Angel stood at the door and smiled at Buffy. Walking in, he kissed her on the forehead before she could object. "Good to see you, too."

Joyce walked up to them, dragging Giles behind her. "Hello, Angel. Everything is going just as planned, Rupert and I are getting ice cream."

"Mom!" Buffy called as her mother walked out the door. "What about my ultrasound? Can I just not go?" She asked hopefully.

Joyce shook her head. "You need to go. Angel will take you."

Buffy frowned. "I'll take myself."

"Don't think so Buffy." Joyce replied, holding Buffy's keys in the air before she sat down in the passenger seat of the car and Giles backed out of the driveway.

Buffy sighed, defeated. Angel smiled at her again. "Give it up, Baby. I can see that you love me, fighting it is only tiring you out."

"Yeah, I do love you. I admit it. Why else would I be doing this for you?"

"Buffy, when are you going to believe me? I want this baby! And even if I didn't, why do I deserve to have a 'fun' life while you spend your youth changing diapers?"

"Because I'm the one who sent you to Hell." She replied quietly, before walking outside towards his car.

Angel opened his mouth, but couldn't figure out quite what to say. She still felt bad about that? She had no reason to at all. He was getting very very confused.

"Look, do you see that?" Dr. Crawford grinned, as she pointed out a small gray area on the monitor.

Buffy nodded and Angel moved his face closer to the screen, fascinated. "What is it?" He asked.

"That's your baby." The doctor answered.

"That's our baby, Buffy!" He exclaimed.

Buffy smiled her doubts in his feeling about the baby eradicated. She could tell by his excitement that he did want the baby. She'd been pretty sure before, but this just set her mind at ease.

After the doctor had finished the ultrasound, she'd handed Angel a couple of pictures she had printed. Angel, being the proud daddy, was busy looking at them and had actually started showing strangers that they came across in the halls of the hospital. Instead of being embarrassed, Buffy found it cute.

At Buffy's request, Angel drove them to the park after that. The found a bench and sat, Buffy holding Angel's hand. They sat there in silence for a few moments. Angel started to get nervous about what Buffy might say.

"I'm so mixed up right now. I don't know what I want, or what I need... And I'm scared, Angel. I'm petrified."

Angel pulled her into a hug, and was grateful when she wrapped her arms around him as well. "It'll be okay, I'm here for you. We can learn together."

Buffy laughed nervously. "Poor kid, you'll be a great dad, but I will be a lousy mother."

"What?!" Angel exclaimed "You must be kidding, you've got what it takes to be the best mother in the world. What am I going to teach him..."

"Him? We don't know it's a boy."

Angel smiled. "Sorry, I just... Well, I don't know why I said that, but I will be happy with a boy or girl. Anyway, as I was saying, what am I going to teach the child? The fine art of brooding?"

Buffy smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. "Oh, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. You look pretty cute when you brood."

Angel chuckled and dipped his head down to kiss her more deeply.

Joyce was pleased to see that her daughter had come to her senses and let Angel back into her heart. When he'd dropped Buffy off after they'd gone to the park, Joyce had pulled him inside and explained to him the wonderful world of hormones, which made the whole thing about feeling guilty about sending him to Hell out of the blue, make sense.

As she sat at the table, eating dinner with her daughter and her husband, Joyce realized that between the dehydration and concussion and getting her back together with Angel, Buffy hadn't even explained how she'd gotten pregnant.

"Buffy did you forget to take a pill or something?" Joyce asked.

"Uh... Mom... I can't exactly take them now, plus I kind of don't need them."

"I don't mean now, I mean, Buffy, how did you get pregnant? Did you forget one of your birth control pills?"

"Joyce!" Giles whined. "I don't want to hear this!"

Joyce hushed him. "Don't make me give you something to be embarrassed about."

"But..." He started to protest.

"Do you want me to talk to Buffy about menstrual cycles?"

Giles shut up.

"Mom, I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I took a pill every day at the same time, just like I was supposed to do. Dr. Crawford even said that it just must have not worked in my case, they aren't 100% effective!"

"Well, I suppose it won't do any good to lecture you now." Joyce replied, before taking a bite of her meal. "Don't forget you have to tell your father."

All the color drained from Buffy's face. "Can't you do it?"

Joyce shook her head. "No way! He's *your* father. *You* are the one who is pregnant. It's your responsibility."

Buffy pouted, but Giles and Joyce just ignored her.

"You mean, I have to tell Dad all alone? You're just going to hang me out to dry by myself?"

Joyce shook her head. "Angel should definitely tell him with you."

"Oh great, and who's going to help me pry Dad off Angel?"

Her mother and stepfather just smiled at her, amused.

The next night, Buffy and Angel met the rest of the gang at The Bronze. They hadn't been there ten minutes before Angel whipped out the pictures from the ultrasound. Xander looked at him strangely.

"What are those?" The teenager asked.

"Pictures of the baby." Angel replied.

"Toby?"

"No, our baby."

"Oh yeah!" Cordelia exclaimed. "We totally forgot to tell you, Xander! Buffy's pregnant!"

"Buffy's pregnant?!" Xander exclaimed.

"Might want to try it a little louder, Xander. I don't think they heard you a block away." Angel told him.

"You didn't tell him before now? What about when I was rushed to the hospital?" Buffy asked.

"I just said you were dehydrated. I completely forgot." Cordelia replied. "My bad!"

Xander stared at them in disbelief. "Does your mother know?"

Buffy nodded. "She's not ecstatic or anything, but we are in love and getting married, so she's dealing."

"How about your dad?" He continued.

Buffy bit her lip. "I haven't told him."

"Why not Buff? Ashamed?"

"Xander, don't you even dare." Angel replied.

"What? Don't tell Buffy how great it's not that she's a teenager and in the family way? I swear you really are a piece of work. It's not enough to get her to marry you right after high school graduation, you had to get her knocked-up!"

Angel moved toward the obnoxious teen menacingly. "I said knock it off."

Xander sighed. "Listen, I know that whatever I say isn't going to change your mind, but don't expect me to be all happy about this like everyone else is."

Buffy shrugged. "Tough."

After a few moments of tension, Cordelia dragged Xander onto the dance floor, and Angel made everyone look at the picture for a while, before he insisted on taking Buffy home so she could rest.

"Angel?" Buffy said softly as her fiancé drove her home.

"Yeah?"

"I just want you to know... the reason I haven't told my dad, it isn't shame. I'm just... I'm scared Angel. You saw how he got when he found out we were getting married. He's so not going to be happy!"

Angel reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "Don't worry, I'll be right there with you."

Buffy smiled, knowing what he said was true.

The End

<< back