He opened the kitchen door and was shocked to find his wife sobbing at the kitchen table.

Rushing to her side, he knelt on the ground next to her chair and looked at her, his eyes full of concern. "Buffy, what's wrong? Is it the baby?"

Buffy shook her head and continued to cry.

"Then what is it?" He asked growing more worried.

"I..." Buffy began, trying to catch her breath. "I worked hard all morning on the pie for tomorrow and then I put it in the oven and took a nap." Sniffling, she continued to explain. "I overslept and now the pie is ruined!"

Angel looked over to the counter where she was pointing and saw a black object that might have been a pumpkin pie at some point.

"Oh, Honey... it's okay... we can make another... or just buy one."

"But I didn't want to bring a store-bought one! I wanted to make one because it's more special! Only, I'm too tired to do it all over again!" She lamented as she began to cry harder again.

"Sweetie..." he sighed, gently wiping her tears away with the pad of his thumb. "How about we both do it? That way it will be easier on you, we'll get to do something together... and then we'll have a nice homemade pumpkin pie for you to bring to your mother's for dinner tomorrow."

"Will you really help me?" She asked, sniffling again.

"Of course." Angel smiled, placing a tender kiss on her nose. "But first, I have a surprise for you." He announced as he got up and retrieved the small paper bag he'd set on the counter when he'd entered the kitchen. With an eager smile, he pulled out the carton of ice cream.

Buffy gasped. "Peppermint stick! They finally got it in!"

"Yup." Angel replied, smiling proudly at the pleased look on his wife's face. She'd been talking about that flavor of ice cream for several months, but they had just now gotten it in at the grocery store, due to the beginning of the holiday season. "How about we eat a bowl of ice cream, then work on the pie?"

Buffy nodded her head. "You're the best husband ever!"

Angel turned and began fixing their ice cream, feeling quite pleased with himself. He almost forgot that the next day he'd have to endure a family gathering... with Hank.

"That's just... stupid." Buffy commented as she watched a rerun of My Three Sons on TV Land. "Angel, can you believe this chick? She's on her honeymoon and she's a nervous wreck because she's supposed to lose her virginity? What a freak! I wasn't anything like that on *our* honeymoon. Of course, I was already *pregnant* on our honeymoon... But she's still an idiot, right Honey?"

As expected, Angel didn't answer. He was sound asleep beside her. Buffy sighed, glancing at the clock. It was almost three in the morning, but she couldn't sleep. Having nothing better to do, she continued watching the show.

When she saw two of the characters eating in a Mexican restaurant, Buffy was hit with a craving. "Mmmm... nachos sound really good."

"Angel?" She asked, in her most pathetic voice.

Angel didn't move.

"Angel." She repeated, louder.

Angel still didn't move.

"An-gel!" She whined, reaching over to shake his shoulder.

"What?" He groaned keeping his eyes closed as he tried to turn his body so she couldn't reach him.

"I'm hungry!"

"Go eat your ice cream."

"I don't want ice cream; I want nachos."

"We have Doritos."

"I don't want Doritos, I want real nachos. The kind with tortilla chips and beans and sour cream and cheese and guacamole and all that stuff."

"Buffy..." he sighed, wishing she'd shut up so he could sleep. "Where am I going to get that in the middle of the night?"

"They have good nachos at that bar, Levani's. They're open until, like, sunrise and I bet they can hook you up with some."

"No." He replied sternly. "I'm tired, Buffy."

"But I want them! And you know how I get when I crave!"

"Then go get them yourself." He told her, figuring she would just forget about it if it meant she had to go out in the freezing cold.

"Fine!" Buffy pouted. What a pain in the ass he was! Here she was, all swollen and ugly feeling, while he was gorgeous as ever. It wasn't fair that when *two* people made a baby, only one ended up looking and feeling crappy! And he wouldn't even go get her nachos! Of course, the next day when her father was mean to him, Angel would be all sweet to her. Jerk!

Slowly- and making sure to whimper a lot so Angel would hear- she got out of the bed. Slipping on a pair of black leggings, she decided it made her pale blue silky nightshirt appear to be a blouse. Shooting dirty looks at her husband in bed, Buffy then slid on her shoes and headed out the door.

Half asleep, Angel heard Buffy get out of bed and dress. It didn't really register that his extremely pregnant wife was going out to a bar at three in the morning until he heard the front door shut. Sitting up straight, he opened his eyes and looked around the room, seeing no sign of Buffy. He bolted out of the bed and raced to the window. Looking out, he saw his wife toddling down the walk to the driveway to get in her car.

Quickly, Angel turned and raced down the stairs and out the front door to find Buffy still struggling with her swollen belly to get inside her car.

"Buffy!"

Buffy looked over and watched in shock as he husband marched over to her, wearing only his pajama bottoms.

"Angel, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting you!"

"Well, I'm getting nachos!" She told him in a firm tone.

"Buffy, it's insane at this hour!"

"I'm hungry! Your child is hungry! Are we supposed to starve to death?"

"Honey, there's food in the house." Angel pleaded as he began to shiver from having no shirt on in the forty-five degree weather.

"I don't want any food in the house." She pouted.

"What about the frozen pizza I bought you? It's rising crust... with bell peppers!"

Buffy bit her lip as she contemplated it. "Okay... this time."

Angel smiled triumphantly as she shut the car door and turned the alarm back on before taking his hand and letting him lead her into the house.

"But don't think if my dad asks if you get me what I am craving always I won't tell him about this tomorrow!"

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Joyce greeted as she opened the door to find her daughter and son-in-law.

"You too Mom!" Buffy replied with a grin as she walked through the door.

"Happy Thanksgiving." Angel said half-heartedly as he followed her in.

"How are we doing?" Joyce asked as she took the pumpkin pie from Angel. "Oh this is beautiful, Buffy!"

Buffy smiled and tenderly touched Angel's hand. "We did it *together*."

"Oh, that's so cute!" Joyce remarked, taking the pie in the kitchen.

Buffy struggled to get out of her coat. Everything was a struggle for her now. It sucked.

Ever the dutiful husband, Angel helped her get it off, then hung it up with his in the closet.

"I'm going to go watch TV with Giles... why don't you see if your mom has... what did you say you wanted in the car?"

"Tomatoes... Yum." She smiled, before giving him a peck on the cheek and heading to the kitchen.

Angel headed into the living room, dreading the rest of the day. Hank would be arriving soon and that was the last thing he needed. He was stressed to the max with preparing for the baby, if he had to deal with a disapproving father-in-law he'd be on the edge. And if Buffy got upset.... Hank would regret it.

"Hello Angel." Giles greeted from where he sat on the couch with Toby in his lap, playing with some plastic keys.

"Hi Giles." Angel replied, sitting in the recliner. His gurgling brother-in-law looked up at him and he couldn't help but smile. "Hi Toby."

The baby shrieked, recognizing his name.

"What are we watching?" Angel asked.

"The uh... some store's parade in New York. Joyce says it's some big tradition."

"Oh." Angel nodded, then quieted down and watched the parade with Giles, both men wondering what was up with 20^th century Americans.

"Mom, why are there eight place settings? You didn't put out a plate for Toby, did you? He kind of doesn't eat solid food."

"No, of course not." Joyce chuckled as she handed her daughter a plate with tomato wedges.

"Well, then where's the math, Mom? You, Giles, Cordelia, Xander, Daddy, Angel and I make seven." Buffy replied, popping a tomato wedge in her mouth.

"Your father is bringing someone along. He didn't tell you who?"

"No! Who?" Buffy asked in shock.

Joyce shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say. I just thought he might have told you."

Buffy shook her head. "He didn't! Why is he keeping secrets?!"

"Buffy, calm down. He probably just invited a friend along at the last minute and you didn't talk to him after he called me."

"Yeah... probably.." Buffy replied, trying to make herself believe that.

The doorbell rang and Buffy took a deep breath, convinced whoever her father was bringing was bad. She just had a feeling.

"Rupert, would you get that?" Joyce called. "How are your tomatoes, Sweetie?"

"They're good." Buffy mumbled, worrying about who would walk through the door.

"Oh, thank God you're here Buffy! I need to talk to you!" Cordelia exclaimed, bustling through the door.

"And then I woke up this morning... in a strange bed... naked.. with *Jonathon*!" Cordelia sobbed.

"Eww! He's like three feet tall! You had sex with him?!" Buffy exclaimed, before remembering how Cordelia had dragged her up to her old bedroom so that she could be the supportive friend. "Oops... I mean, oh you poor thing! It's okay, Cordy... just one night!"

"I'm a slut!"

"No! You're not... Just... don't get drunk at parties anymore. Otherwise, you'll end up like me." Buffy smiled, patting her stomach. "Only, without Angel... who is normally wonderful, but can you believe he wouldn't go get me nachos last night when I really really wanted them?!"

"He wouldn't? Asshole! You're carrying his child! You have to gain all this weight, have swollen ankles, backaches, and hormonal imbalances and he can't run an errand?"

"Buffy! Dad's here!" Joyce called from downstairs, sounding a bit agitated.

Cordelia helped her friend up. "Well, let's go see your dad's friend."

"Go ahead and wash your face... I'll be okay." Buffy assured her friend before walking down the hall to the stairs.

As soon as she reached the foyer, Hanks was encompassing her in a hug. "Hi Princess!"

"Hi Daddy." She replied, kissing him on the cheek.

"Sweet Pea, I have someone for you to meet." Hank said, smiling excitedly down at his daughter.

He stepped away and she saw a woman grinning down at her. "Oh, she's so cute!"

"Didi, this is my little Buffy. Buffy, this is Didi, my girlfriend."

"Hankie, she's hardly a little girl. Actually, she's *huge*!" Didi giggled.

Buffy stared in shock. The woman appeared to be about twenty-five. *Way* too young for her father. She already hated her.

"So Buffy, Hankie said you were in a car accident recently that was... caused by Angel?" Didi asked.

"It was not caused by Angel!" Buffy argued.

"Ooh... someone is a bit on edge!" Didi replied.

Cordelia looked at the woman as though she had three heads. "You just accused her husband of causing her to almost die in a car accident, what do you expect?"

"I did not! Hankie did! Don't make *me* a scapegoat!" Didi glared at the brunette, before getting up from the kitchen table and marching out of the room.

"She's a bit... Immature." Joyce remarked as she put the finishing touches on the turkey.

"She's so self centered." Buffy added.

"And what's up with her hair? Can you say 'bad perm job'?" Cordelia shook her head. "What a mess!"

"Dinner's ready." Joyce announced.

"Joyce, this turkey is delicious." Hank complimented his ex-wife as everyone sat at the table, chowing down on dinner.

"Thanks... I spent all day cooking it." Joyce replied.

"Oh, you think *that* is bad! Last week I spent all day looking for a new pair of boots. And then I finally found the *perfect* pair and Hankie got all upset with me because I spend four hundred dollars a week on clothes." Didi whined.

"You spend that much and look like you do?" Cordelia asked, wonderment on her face.

Deciding a change of subject was in order, Giles piped up. "I helped make the stuffing!"

"Oh, I was wondering about that. When Joyce and I were married, I made the stuffing. It tasted better." Hank remarked.

"The stuffing *would* be great if you'd added raisins to it like I suggested the other day, Giles. Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" Xander asked, annoyed.

"My god, Xander, rude much?!" Cordelia shouted at her ex. "You don't get invited to dinner somewhere, then complain about the food!"

"I beg your pardon, Joyce told me just this morning that *your* stuffing was so horrible that *nobody* ate it!" Giles replied to Hank.

"Leave me out of this." Joyce ordered them.

"So, what's up with you dating high school girls?" Didi asked Angel.

"What are you talking about?" Angel asked her.

"Well, Hankie told me how Buffy was in *high school* when you two got engaged... and how she got pregnant, like, four months before you got married. You're, what, ten years older than her... what's up with that?"

"What business of it is yours?" He countered.

"Hey, I don't like how cold you are being to me! I'm a really great person and *I* deserve better!" Didi gasped.

Hank glared at Giles. "Of course she told you that your stuffing was better! She had to so that your precious little feelings wouldn't be hurt because there is no way in Hell you'll compare to me."

"HEY!"

Everyone shut up and looked at Buffy, who was now standing up and glaring at them. "Everybody *shut*up*! This is Thanksgiving! We're supposed to be grateful that we have each other! Dad and Giles, grow up! Who cares whose stuffing was better? Stuffing is stuffing. In the grand scheme of things, it's nothing! Xander, you're an ass! Cordelia, you want him back! Angel, ignore her. Didi... you are *not* the greatest thing ever... and his name is *Hank*! He's not a freaking Kleenex!"

As everyone sat stunned. Buffy sat back down and continued eating.

After a moment, they all resumed their meals, keeping the conversation light and polite, fearing the wrath of the pregnant lady.

"So... did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Angel asked as he drove Buffy home later that night.

Buffy shrugged. "Well, Dad and Giles drove me absolutely nuts... Didi cannot be human... Cordelia and Xander are about two seconds away from making mad passionate love on a table in front of whoever might be around... So I'm a bit aggravated. But, the food was great and the baby must have lowered because I'm hungry a lot again, so that's good."

Angel smiled and patted her knee. "What time does Willow come in tomorrow?"

"I think she said it was around noon. Don't forget we're all going to meet for dinner at McAfee's at six-thirty." She reminded her husband.

"Don't worry, I don't have to work tomorrow and I have no plans other than lounging around with you all day." He grinned.

"Ooh... sounds fun!" Buffy smiled, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "Wanna mess around tonight?"

"Do I ever *not*?" He replied with a wicked grin.

Buffy reached her hand between his legs and gave his manhood a little squeeze. With a moan, he pushed harder on the gas... Very eager to get home. After all, it was thanksgiving... And they wanted to give each other thanks...

In a *very* physical way.

The End

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