"A Baby and a Surprise"

Author: Michelle
Email: michellabella52478@yahoo.com

"Things seem to be progressing nicely, Buffy," Doctor Rich told her after her checkup was complete. "The baby's heartbeat is strong, which is very good. You know you're due next week, but it could happen anytime."

"What if it doesn't?" Buffy asked. "What if I don't go into labor?"

Doctor Rich smiled. "Don't worry. Due dates are only rough estimates, it's not a precise science yet. But if by two weeks after your due date you still haven't begun labor, I'll have to induce it."

"Induce?" Buffy visibly paled with worry.

"Like I said before, you don't need to worry. It's a last safety measure that I've performed often. I'm sure you daughter will come out when she's good and ready. Now, when you do go into labor, you must beep me so that I'll know and can get to the hospital. You have my number, right?"

She nodded. "Yep. It's on the refrigerator door."

"Good. Keep off your feet as much as possible and refrain from doing anything else that might be strenuous. I want you to rest and relax until the baby is born. It may be the last chance to do so for quite a while."

"I will. Thank you, Doctor."

"Good luck. Tell your husband I said hello."

"What did Doctor Rich have to say?" Angel wanted to know when Buffy returned to the mansion after her appointment.

Buffy grinned at her husband. "Just that I'm due anytime in the next week or two and until then I'm on rest and relaxation. No heavy lifting, no driving, no sex and no unnecessary walking around of any kind. Basically, I have to keep doing what I've been doing except now it's doctor's orders instead of just yours."

"So, I have to wait on you hand and foot until then?" he joked.

"Yep," she said with a smile and a nod, sitting down on the couch. "At least until Colleen is born."

Angel sat down next to her. "I can't believe she's going to be here in a couple of weeks. We'll finally get to see our daughter. I want her to look just like you, Buffy. She'll be the envy of all the other babies."

"You're in proud papa mode already and she's not even born yet."

He put his arms around her, planting a kiss in her hair. "You've been a real trouper through all this. Most women would have whined and complained about being pregnant, but I never heard you do it once."

"Because Colleen is a miracle. And I'm not taking it for granted. Not one bit."

Three nights later, Buffy's eyes shot open from a severe cramp in her abdomen. She was nestled securely in her husband's arms, who lay sleeping next to her. Letting out a low cry, Buffy tightly shut her eyes in an effort to block away the pain.

Due to his preternatural hearing, Angel woke up upon hearing his wife's cry of pain. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a cramp, nothing to get excited about. Go back to sleep, Angel."

"You sure?" He removed a stray strand of hair from her face.

Buffy nodded. "Yes."

Forty-five minutes before sunrise, another cramp awoke Buffy. Sighing, she sat up and rubbed her belly. "What's wrong with you tonight, Colleen? Didn't you like my spaghetti dinner and now you're rebelling?"

Another cramp seized a hold of her body, only this time her water broke along with it. 'Oh god. She's coming. My water just broke. I'm in labor!' Buffy thought.

She shook Angel into wakefulness. "Angel, get up. It's time."

"Time?" he repeated, still sleepy.

"Uh-huh. I think Colleen wants out because my water just broke a minute ago. This is it. I'm in labor."

He immediately jumped out of bed. "What do we do? I have to take you to the hospital now. Let's go."

"Hold on a minute there, buddy. We have to beep Doctor Rich to let her know I'm having the baby. Also, we have to get dressed and pack the car." Buffy laughed at Angel's nervousness.

"Pack the car?"

"My suitcase is in the closet. It has everything I need for the duration of the hospital stay. Go call the doctor while I get dressed."

He shook his head. "No, I'm not leaving you alone for a second."

"Angel, go. I can get dressed by myself."

"Buffy…"

"The sun is going to be up in less than an hour and if you don't hurry up, we won't make it to the hospital in time. Go!" she reasoned.

Relenting, he went into the kitchen and called Doctor Rich's beeper. Running back into the bedroom, Angel found Buffy struggling to put on her pants.

"I'll help you with that."

"I can do it."

"Buffy, I want to help you."

"You'll be helping me enough in the delivery room. If you really want to help me, you can put the stuff in the car."

"All right."

Doctor Rich grinned as she walked into Buffy's hospital room. "How are you feeling, Buffy?"

"Really good. Those drugs the nurse gave me really work. I'm feeling no pain at all," she answered.

"That's the whole point. Angel, how are you?"

He nodded. "Nervous and excited. But good otherwise."

"Do either of you have any questions?"

"I do," Angel spoke up. "How long does this usually take? How long before we get to see our daughter?"

"Well, Buffy's three centimeters dilated and her water has broken, so I'd say only a couple more hours. But that all depends on your contractions, Buffy. If they start coming quicker and closer together, it could be even sooner."

"Where is the delivery room?"

"On the fourth floor," Doctor Rich told Angel.

Angel phrased the next question carefully. The doctor had no idea that he was a vampire. "Are there any windows there?"

The doctor shook her head. "No. Bright light, especially sunlight, is harmful to a newborn for the first two or three months."

He sighed with relief. He could still go into the delivery room with Buffy and not have to worry about being fried by the sun. "I was just wondering, thank you."

"I'll be back to check on you in a little while. Until then, try to relax."

Buffy did just that for three hours until she was wheeled into the delivery room at noon. Angel held her hand the entire time, smiling down at her. The two knew it was only a matter of time; in the next hour, their daughter would be born. Neither could wait to lay eyes on her.

"Okay, I want you to push as hard as you can when your next contraction comes," Doctor Rich ordered once Buffy was settled on the delivery table.

"Push hard. Got it."

The contraction came thirty seconds later. The drugs had long since worn off and Buffy was most certainly feeling the pain of childbirth. As she bore down, she squeezed Angel's hand, making him grimace in pain. She was exceptionally strong, even with her condition, and she was crushing his fingers together, nearly breaking them.

"Ow," he complained.

Buffy was panting. "Ow?! You think that even compares to the pain I'M going through?" she yelled at him.

"You've always been stronger than me and – "

Another contraction hit. "SHUT UP! I don't want to hear your voice until I get this baby out of here. And if you so much as utter a word or complain again I will rip your head off and you know I can do it."

He didn't say another word. And had heard stories about women in labor lashing out, but never thought it would happen to him and Buffy. He needed a way to soothe her nerves. Reaching into the waistband of his pants, the vampire whipped out a wooden stake. It had been Buffy's focus object during their Lamaze class.

Buffy looked at it with disdain. As if she could even focus on anything except getting her daughter out of her body. She'd even given up on her breathing exercises. "Put it away before I shove it through your heart," she threatened.

"I can see the head," Doctor Rich announced. "Just a few more big pushes, Buffy, and it'll be over. Come on, you can do it."

Buffy did as she was told, and three minutes later, she and Angel heard a cry. It was their daughter. She beamed up at him, tired, sweaty and overwhelmed by everything that had happened.

"Congratulations. You have a daughter."

"Do you hear that? She's here with us," Angel said.

Buffy nodded, tears falling from her eyes onto her cheeks. "I know. Our daughter is here."

"Would you like to cut the cord, Angel?" the doctor asked.

Angel walked over. Doctor Rich handed him the scissors and he proceeded to cut the umbilical cord. He glanced at Colleen after she'd been cleaned off a minute later, already wrapped in a pink blanket. Never in his life had he seen a more beautiful sight than his newborn daughter.

"Is she pretty, Angel?" Buffy asked.

"As a picture. And healthy, too."

"I'm sorry I was so mean to you. I wouldn't really put a stake through your heart or rip your head off. I love you."

Angel kissed her softly on the lips. "I know. I love you, too."

"I hate to do this, but I have to ask you to leave, Angel. I need to examine Buffy and the baby."

He nodded his head. "Yeah, okay." Angel turned his attention to Buffy. "I'll see you in a little while."

Cautiously, Angel opened the door to Sunnydale General's chapel. He always felt uncomfortable in places of worship, especially convents and churches. Being in such close proximity to so many holy objects made him nervous.

He approached the altar slowly, genuflecting in front of it. Making his way over to the candles, he lit one for his mother Colleen, his daughter's namesake. "I know I never made you proud when I was alive, but I hope I have now. You should see your granddaughter, she's beautiful. Looks just like Buffy."

Angel took a seat in the first pew, clasping his hands together in a prayer stance. "Thank you, God, for everything. I'm sure I am the last person you'd ever expect to hear pray, but I owe you so much. I know I don't deserve anything you've blessed me with, but I am grateful for it. Buffy and Colleen are my second chance. Maybe I'll never be able to redeem myself for all the horrible, wretched things I've done, but I feel like a part of me has because I have the two of them in my life."

"You have it all wrong, lower being," a voice said through the silence.

Angel whirled around, seeing two people standing by the chapel entrance, a male and a female. They were dressed in white robes and sandals, their faces changing color. "Who are you?" Angel demanded.

"We are the Oracles," the female replied. "We speak for the Powers That Be. We have been sent here for you."

"The Powers That Be what?"

"The Powers are almighty, They govern over everything that goes on here on earth."

He raised his eyebrows. "Okay…what do They want with me? I'm just a vampire."

"With a soul. You have been set apart from the others, you are a Warrior," the male told him.

"And you have the love of the Slayer. Our two Warriors have created a new life."

"Yes. Buffy and I have a daughter. Her name is Colleen."

The female Oracle nodded. "Yes, we know. In a selfish world, you and the Slayer have proven yourselves to be unselfish. You've broken all the laws of man and beast, thus proving yourselves worthy."

She confused Angel. "Worthy? Of what?"

"This child. She is a gift from the Powers. But They have yet another gift for you."

"Another gift?"

"Yes. With this child comes something else much greater."

"What's that?" Angel asked.

"Your redemption, Warrior."

The Oracles disappeared, leaving Angel alone again. Mere seconds after their exit, he dropped to his knees, his eyes glowing. Panting, he lifted himself up, the sound of a heartbeat thundering through his body.

Buffy woke up shortly after three-thirty, finding Angel sitting next to her in the darkness of the room. He wore a grin from ear to ear and something was different about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Hey," he greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she answered. "What time is it?"

"Three-thirty. It's a little dark in here, don't you think?"

"We can always turn on a light."

Angel stood up. "I've got a better idea." He went over to the window and began to part the curtains that blocked out the sunlight.

"Angel, no!" Buffy screeched.

He ignored her, opening the curtains. Sunlight poured in, brightening the room. The rays hit him, and Buffy gasped when he stood directly in the light. "What's going on?" she wanted to know.

"I don't know exactly. But the basic gist of it is that I've been redeemed."

"Redeemed?"

"Yep. I went to the chapel to say a prayer and light a candle for my mother when the Oracles appeared. Apparently they speak for the Powers That Be. Colleen, according to these Oracles, is my redemption. And now I'm human. I'm mortal, Buffy, like you, like your friends, like our daughter," he explained.

She grabbed his hand, placing two fingers on his wrist. Upon finding his pulse, she gave out a small cry. "It's true. You…you're human."

"Yeah."

"You can go out during the day and take picnics and go swimming and go to the beach and do all those things you couldn't do before?"

Angel nodded. "I'm Average Joe now."

"You'll never be average. You'll always be special."

"I love you," he professed.

Buffy bit back tears. "And I love you."

The End

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