growled under his breath. Suddenly, two flaming arrows shot out from the dark and landed in the hearts of two vampires. Another flaming arrow shot out and hit the shoulder of a vampire. He screamed horribly before turning into ashes.
“Who’s there?” screamed Drucilla as she looked into the darkness. Angel and Whistler looked into the darkness as well. And both, even with their enhanced night vision, saw nothing as well.
A disembodied voice answered in the wind. ”I am the Sotiera. Leave, Drucilla. And take a message to your mistress. Her time is over. The Chosen One and all that is hers is not to be harmed. This is your only warning.”
A vampire snarled as he made a leap towards Angel. Angel fired the crossbow and hit its shoulder as another two fiery bolts from somewhere hit the vampire simultaneously on the head and heart.
“Want another go at it, Drucilla?” Angel asked nonchalantly. He watched as Drucilla hissed at him again before she was enveloped into the shadows. He looked at the smaller demon and glared. ”What are you doing here, Whistler?”
Whistler gave Angel a mocking grin. ”What? No ‘Hello, how are you?’ for your spiritual father-in-law? Jeez, what a guy you are!”
“Cut the crap, whistler,” Angel snarled back. ”If you’re here, trouble’s not far. Last I saw you, you disappeared with Octopus Woman.”
Whistler’s eyes flashed. ”Be respectful, Angel. That’s my *wife* that you’re talking about. Come on, let’s go back to your place and talk.”
*****
Angel closed the door of the basement before he went down. Whistler sat on the small chair as wary looks were shot at him from all sides of the Scooby gang. He lifted Buffy from her seat, then settled her on to his lap. He noted that Whistler watched this move, and gave a faint smile of approval.
“Hey, kid. How’re feeling?” Whistler asked gently as his eyes rested on her protruding stomach. ”Been eating a lot?”
Buffy shrugged. ”Enough. What’s up, Whistler? What’s the bad ass trouble that’s going on now?”
“Before you even answer that,” Joyce said as she raised her hand at the demon to stop him from talking. She was dressed in a pair of cotton sweats. ”I just want to make a few things clear: Buffy’s not going anywhere. She’s not slaying anything. And I’ll kill you with my axe first if you try to take her away from me. Especially now.”
Whistler stared at the Slayer’s Mother. ”She’s my daughter, too.”
“That was over ten thousand years ago!” Joyce shot back, her fists clenched. ”She’s mine now, and I won’t let you have her!”
As the two glared at each other, Giles gently put his hand on Joyce’s neck and started to massage it. And slowly under his ministrations, she started to relax. ”Joyce, it will be all right. It will be all right...”
As he continued to massage Joyce’s neck, Giles looked at the shorter demon, and spoke in a hard voice. ”Can you say why you’re here, Whistler?”
Whistler reluctantly gave up the argument. ”Something’s gonna happen. It’s in the stars, and it’s in the works. Lith has her hand in it, and so does nutso chick. I came here to warn you all, and to tell you that Lilith and me, we’re moving into town.”
“What?” Willow yelped as she stared at him. ”What do you mean that you and Lilith are moving into town?”
“What do you mean that the stars are in the works?” Xander shouted. ”Another prophecy of doom?!? How many of those damn things are there? Why aren’t there any happy ones?!? Like eternal peace or a ‘no demons forever’ prophecy?!?”
“What’s this freaky thing with Lith going on? Will it happen before or after Xander’s and my engagement party?” Cordelia demanded. ”I so don’t want to deal with this during my party. It’s supposed to be an exclusive night!”
Whistler looked harassed as he shouted at the top of his voice. ”I have *no* idea of when it’s supposed to be going on, but I can tell you this, something’s big coming and Haweh’s in the middle of it!”
“What the hell is going on, Whistler?” Angel shouted, then the others started questioning Whistler ferociously. He was about to arise when Buffy stoked the side of his face. He looked at her, then placed his hand on Buffy’s womb. He felt his children move towards his touch, and felt a renewed irrational anger towards Whistler. ”What the *hell* is going on?”
“Will everyone *SHUT UP*!” Whistler shouted. ”Jeez, I have no freakin’ clue on how the *hell* you people can work together! All of you talking at once!”
“Works for us, Trickster,” Joyce shouted back. She saw that his eyes narrowed at her. ”Yes, I still remember what Hlin called you. If Buffy’s hurt in the middle of this, you’re a dead demon.”
“Who’s Whee?” Buffy demanded as she looked at the people that surrounded her.
Whistler glared at the raven-haired girl. ”Her name was Haweh, *not* Whee!”
“Buffy, Haweh was the name of Lilith and Whistler’s daughter, remember?” Willow said calmly. ”I told you this when we first got you out of Navidad.”
Buffy nodded. ”Oh, right. I remember. She was the baby that was killed by Lith and Adan. But my question is, who’s Lith? And who was Adan again?”
Whistler looked away, but Buffy pressed on. “If this involves me and my babies, I have a right to know, Whistler. Who are they?”
Whistler looked up at the ceiling, then he focused his eyes on the Watcher’s face. ”A very long time ago, Lith was Lilith’s sister-in-arms and her grandfather’s legitimate daughter. Adan was...Lilith’s Watcher. And Lilith fears...what happened ten-thousand years ago, might be happening again. This time with you, Slayer.”
Angel’s arms tightened around Buffy as she shrank into his arms and buried her face into his chest. Angel’s hard eyes met with Whistler’s. ”Over my dead body.”
