"One Moment"
Author:
Pamela
Contact: destructo-girl@cox.net
Notes: Thanks to Chelle and Mary Ann for being such great helps with
this story.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Yes! Yes, we *must* do this, Riley," Buffy assured her husband and she walked through the door he was holding open for her.
"But, what if some demon that's mad at Angel picks tonight to attack him? Or, what about that thought I had where someone who has a grudge against Angel sees Joshua and decides to use him to hurt Angel?" Riley replied as they walked down the corridor of Angel's apartment building.
In the three months since Joshua's birth, the vampire had always visited his son at Buffy and Riley's apartment. At first it was because the baby could be away from Buffy for too long and Angel didn't know a lot about taking care of him anyway, but as he grew older, Riley became more vocal about his fears that the lifestyle Angel led would bring harm to the baby. Buffy had her own fears, but she also knew that this was something they had to do.
"Angel would never let anyone harm Joshua. He loves him, Riley, just as much as we do," Buffy answered, smiling down at the sleeping baby in her arms.
"Yeah, but sometimes that isn't enough," Riley sighed as they reached Angel's apartment door.
The vampire had managed to convince them- well, Buffy, who had convinced Riley- the week before that they ought to try bringing Joshua to Angel's Saturday evenings for a few hours so that the couple could go have dinner, see a movie, or anything else... Just some time alone.
When Riley just stood there, staring at the door, Buffy sighed and knocked. Thirty seconds later, Angel opened the door and gave her a smile.
"Hi Buffy," he greeted, pretty much ignoring Riley. That was find with the soldier, it was how he and Angel had come to act in the past three months. They knew the other was there, but they preferred not to acknowledge. Except for it bothering Buffy every so often, it was a flawless arrangement.
"Hey Angel, Josh fell asleep in the car, but it's probably just a little nap. He should be awake within a half hour. He'll probably be hungry, so just heat up a bottle for him. I showed you how to do that and check it, remember?" Buffy asked, her mouth going a mile a minute, as it tended to do when she got nervous.
Angel gave her a reassuring smile. "I remember."
"Good," Buffy replied, entering the apartment that she hadn't seen for so many years. The last time she'd been there had been the day after her seventeenth birthday...
However, the place had changed. Buffy could tell Angel had gone to great lengths to "babyfy" it. There was a crib complete with a mobile set up next to Angel's bed. She saw a changing table filled with diapers, wipes and baby powder. In the living room a quilt had been set out, along with various toys just waiting for Joshua.
When Buffy looked at him in surprise, Angel smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Even if he's just going to be here a few hours a week, I want him to be comfortable. I want him to feel like this is a home. His second home."
Buffy felt her heart melt at how sweet Angel was. As weird as it seemed, she could watch Riley interact with the baby and feel all tingly… and do the same thing when she watched Angel with Joshua. They were both great fathers. She and Joshua were quite lucky.
Once Angel had settled Josh in his crib and Buffy had given him a million directions, the couple slowly made their way to the door. Riley was being quiet, as he tended to be around Angel, but his palms were sweating with the anxiety of leaving his son.
"I know that you're nervous, and I completely understand your fears about the risk of him being here, but I swear to you, I would *never* let anyone harm a hair on his head," Angel swore them.
Buffy gave him a small smile and nodded. "I know that, Angel, and I am sorry if I am making you feel incompetent. It's just that I still get nervous leaving him places. Ask my mother. Even though he spends three evenings a week with her, I get all weepy every time I have to leave him."
"I know, and I am handling it perfectly. Not at all offended," Angel replied. "Just relax and have a good time."
"I will," she grinned. "At least unlike other mothers, I am positive that the person taking care of my baby loves him just as much as I do."
"You're right about that," Angel grinned. "What time are your dinner reservations?"
When Buffy gave him a prompting look, Riley replied "Seven o'clock... Which is in fifteen minutes. I guess we'd better go."
Buffy felt tears in her eyes. "Make sure you explain to him that Mommy will be back in a few hours… make sure he knows I didn't abandon him. He's used to being alone with his Grandma, but…"
Angel laughed and nodded his head. "I promise I will… and he'll have fun. You know that I love playing with him. Josh and I have a great time."
After about five more minutes of Buffy shooting worried looks towards the crib and giving Angel directions, as well as Riley's and her own cell phone numbers, Riley managed to drag her out the door. By that point, even his anxiety at leaving the baby had mostly subsided.
Angel was so excited about having his son with him that he only felt a twinge of jealousy that Riley was the one who got to be with Buffy that evening.
"This is pretty nice," Riley commented, looking down at his wife in the moonlight on the calm beach.
"Yeah… it's nice," Buffy replied, sighing.
"But you miss Joshua," Riley smiled.
The two of them had attempted to not talk about the baby at dinner, since the night was supposed to be all for them. However, they didn't really talk about monsters or the laundry… and Joshua was so fun to talk about. However, after spending the entire meal gushing about the baby, they decided to try a romantic walk on the beach.
"Well… yes… I mean, as much as I really really need my alone time, I have this little feeling in my stomach. It's like a combination of guilt and fear and missing him."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I feel it too. I guess it's normal, though," Riley told her. "I mean, what kind of parents would we be if we left our baby with someone for the first time and didn't pay it a second thought."
"Exactly. We're not… overbearing… just… loving," Buffy agreed.
"Should we go get him?"
"Yes!" She replied enthusiastically, turning around to head back to the car.
Silent, but determined, the two of them marched back towards the new truck Riley had purchased some two months earlier. He'd traded in his older one for a new one with a quad cab, since they needed a backseat for Joshua. Plus, it had four doors, which made getting the carseat in and out all the easier.
Riley opened the passenger door for Buffy before walking around and climbing in on the driver's side. He put the key in the ignition, but before he could start the engine, Buffy's small hand covered his.
Looking over at her in surprise, Riley asked "Are you okay?"
Buffy nodded and gave him a small smile. "We can't do this."
"We can't pick up our son?"
"No… it's not right, Riley. It's only eight-thirty, and when we planned this, we told Angel we wouldn't pick Joshua up until ten or ten-thirty. If we pick him up now, what is that saying to Angel?"
"That we are parents of an infant and we're too tired to spend evenings out like we used to?" Riley offered.
Buffy cocked her head to the side and gave him an admonishing look. "No, it says we don't trust him. Besides, he was so looking forward to spending the evening with Josh. We can't take him away after two hours!"
"Well, what are we going to do? Go home and sit around until you feel Angel has had sufficient time with the baby."
A smile grew on Buffy's face as she got an idea. "We could do that… or..." Slowly, she trailed her fingers over his chest, "we could keep ourselves occupied here for a while."
"You don't mean… *here*?!"
"Oh come on, Riley! It's the beach, it's a beautiful night, a bright moon... deserted beach..." Buffy replied, then leaned over and began nipping at his neck.
"Well, we haven't really had too much time alone together since Joshua was born," Riley conceded. "I mean, you couldn't for a while and anyway, we're always so tired and then we have to worry about waking him, which takes all the fun out of it and-"
"And we are all alone right now. We don't have to worry about Joshua waking up and interrupting us. We are in a very romantic setting and we can easily spend the next two hours here," Buffy informed him, scooting even closer to her before kissing him deeply. She soon had Riley reciprocating just as enthusiastically, so she pulled away and grinned at him before leaning into the backseat of the cab and searching with her hand. With a cheer, Buffy lifted up the blanket Riley carried everywhere for emergencies. "Thank God for you always being over prepared."
"I really think this is a bad time for you to be making fun of me… since I'm the reason we have a nice blanket," Riley replied, pulling her back into his arms so he could kiss her again.
"Okay," Buffy laughed. "Um… do you happen to have a condom?"
"No… I don't think so… shit… you aren't on the pill now," Riley replied, his breathing growing heavy.
Buffy shook her head and pulled back a bit. "Not until I stop nursing Joshua. Crap, I am totally out of the habit. Are you sure you don't have one at all?"
Riley pulled out his wallet and thoroughly searched every crevice. "I can't believe this is happening. I had nightmares about this in college."
"What are we gonna do?" Buffy asked, sighing in despair.
"God, I have sand *everywhere*!" Buffy complained as she wiggled uncomfortably in front of Angel's door.
"But it was fun, wasn't it?" Riley asked, grinning down at her and patting her butt.
In a fit of desperation, the couple had driven to the closest gas station to buy a box of Durex condoms, all the while acting embarrassed and horny- they had really embraced the 'like teenagers' aspect of their romantic night.
"Hey, I was starting to worry... Not that eleven is that late… I just figured you two would be here by nine at the latest," Angel teased as he opened the door and let the two of them into his apartment.
"Angel, you act like we don't trust you!" Buffy replied, as though she was surprised.
"And that we don't enjoy spending an evening alone together," Riley added with a pointed look at the vampire. He knew Buffy would be really embarrassed if Angel noticed all the sand in her hair, but Riley almost hoped he did. He'd enjoy letting Angel know exactly what they were doing for the past few hours.
"I'm just joking," Angel smiled at her, pretty much ignoring Riley's comment. "You deserved this night off, and I am glad you took it. Joshua and I had a fine time. He actually just woke up a little while ago."
Buffy grinned at him. "He's used to waking up at elevenish. He does it every night because no matter how careful I am, he always wakes up when I pick him up at my mom's on the nights I work."
"Ahh, that explains it," Angel replied, leading her over to where Joshua was playing on the floor.
Riley tried not to be annoyed. After all, didn't he get to spend the last few hours making love to Buffy? What did Angel get? A few minutes to talk to her and watch her play with the baby. That was nothing.
So why was Angel still keeping Riley from being happy?
Part Twenty-Three
"What's the problem?"
Riley looked up in surprise at Graham. "Hmm?"
Graham smiled and sat down next to him on the couch, with the required foot of space between them, of course. "Riley, you love your wife, she loves you… and she's a great girl. You guys have a kid, and he's a cute kid. He cries and all that, but as far as kids go, he is pretty good. You both love him more than anything and you can't deny that. Money-wise, you two are doing all right. You're definitely comfortable."
"Yeah, and..?" Riley prompted, hoping Graham wasn't going where he thought he was going. When they had become friends, Graham had been a man of few words... Riley didn't usually mind the fact that he was different when he felt he needed to be... but he didn't like the way Graham knew him so well and called him on stuff.
"And more and more often, I see you looking as though you're miserable or something. I mean, when you're with Buffy and you guys are all acting the couple, everything is fine. I don't think whatever is going on is a problem with her… but you are not happy and I want to know why."
"Graham, this is the real world. There is no such thing as happily ever after."
"It's more than that, Ri. It's not that you're thinking about bills and therefore not smiling. Something is bothering you," Graham replied. "Look man, I am your friend and I am Buffy's friend. I'm worried about you guys, though, because I know what's going to happen. If you don't get through whatever you need to get through, it's going to get worse. And then it's only a matter of time before Buffy ends up unhappy too. And I don't want to see the two of you in that mess again."
"Graham, have you been watching Oprah? You sound like Buffy," Riley half-joked.
Graham cracked a smile. "Yeah, we I talk to Buffy a lot. I have her terminology now. So spill, what's going on?"
"Angel."
"Angel? What happened? I'm assuming Buffy doesn't know, since she seems oblivious."
"Nothing *happened*, it's just that he… exists," Riley told him, then sighed. "I know that he is Joshua's father and I wouldn't give up Joshua for anything… but I can't go to the next step and say I am actually glad or grateful or even not really bothered when I think about him having sex with Buffy."
"I wouldn't expect you to be. I don't think Buffy does either."
"No, she doesn't… but it's more than that. It bugs me, Graham. It's like no matter what, Angel is always there. Even if he's not physically around, he is like this shadow that hangs over us. It's always in the back of my mind," Riley explained. "I think about the future, and I will smile when I imagine Josh's first steps or something… but right away, I think of Angel. I can't enjoy my wife and son when he is around and I have to worry that he will be there when Joshua starts to walk or talk and he's going to ruin it for me."
"He'll only ruin it if you let him, Ri."
"Graham, you cannot relate to me at all in this. You are not raising another man's child, while loving him like your own. Don't tell me you know what it's like. Don't give me advice because you *don't* know."
"You're right, I don't," Graham conceded. "I have never been in your exact situation, but I have been in similar ones. I have let my own jealousy and feelings about other people ruin what I have with people I love. Cherish Buffy and Joshua. You're the lucky one in this situation. Take what you can get and be happy, don't be angry about what you don't have and ignore what you do."
Before Riley could reply, Graham had left him alone to stew.
"I really appreciate you trusting me enough to take Joshua."
Riley could barely stop from rolling his eyes. It was sickening the way Angel was so nice and polite to Buffy… and just perfect. Ever so grateful to her for letting him be near Joshua… or so he made it seem. Riley suspected the vampire was just buttering Buffy up.
"Oh Angel, you shouldn't say that! You make me feel even guiltier! I mean, he is your son, and you are so great with him. I feel bad that you actually came all the way over here to pick him up so that you can help us out and watch him so much!"
"Buffy, trust me, it is completely my pleasure," Angel smiled sweetly at the woman he loved so much, the mother of his son. "I look forward to Saturday nights all week."
Riley had to bite his tongue.
"You know," Buffy replied to Angel as she stood up from the table and moved into the kitchen to stir the spaghetti sauce that was cooking in a pot on the stove, "I really think Joshua looks forward to them too. I mean, I know he's just five months old, but he's been spending every Saturday with you for two months now and I really believe he sort of knows. It's like a habit for him."
"Nah, he doesn't even know who I am, really," Angel replied, smiling shyly.
"He does! Okay, I will admit Joshua likes pretty much everyone. He loves being around people and usually he'll give anyone a smile, but I see a difference between the way he looks when Xander or Graham or someone else he knows just a little bit picks him up than when you or Riley does. He knows you two. You two are his daddies. Right Riley?" Buffy asked, trying to include her husband. She knew that Riley didn't love spending time with Angel and she understood it was hard for him, but the stress of trying to pretend things weren't tense was getting to her.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Riley replied quietly. "You're his mother; you would know."
Angel could tell what Buffy was trying to do, and he could see that Riley either didn't notice or didn't care because he was too busy pouting... but he just bit the inside of his cheek and reminded himself that his son was in his arms, so he really shouldn't stand up and scream at Riley while he pounded him into the dining room floor.
"You really don't mind staying, do you Angel? I don't want to take away from your time alone with Josh, but I thought it would be nice for the three of us to have dinner, even though you don't really… enjoy food," Buffy asked as she sat back down at the table, content that dinner was cooking okay on it's own for the time being.
"Oh, I don't mind at all. I enjoy spending time with you... are you two sure you don't mind me intruding on your night alone?"
"Not at all!" Buffy argued with Angel, giving him a reassuring smile. Joshua looked over at his mother and decided he wanted to sit in her lap, so he reached out and gave her his puppy dog eyes. Unable to resist, both she and Angel melted into smiles as she pulled the baby in her arms and hugged him. "Riley and I are so used to being exhausted from work and having to worry about feeding the baby, cleaning the baby, putting the baby to sleep, or cleaning up the house that a night on the couch with some popcorn and a movie is going to be enough of a treat. Right Riley?"
"Yeah, it'll be great," Riley replied before standing up and looking in the refrigerator. "Do we have any more beer?"
Buffy had a flash of how Riley used to be before she had left him when she was pregnant. Looking down in her lap, she shook her head clear of it. Riley was never going to be like that again.
"Um… yeah, they're on the floor of the pantry."
"Dinner smells delicious, Buffy," Angel commented, trying to ignore the look on her face. He feared his reaction if he didn't.
"Thank you Angel… you really don't have to say that… can you even taste food?"
"Yeah, I can… it's just not as… intense as it is for humans," Angel explained, his brief experience as a human nearly six years earlier had made him really understand the difference between human and vamp taste buds. "Vampires don't *need* food so it doesn't taste *as* good, but we can still eat it and be able to taste it. It's not like everything tastes the same."
"Oh, well that's kind of interesting," Buffy replied.
"Buffy, I can't find the beer!" Riley called from the kitchen.
Buffy sighed and got up from the table to get the beer for him. She was about to hand Angel the baby, but then thought better of it. She wanted Riley to be *involved* and she didn't want him to get drunk. Hopefully, if he held Joshua, he might get his head straight and remember he was a father.
"Here, just hold him," Buffy said, handing Riley the baby before bending down and digging around in the mess that was the bottom of her pantry. Perhaps if Riley stayed in his mood after Angel left with Josh, she might be on her own that night. She supposed to apartment could use a deep cleaning.
Angel clenched his fists and used all his self control not to kill Riley with his bare hands when he saw how the other man held his son. The baby that Riley allegedly loved as his own was being held as though he was a sack of potatoes. Riley didn't smile at Joshua, snuggle with him, even look at him. As soon as Buffy stood up with a twelve-pack of beer in hand, Riley took the beers and handed her Joshua.
Try as he might, Angel couldn't let it slide. He wouldn't. He could barely let Riley put Buffy through any more shit, but there was no way he was going to allow him to do it to his son. Standing up, he walked into the kitchen.
"Can I have a beer?"
Surprised, Buffy nonetheless pulled a second glass out of the cabinet and filled it with ice before handing it and a can of the beer to him. "Of course, Angel, you don't have to ask."
"Thanks Buffy," he replied, giving her a smile. "Riley, want to go out on the balcony? Have a man to man talk?"
Buffy paled when she saw the look on Angel's face. This wasn't going to be any casual talk. Angel had something serious to discuss with Riley.
Riley knew something was up as well. He hardly believed that Angel would want to be best friends all of a sudden. Still, he didn't fear the vampire. With a shrug, he headed towards the balcony. "Sure, sounds fine to me."
Buffy remained silent; after all, what could she do? Beg them not to go stand on the *balcony*? It was ridiculous. She just had to let them go do what they wanted, they *were* grown men. It wasn't like they would kill each other...
Shaking her head from that thought, Buffy lifted Joshua over her head and grinned up at him, easily becoming distracted by his toothless grin. He *was* her pride and joy, and she loved him more than anything.
"I don't suppose we have to stand out here and talk about how nice it is and that it's warm for October, right?" Riley asked the man who leaned on the railing next to him. "I think we'd both prefer for you to save us some time and say what you need to say."
Angel nodded at him. "We both would. That's what I like about you, Riley. You're goal oriented and self disciplined. You aren't afraid of hard work. I know that you take good care of Buffy and Joshua. I know that in theory you are a great husband and father."
"Ahh, 'in theory' I am," Riley repeated. "I guess you're going to tell me how I've managed to screw it all up."
"You haven't… yet. There have been some times when I really wanted to kill you, but I know it can't be easy when your wife has her ex-boyfriend's child, and I find it admirable the way you didn't just give it up, but allowed yourself to love Joshua as well as Buffy," Angel told him. "However, what you are doing has the potential to *ruin* both their lives… and yours in turn."
"Great, words of wisdom from *Angel*. I suppose now you're going to tell me how I can make it all better. I should go run and grab and paper," Riley replied sarcastically.
"Oh, I know exactly how to make it all better. You see, I am not going to let you ruin them. I'm not going to let you make Buffy feel guilty about how she didn't have your son first, and I am not going to let you make Joshua feel worthless because of a mistake that *Buffy* and *I* made!"
"You shut the Hell up! What do you know?! Joshua will always know he's not worthless because I love him! Buffy knows I love him, why would she feel guilty all the time?"
"Because of the way you act, Riley. Buffy swears that you are such a great dad and you love to put Joshua to bed and hold him and play with him, but I never see that. I don't think she is lying because I don't think if you out and out mistreated him, she would let you. She will let you do it to her, but not her son," Angel responded. "But when I am here, you ignore Buffy, you stress her out with the way you sulk and refuse to be sociable. You act like Joshua is a burden around me."
"Then maybe you should just stop coming around! Maybe you should leave us alone so I don't have to sulk and act like Joshua is a burden!"
"Joshua is my son and I love him! If you honestly love him too, how can you ask me to never see him again?" Angel asked, clenching the glass of beer so hard he almost broke it. "Could you just give up seeing Buffy and Joshua for the rest of your life?"
Riley nodded his head and set his beer on a small round table that sat next to a lounge chair. "Yeah, I could. It would be hard, but if doing so meant that Buffy and Joshua would have better lives without me, normal lives, I would do it."
"Their lives with me in it are fine. I would dare to say better, because I am one more person in Josh's life that loves him," Angel answered. "In fact, I would say the only person whose life would possibly be better with me gone is you."
"Damn straight, my life would be better! *I* am Buffy's husband. And I may not be biologically, but since I pay for this apartment, for the food and electricity and clothing, since I am the one who bathes him and puts him to bed and plays with him and all that... *I* am Joshua's father."
"You say that, and yet you feel so insecure about me spending a few nights a week with him. Who is in bed with Buffy every night? Who holds Joshua in the mornings? It's not me. Yet you feel threatened by me. Or is that even it? Maybe you're just pouting because this *isn't* normal and it *isn't* perfect. You're so busy focusing on the negatives, that you don't even care about the positives. Do you know what I would give to be in your position? I would do anything! To hold her in my arms... To be able to be everything for him… you're so lucky, Riley. Yet all you see is that you have to share *time* a little bit. Hell, half the time when I visit, you're at work. You're not even missing time with them. And these Saturday nights, you get time alone with Buffy and I don't even consider it doing you a favor. You notice I don't complain. I relish what I *do* have."
"Well, you're amazing, Angel. I could never be as great as you," Riley replied bitterly as he picked up his beer and took a drink before leaning over the rail on the balcony.
"I have a lot of faults, and I am far from perfect," Angel said quietly. "However, I have been on this Earth an extremely long time and I have learned a lot of things. Don't take *anything* for granted, Riley. You never know how important they are to you until you lose them."
Riley didn't say anything as Angel silently opened the door and walked back into the apartment. Instead, he took the time alone to think.
Buffy looked up anxiously as she heard the sliding door open. She was surprised to see Angel coming back in alone, but relieved that he didn't look any worse for wear. No blood, bruises or even ruffled hair. It appeared their talk had actually just been a talk, for which she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Everything okay?"
"It's fine," Angel assured her. "I think Riley wants some time alone out there. He has stuff to think over."
"Oh," Buffy replied, trying not to worry. It wasn't like Riley was thinking of *leaving* her or something.
"How long until dinner?" Angel asked, trying to distract her.
"Another fifteen minutes or so."
"It really does smell delicious," Angel told her, taking Joshua from her and smiling down at him. "You know, I find Italian food always reminds me of books by Italian authors… it's amazing how food can do that to you."
"You can even read Italian?" Buffy asked, surprised. "I mean, I knew you could do the Latin thing, but I never realized you were into Italian too."
"Oh yeah… you know, I could teach Joshua some. I hear if they start young, children learn other languages rather easily."
"That would be so cool! I would love it if you could teach him," Buffy replied with a grin, as she stopped focusing on Riley.
"You okay?" Buffy asked as she cuddled up against Riley.
He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. "Hey, I got my best girl here, how could I not be?"
"Well, you were just pretty quiet all night, so I worried," Buffy replied.
That was true, he had been quiet after he had come back in from the balcony. But it was a different kind of quiet than before. Instead of being anti-social, he had just quietly absorbed what was happening around him. He had watched, *really* watched the way Angel interacted with Buffy. She liked Angel, she enjoyed talking to him, but Riley realized that the way she looked at the vampire could never compare to how she looked at him. A part of Buffy would always love Angel… but she was *in* love with her husband. And Joshua… well Joshua looked at Angel with adoration, but Riley soon realized that he looked at him the same way when Buffy had her hold him while she put dishes in the sink and Angel packed Josh's diaper bag.
Angel was right; he had so much, but if he just worried about what he didn't have, he was a fool.
"I was quiet because I was devising plans all night for how I could seduce you," Riley joked.
"Oh really? Did you come up with anything good?" Buffy replied with a laugh.
"Not really… I was thinking that I would just pretend to stretch my arms in the middle of the movie and see if I could cop a feel," Riley told her as he grinned. "Think you'll let me get away with it?"
"I just might," Buffy answered, before tilting her head up to kiss him tenderly.
The kiss soon grew passionate as Buffy maneuvered herself into his lap and wrapped her arms around Riley's neck. His large hands stroked softly up and down her back as he pulled her tightly against him.
The movie on the television was soon forgotten.
April 2008
Angel walked briskly up the driveway to the small, but beautiful single story home. It was just after sundown, but it was far too late to Angel. He'd spent the past hour pacing in his apartment, just waiting for it to get dark so he could leave.
A moment after he rang the doorbell, the door opened and he saw Buffy standing on the other side of the threshold.
"Hi Buffy, you look even more beautiful today," he told her with a smile.
Buffy laughed, practically glowing, as her hand rubbed her rounded belly. "Angel, you're so sweet, but I see right through you. I've figured out that when you say beautiful, it means fat."
"It does not," Angel argued as he walked into the home that was filled with people.
"Angel!"
Angel grinned as he swooped down and picked up the small boy, the pretended to strain. "Jeez… you're getting heavy!"
"I know, he is such a big boy!" Buffy said as she pulled a camera out of nowhere and took a picture of the both of them.
"Three years old today," Angel sighed, marveling at his young son.
"I got toys!" Joshua announced excitedly.
"Joshua, I told you that you have *presents* and they will not all be toys," Buffy admonished, then sighed when she saw the sad look on his face. "But I am sure some will be toys."
"Yay!" Joshua cheered as he clapped, then gave his mother a serious look. "I tursty."
"Okay, well go in the kitchen and ask Uncle Graham for some juice. I have to talk to Angel," Buffy ordered.
Angel set the boy down and he was off, racing to the kitchen. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I just thought I would give you Josh's bag for tonight before things get… well, insane. I figure with all our friends here and a 3 year old on cake and ice cream, things will get wild."
Angel laughed and followed Buffy into Joshua's bedroom. "That's true. I'm sure I am going to have a fun time putting him to bed tonight."
Buffy gave him a sympathetic look. "Poor Angel."
"Oh, I don't really mind. You know I love it when he spends the night."
"Yeah, I'll be sure to ask you about that when I go into labor and we show up at your place in the middle of the night with Joshua," Buffy teased as she lifted the bag off of Joshua's little toddler bag and handed it to Angel.
"Great, I'll go put this in my car now, and then I can get Josh's gifts. Can you keep him occupied so I can sneak the big box in?"
"You got him the bike?"
"Yeah, because you and Riley got him the lawnmower."
"Oh, he is going to be *so* spoiled."
"Yeah, I'm sure I will mind when he is a teenager, but right now I'm having a ball," Angel replied. "And I know you love it."
"I do," Buffy admitted, "and I can't wait for this one to come too."
They were almost to the front door when Buffy heard a splash. Rushing to the kitchen, Buffy looked inside and gasped, which caused Angel to follow. Immediately he saw the source of both the splash and Buffy's surprise.
Apparently, Joshua had decided he was old enough to pour his own juice, but somehow he had managed to miss his cup on the floor almost entirely and had instead gotten orange juice all over the floor.
"Joshua!"
Joshua looked up at his mother, his brown eyes immediately giving her the saddest look, because he knew he was in trouble. Holding up both hands, he shrugged and told her "No Gam."
"Well, where is Uncle Graham?" Buffy asked, sighing at the mess.
Graham heard his name and walked in from the dining room. "Jeez… this is *not* my fault."
"Gam!" Joshua said cheerfully. He adored his Uncle Graham.
"Hey little man, I'll try to protect you from your mom, but you know how she is," Graham laughed, getting a dirty look from Buffy as she picked up a roll of paper towels and tried to kneel down with her pregnant belly.
"I just hope his little brother will be a lot more docile."
Riley then entered the room, intending to grab a soda, when he saw the mess. "What on Earth?"
"Joshua poured his own drink," Angel informed him.
"I see that," Riley replied, then gave Angel a polite smile. "How you doing Angel?"
"I'm pretty good. Everything going okay?"
"Couldn't be better," Riley told him.
They two men weren't friends, they never would be. However, they got along, could carry on a conversation, and they respected each other's positions in Buffy and Josh's lives.
When Riley saw what his wife was attempting to do, he grabbed the paper towels from her. "You shouldn't be doing that, I'll take care of it."
"You're so sweet," Buffy smiled at him, then gave her son a stern look. "You know better than to try to make your own juice. This is very bad Joshua."
Joshua's face crinkled as a cry burst free from his throat. However, when he saw that Daddy, Angel and Uncle Graham all had that same stern look, he knew he would get no sympathy and decided to make a run for it. Grandma was around somewhere and she loved her little grandson.
"I better go grab those boxes while I have a chance," Angel said before heading back out the door.
Graham headed off to the living room to hang with the guys while Buffy debated about whether or not she should mop the floor after Riley wiped up all the juice. However, after he was done she decided she would much rather deal with a sticky floor until everyone left than to give up a few moments alone with her husband.
As he stood up, she smiled at him. "I love you."
Riley grinned and walked around so he was standing behind her and could rub her belly as he adored doing. "And I love you. And Joshua… and our little guy in here."
It was an average day in the Finn household, but Riley wouldn't change it for anything. He was the happiest man on Earth.
The End