DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, OK? Except for Mari, she's mine.
SPOILERS: Up to Bad Girls more or less. It doesn't really stick to the Buffyverse timeline we all know and love.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I wrote this a while ago, before the bizarre world of Glory/Ben. I'm also trying to pretend that Riley Finn never existed. A girl can dream...
FEEDBACK: Feedback? Why thank you kind sir.

Sunnydale, California. 2038.

The sun had set, and so it was time for Mari Mallone to go for her regular evening run. This she did every night, along the beach. She was putting her sneakers on when she heard a noise behind her. She turned to see her grandfather standing there.

"What now?"

Silently, he handed her a small bottle of water and a crucifix. She sighed.

"Thank you." she put them in her pocket and then jumped down from the porch onto the soft sand, before sprinting off down the beach.

Her grandfather frowned. He didn't like her running along so deserted a beach at night time. But Mari was just like her grandmother: stubborn, feisty, independent. At the thought of her, his lips curved up in a smile. He sat on the porch, waiting for Mari's return. When she did return a half hour later, he inwardly thanked whoever it was for letting her come back safely.

"You're still here?" she asked him. "Don't you ever have anything better to do? There must be something on TV. Something old? Something new? Re-runs?"

She tried to cajole him, but she knew it was a waste of time.

"How much harm is going to come to me on the beach?" she said to him.

Seeing the look on his face, she knew she shouldn't have sounded quite so careless.

"I can take care of myself, you know." she said firmly.

"I know." he spoke for the first time. He got up.

"Drink?" he asked her, leading her inside. She only knew half the story. If she knew the other half of the story, she wouldn't be running along the beach like that. He was scared for her.

The very next day at school, Mari was sitting waiting for her best friend Heather Osbourne, when a tall, striking man came over. He was wearing a tweed suit, which stood out amongst all the up to the minute fashions around the school.

"Mari Mallone?" he asked in a serious English accent.

"Yeah?" she looked up at him, squinting in the sun.

"You must come with me. There isn't very much time. Your destiny awaits." he said urgently. Mari's heart sank. She'd been told this might happen. But she hadn't believed it. Well, until now.

"OK, OK." she said, gathering up her bag and following him.

"As long as there have been vampires, there has been the slayer," he began solemnly.

"One girl in all the world, a chosen one, born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires." she finished for him in a sing song voice. He looked at her, alarmed.

"How do you know about the slayer?"

"Can you say Buffy Summers?" she said, in a half bored, half bragging tone.

"How did you know Buffy?"

"I didn't. She died.... Buffy is my grandmother." she said.

"And you know of vampires and their kind?"

"Well, yeah!" she said. "My granddad's been a vampire since 1753." she was openly bragging now.

"You are the grandchild of Buffy Summers and Angel?" he said,

"Yeah. You catch on quick." she said. "Can I go now? He'll be expecting me home." She stood up, and went to leave.

"You can't just leave!" he said. "You have a sacred duty."

"I also have an incredibly overprotective granddaddy waiting for me." She sighed.

"If you're so bothered, why don't you come with me?" she finished.

"Angel!" she called. She didn't call her grandfather 'granddad' because he didn't look old enough to be even her father, never mind her grandfather.

"Where have you been? You're late..." Angel trailed off when he saw the tweed clad man in the doorway. Instinct told him what the deal was.

"You've been called?" he said in a weak voice.

"Yeah." she didn't sound too concerned.

"You're sure? You're sure you definitely have the right girl?" Angel grilled the new watcher.

"Yes."

"And your name is?"

"Donald Giles. I believe you knew my father."

"Rupert?" Angel said hollowly, a vision of Jenny Calendar rushing through his still-tortured mind, followed quickly by a memory of torturing Rupert.

"Yes."

"I knew him." said Angel, wishing he could get rid of the memories, or even better still, turn back time.

"Well, Mr Angel,"

"It's just Angel."

"Well, I'm fully aware of your life as a, shall we say...." Giles searched for the right word, trying not to offend or annoy the old and powerful vampire standing before him. What was the term? Undead American?

"Vampire?" asked Angel. "I'm sure you do. You watchers kept a close eye on me."

"Well, quite."

"You're totally sure that Mari is the new slayer?" he repeated the question again, wishing that Mari wasn't the slayer, doomed to a life fighting the darkness.

"Yes, we're quite sure. She is the slayer. You don't seem too surprised, so you must have noticed the signs yourself." said Donald Giles. Angel didn't answer. He had noticed the signs. He'd been praying to whatever God would listen to him to spare his beautiful Mari. But it wasn't to be.

"She is the slayer." Donald Giles repeated, emphasising his words.

"I know." said Angel in a quiet voice, resigned to outliving his granddaughter too. He'd just hoped it wouldn't be so soon. He knew that Mari would die young. Even Buffy died young, and she'd been the greatest slayer to ever fight the forces of evil.

Sunnydale, California. 1999.

"Angel!" Buffy literally bounced into the room. The curtains were all drawn, and Angel was sitting in his antique leather armchair, reading Don Juan , by Lord Byron.

"Hey," he said, looking up, a smile coming to his lips. He closed the book and set it down just in time to save it from being crushed under the weight of Buffy jumping onto his lap.

"Hey yourself," she said, planting a kiss on his lips.

"How are you today?" he asked her. She smiled.

"I'm good. There are no huge evils brewing in Sunnydale tonight, so it's just one of those nights spent wandering around graveyards, watching for vampires. My life is so boring." she said.

"Wandering around graveyards in the middle of the night boring?" he joked. She looked at him with those big hazel eyes, and he felt himself melting inside.

"Well, it depends who I'm wandering around with." she whispered in his ear.

"Is that your way of asking me out on a date, Ms Summers?" he said, feeling curiously jokey.

"Well, yeah," she said "I don't know Angel, ever since Willow got that stupid happiness clause lifted, I've just felt like being close to you." her smile left her face, to be replaced with a heartrending look.

"I just like being with you." she said in an oddly childlike way.

"I know the feeling." he said huskily, pulling her to him for a kiss.

To say that The Bronze just wasn't happening would be an understatement. By the time Buffy and Angel arrived, Xander was about to collapse with boredom. The band which were playing seemed fixated on playing slow, mournful tunes, not the stuff Friday night dreams are made of. Then again, it was Thursday.

"Buffy! Save us!" he called.

"From what?" she said with a quizzical look.

"The biggest demon of them all!" he said dramatically. When she didn't answer, he said,

"Boredom."

"The Bronze is dead tonight," said Cordelia approaching the table, and hooking her arm through Xander's.

"I should probably patrol soon," said Buffy. "This was only going to be a quick visit, and seeing the non-buzz atmosphere of the Bronze, it's going to be even quicker."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Angel said. She smiled.

"Why not? Sorry to hit and run guys, see you in the morning." she smiled at them, before she and Angel went out the way they came.

There were three vampires loitering by the back door of the Bronze. Buffy dispatched two of them easily, but the third was more determined in it's quest to bag a slayer. He hit out at her with an iron bar, but she dodged. She kicked him squarely in the chest, but he kept coming at her.

"Buffy!" Angel yelled, running towards her. He threw a stake to her, which she caught, and staked the vampire with it, before he had a chance to react. She got up and dusted herself down.

"Buffy? Are you all right?" he said concerned. He could smell her blood, and as she turned around he saw the tear in her jacket, and the large gash in her skin underneath.

"Let me sort you out." he said, taking her arm and leading her towards his mansion.

He flicked on the lights, and went straight to his well used first aid kit.

"Lie down." he instructed her. She felt a little weak, but not weak enough to let the moment pass. She grinned devilishly.

"Now Angel, is this really the time to have your wicked way with me?" she grinned, but he wasn't smiling.

"Just lie down." he repeated. She took the torn jacket off, and then did so. Her shirt was soaked with blood, and it too was ripped. He cut open the back of the shirt, and then began cleaning the wound. It wasn't too deep, just long, and it would smart for a couple of days at least. Buffy was strong, she'd get over it. He cleaned it up, and put a dressing on over it.

"All done." he said to her, proud of his handiwork, and proud of the fact he hadn't felt that all too familiar bloodlust while doing it.

"Good. Will it scar? Will I be able to wear open backed clothes again?" she sounded awfully concerned.

"You'll be fine." he said with the half smile he knew she loved so much.

"Thank you Doctor Angel," she said in a sing song voice. "How can I ever repay you?" she finished, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Don't you have to get home?" he asked, but she shook her head.

"Mom's in Los Angeles art buying again. I'm all yours." she smiled up at him. He felt his own heart melt. He pulled her into his arms, careful not to hurt her fresh wounds, and kissed her deeply.

The next morning he woke up when she was getting ready to go to school. She hoped she could maybe get away with being a little late, but Snyder was still watching over her like a hawk.

"Go back to sleep." she said quietly. He opened both eyes wide. She was wearing one of his own shirts.

"Why are you wearing my shirt?" he asked, confused. She held up the torn, bloodied shirt she'd been wearing last night, before throwing it into her bag.

"You look bizarre," he said to her. The shirt was way, way too big on her, even though she'd tied the bottom of it up at her waist.

"I know. I'm just wearing it for now, I'll stop off at home first and get one of my own." she told him. "Now you go back to sleep, and I'll come and see you after school." she bent down to kiss him gently, before running out of the door.

**

"Angel?" Mari asked. He looked up from where he was sitting, looking at the ocean.

"Yeah?" he said.

"You don't want me to be the slayer, do you?" she said outright.

"No." he replied honestly. "I don't. I want you to have the normal life Buffy always longed for and could never have. Because she was the slayer, because of me,"

"Shut up." she said. He glared at her. "I'm sorry," she was instantly apologetic.

"She fought evil, right?" Mari said. Angel nodded. "She was destined always to fight evil, right?" He nodded again. "So she had a normal life. A normal life for her. If she hadn't been the slayer, she would never have met you."

Angel had to admit she had a fairly good point.

"But you don't deserve...."

"It's my destiny too. And maybe I'll meet some tall dark and handsome stranger who'll help me." she said with a grin. She knew the idea of boyfriends made Angel seethe. Nobody was good enough for her in his mind.

"You're too young to be going out with boys." he said.

"I'm seventeen years old." she told him. "And I recall a certain young man who shall remain nameless having his wicked way with someone younger than me." she said. She'd hit a nerve.

"I didn't mean that quite how it came out," she said quickly, knowing full well what happened the first time Angel 'had his wicked way' with Buffy.

"I know. You're right," he said, resigned. "But that doesn't mean that I'll like any of the boys you bring home."

"So I wont bring them home." she taunted him good naturedly. Fortunately, he saw the funny side. He smiled slightly, before saying,

"You must not let anyone know who you are. It has to stay secret, for their sakes." he said slowly. She grimaced.

"Another secret? Gee, cause I don't have enough of them. Like the fact that my grandfather looks like he's twenty seven, when in reality he's only a decade or two short of being three hundred years old, and I have to pretend he's my uncle I live with because I'm orphaned." she said it all in rush. Angel looked sad.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being able to give you a normal life."

"This is a normal life. For me. My granddad the good vampire, slaying the bad vampires, not much has changed."

"So, you're like, the slayer now?" Heather asked her friend. "Far out."

So much for the secret identity clause.

"I know. And Angel's totally wigging about it." said Mari.

"If Ms Osbourne and Ms Mallone would give us their full attention?" called their history teacher from the front of the class.

"We'll talk later," said Heather, ever the conscientious student. Mari nodded, and attempted to concentrate.

"That car wasn't here earlier!" exclaimed Mari, as she and Heather walked up the path to Mari's front door. She was excited, as was Heather. Because the state of the art, up to the minute Mercedes-Benz parked outside the house could mean only one thing:

"Uncle Xander!" Mari called out as she flung open the door. Indeed, Xander Harris and his wife Cordelia were sitting in the kitchen with Angel, and Heather's grandmother Willow.

"Aw, look Heather, the Scooby Gang back together." said Mari with a wicked grin. Angel shot her a look.

"Ms Mallone, I hope you've been working hard at school." said Xander, knowing full well that Mari and school were not the greatest combination. He smiled as Mari squirmed slightly under their gaze.

"Of course," she shot back. Xander threw her a 'Yeah right' look, which he was careful to keep hidden from Angel. Mari looked at Xander. The years had been kind to him, and to Cordelia, but there was no escaping the fact that they were beginning to get old. They were both fifty seven years old, the age her grandmother would have been. Cordelia still had long brown hair, but Mari knew she dyed it, and the face was a little too perfect to not have been tampered with by the best surgeons in California. As for Willow, her flaming red hair was a little less flaming than it once had been, with long streaks of grey running through it. She now wore glasses, and the sparkle in her eyes had lost some of it's, well, sparkle. Mari knew that it was because of her grandmother.

**

"Angel?" she called quietly. The mansion seemed to be empty. Buffy went further inside, but Angel wasn't there. Damn. She needed to speak to him, like now.

"Angel. Quit being Cryptic Disappearing Guy," she said to the empty mansion. At that very moment, the door opened, and Angel came in, carrying a plastic bag full of what looked like packets of pig's blood. He seemed surprised to see her.

"Buffy?"

"Hi. I needed to speak to you."

"Just a second." he said, as he put the blood in the fridge. He went over to her, and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"What is it?" he asked, more than a little concerned.

"Well, uh, you see, well," she stammered, her face flushing. He smiled at her, and sat her down next to him on his bed.

"What is it? You can tell me." he smiled again. Buffy looked down at her feet, then at the wall, then anywhere except at Angel.

"I'm pregnant." she murmured, too quiet for anyone to hear. Except for a vampire with great hearing.

"Really?" he asked. She finally looked at him and just nodded.

"I don't know how." She said quietly. "I thought vampires couldn't...." She trailed off.

"Me too." Angel said. He wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her softly on the forehead.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him.

"I'm thinking that I love you." he said honestly. She smiled weakly.

"What am I gonna do?" she sounded like a scared little girl. Which, Angel reminded himself, was exactly what she was. Suddenly, for a moment, he felt two hundred and forty seven years old. Which, he reminded himself, was exactly what he was.

"We'll work it out." he said, kissing her again.

"What will my mom say? What will Giles say?" she sounded absolutely petrified.

"I don't know. Why don't we tell them all at the same time? That way you only have to do that once." he said.

"That's a good idea." she said, not moving. Angel looked at her.

"What?"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he said. She looked at him. She wasn't going to be able to squirm out of it, or bluff her way out of it.

Joyce was at home, enjoying her fresh cup of coffee when there came a knock on the door. It was Giles and Willow.

"Mr Giles? Willow?" she was confused as to why they were there.

"Is Buffy here?" Giles asked her.

"No, she's out."

"We just got a phone call from her to meet her here."

"Well, OK, come on in." Joyce held the door open to them, and led them into the living room.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked them. Both shook their heads. There came a second knock on the door, this time, Cordelia and Xander stood there, telling Joyce that Buffy had called to have them meet her there. They had all been sitting there for just a minute when Buffy and Angel came through the door.

"What is it?" Joyce asked. "What's the panic?"

"There's no panic.... exactly." Buffy began slowly. The arm wrapped around her waist squeezed gently, supportively.

"What is it?" Joyce asked again. Buffy breathed in sharply, nervously.

"I'm pregnant." Buffy said simply. Her mother fell into a chair, completely stunned. Willow and Xander looked shocked, Cordelia seemed more than faintly amused, while Giles seemed a little confused, the look he got when long held beliefs were questioned, and he was having to work them over in his mind.

"You're........" Joyce's voice trailed off. She looked at Angel accusingly. "You?"

"Of course him!" exclaimed Buffy. "Who did you think?" she was more than a little annoyed by the idea that anyone could think she wasn't entirely in love with Angel.

"W...well.. this is entirely unprecedented." Giles managed to stammer. "It's been long thought that vampires couldn't....well, couldn't."

"You thought that too?" said Angel, thankful that he couldn't blush.

"Do you know how totally irresponsible you are Buffy? And you?" Joyce said, over her shock enough for anger to have set in. Buffy glared, but said nothing. She looked to Giles for help, but he was too busy considering a pregnant slayer. How was he supposed to tell The Council that their eighteen year old slayer was pregnant? And by a vampire?

"Well, I think you should go to your room now. We'll talk about this tomorrow." said Joyce, still angry. Buffy stood her ground for a moment, but suddenly felt tired.

"All right." she said softly. The arm which had been around her waist the whole time loosened.

"We'll see you tomorrow Buffy." said Willow, rising to leave.

"Thanks Will." where Buffy expected to see condemnation in her friend's face, she saw only love and support. Willow squeezed Buffy's shoulder as she left. Xander, on the other hand, seemed a little more angry. But he fought it back.

"See you tomorrow Buff." he said, leading Cordelia out of the door. Cordelia, for her part, just beamed at Buffy. Now only she, Joyce, Angel and Giles remained.

"Well... good night Buffy. We'll talk about this tomorrow." said Giles, smiling at her a little, clearly having difficulty with exactly how he felt about the whole thing. He left, and Joyce bored holes into Angel with her eyes as he bid Buffy good night, with a tender little kiss. Without a word to her mother, Buffy went upstairs.

"Morning Buffy!" called Willow from the computer terminal. It was obvious to Buffy that they had all been discussing her, as the room had gone silent as she came in.

"Buffy, how are you?" Giles was concerned.

"I'm fine. How are you all? Have you decided how you all feel about this?" she said, letting them know she knew that they'd been talking about her.

"Well, er, that is,"

"Spit it out Giles," she said with a smile "The suspense is killing me."

"I do want to congratulate you, really." he said, smiling at her.

"Thanks."

"That goes for all of us," said Willow, joining them at the table.

"We've been discussing your slayer duties in the future." began Giles.

"We would have talked with you, but you were late." Willow said quickly. Buffy smiled, and waved her hands as if to say 'No big deal'.

"I've contacted the council, told them of your condition. It's possible that the new slayer will be able to join us here in Sunnydale soon, so that you don't have to slay in the advanced months. Which would be difficult." said Giles.

"There's not much going on at the moment, since we got the Mayor before his invincibility thing kicked in." said Xander.

"Well, quite. But we do need a slayer. This is the Hellmouth after all."

"Hello? I'm not going to be entirely helpless you know." said Buffy.

"But we don't want you getting hurt, you know, you might..." Giles trailed off

"Lose the baby." she finished quietly. That hadn't occurred to her. Her hands flew to her stomach instinctively, an action not missed by those around her.

"What about school?" she asked.

"Well, we've been thinking about that. You only have a couple more months before graduation, so it won't be too apparent. We've all agreed that it's best to keep it secret." At this everyone looked at Cordelia.

"What? I can keep secrets you know!" she exclaimed. They looked sceptical.

"I can so! What about all the stuff I know about Xander, like the time he..."

"OK!" Xander cried, "We believe you!" They all grinned at him.

"Well, something like this wouldn't go down well with Principal Snyder." said Willow.

"Who already has a vendetta against Buffy." added Xander.

"Quite. And I'm sure the inevitable teasing would be something Buffy could live without." Giles commented. Buffy nodded. She smiled. She had the support of her friends, she had Angel. Life was going to be OK.

But, her mother was a little harder to convince. She'd had enough trouble knowing that Buffy was the slayer, that she was dating a vampire, that she was really in love with that vampire. The idea that she was now pregnant by said vampire was too much. So, Buffy packed up her stuff, and moved to the mansion.

"She was really that bad?" Angel asked, concerned.

"Yeah. And then some more." Buffy said sadly.

"She'll come round. She will. All she needs to do is see her little grandchild and she'll be fine. Trust me." he said.

"It's going to be that long until she speaks to me again?"

"Not necessarily. There's always ultrasounds." he said. "Don't forget, she probably doesn't think she's old enough to be a grandmother yet. Which she isn't really, so that's gotta be kind of, I don't know, scary." he reasoned. Buffy nodded.

"Angel?"

"What?"

"There aren't any mirrors, are there?" she asked with a smile. He shook his head.

"This house is not girl-friendly."

"If you want it to be, then it will be." he said with a smile. He went out of the room for a minute or two, before coming in with a large thing covered in a sheet.

"When I arrived here, this was in the hall. I put it in the cellar." he took the sheet off to reveal a large, beautiful antique mirror.

"That's beautiful," said Buffy, taking it from him.

"It's yours." he said.

"Where shall I put it?" she said, before realising that it didn't matter to Angel.

"Wherever you like." She considered this, knowing that he wouldn't want to walk past it all the time, and be reminded of what he was.

"I'll put it in here." she said, going into the walk in closet. Angel smiled. He knew she was putting it out of the way for his benefit. His not-actually-beating-heart was warmed by her sensitivity and consideration for him.

"We'll see you all soon," promised Xander as he and Cordelia went to leave. They got into their car and roared off into the sunset. They had come when Angel told them of Mari's destiny as the slayer. They were just as concerned as Angel was. They didn't want to see Mari die young.

"We'd better get going too," said Willow, taking Heather's hand.

"See you soon." said Mari, as they went down the path. In a few minutes, the sun had set entirely and Angel came out onto the porch, where Mari was watching the ocean.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah."

"You don't sound OK." he said. "I can tell."

"Congratulations Mr Super Senses." she said, before adding "Sorry."

"It's OK." he paused. "You don't want to die." he said, a statement, not a question.

"Course I don't. I don't know anything about being the slayer."

"Neither did Buffy at first. I saw her called, you know."

"Really?" Mari looked up at him.

"Yeah. She was just a regular LA girl, with her mind on clothes, parties, boys."

"Then she got called."

"Yep. And then her mind was on clothes, parties, boys and vampires." Mari laughed.

"Well, just one boy after a while." he smiled at the memory.

"You."

"Yeah. You know how we met?" he asked his granddaughter.

"No."

"She knocked me to the ground." he smiled. "It was her first day of school, she was on her way to The Bronze..."

"Wait! The Bronze is that old?" she was surprised and shocked.

"Yeah. The Bronze has served generations of Sunnydale youth." he smiled again.

"Anyway, the story." Mari pressed.

"Yeah, she was on her way to The Bronze, and I was following her,"

"Doing your Stalker Boy routine."

"Yeah. Could you let me finish a single sentence?"

"Sorry."

"I was following her, and she sensed me, and caught me by surprise. It was then that I knew she was better than most slayers before her. And it was then that I knew I loved her. Anyway, I warned her about the Harvest, and gave her a silver cross."

Mari fiddled with the silver cross around her own neck.

"Yeah, that one." he said, guessing what Mari was wondering. Suddenly, it became more than protection and decoration to her. It was history. Her own history.

"What did she say to you?"

"Not a lot. She was more annoyed than anything. She was trying to give up slaying and then I came along with news of the Harvest."

"She tried to give up slaying..." mused Mari.

"She moved to Sunnydale with her mom after she burned down the gym at her school in LA. She wanted a normal life, without monsters. I guess after the Harvest, she figured she'd just try to slay and have a normal life, because she couldn't get away from being the slayer."

"What was she like?" Mari asked him a question she'd asked a million times before.

"She was beautiful and kind and warm-hearted and loving and caring and entirely unselfish. She cared more about her friends and family than about herself. She cared more about world saving than about herself. That's what made Buffy Summers the best slayer there ever was. Every time she went out, she didn't really care if she died, just as long as she took whatever demon it was down with her." he smiled sadly. Mari took her grandfather's hand, and together, they just watched the ocean roll in and out.

**

Angel stood over her. He was firm in this.

"You're going."

"No I am not." she said.

"Yes you are."

"What are you going to do? Take me there by force? It's daylight outside." she said.

"No, I'm not. But Giles will, Xander will, Willow will, Cordelia, Oz. They might not be able to overpower you individually, but I'm kinda curious to see what they could do combined." he said with a wicked grin.

"I'm not going." she stuck her bottom lip out stubbornly.

"Buffy, this is important." Giles said from the other side of the library. Blackout material had been put up on the windows for Angel's benefit.

"I'm not going!" she cried.

"What's the big deal?" asked Xander. "One little doctor's appointment." his voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"Yeah, I mean you fight bloodsucking fiends and big demons all the time without so much as blinking with fear. What's the big with doctors?" asked Cordelia.

"Nothing. I just don't need to go." she said. She stood up. "I'm going to biology now."

"Like Hell you are." said Angel. He grabbed her arms.

"No! Angel, stop it!" she said, squealing with laughter as he tickled her mercilessly.

"OK! I'll go!" she yelled, giving in. He stopped.

"I'll take you." said Cordelia.

"You will?"

"Sure, I've got a car, you need transportation, and I didn't do my English homework." Cordelia grabbed her bag and led Buffy out of the room.

"What did the doctor say?" Angel asked as Buffy came through the doors of the library after her appointment.

"Hello to you too Angel." she said. "Everything's fine, as I knew it would be. They want me to go to the hospital for a scan. Not for any reason, just for fun."

"OK. When?"

"Thursday, half five. It'll be dark by then." she added.

"All right." he said. "I'll be there."

"As for today, I say we party." she began. "Who's for Bronzing?"

"Sure. Well, Oz is playing tonight anyway." said Willow with a smile.

The Bronze was packed to bursting when Buffy and Angel arrived, a little later than the others. They made their way to their usual table, where the Scooby Gang was waiting for them.

"I don't even want to know why you're late." said Xander, with a wicked grin.

"Shut up Xander," Buffy told him with a laugh. "At least we don't make out in closets."

"Touché." he said, grinning at Cordelia, thinking of their own 'little secret'.

"So, when does the new slayer arrive?" asked Willow, wanting to change the subject.

"Who knows? Giles said the council's being vague about it all. Secrecy and stuff." Buffy told her.

"Do we even know her name?"

"Nope. She's been told to show up at the library and report to Giles when she arrives though. According to Giles, she's a year younger than us, and she's from England."

"So her and Giles will get on OK." quipped Xander. "Drinking tea and proclaiming their love for the Queen and soccer."

"Propagating national stereotypes Xander?" said Angel. "Not all English people are like that."

"No. What about the Irish? Are they all drunks?" Xander shot back. Angel felt himself grow angry, part of him remembering the drunken Irishman he'd once been.

"Stop it." said Buffy in a calm but dangerous tone. Both shut up immediately, regardless of their next insult.

"Thank you. God, you two are like two little old ladies bickering."

"Well, Angel has the old bit down." said Xander, unable to resist. Angel growled, low and dangerously. The smile wiped off Xander's face. Cordelia laughed.

"If you two could dump some hormones?" she said, too busy laughing to really care. The scared look on Xander's face was priceless.

"Dance Angel?" asked Buffy, wanting to split the two up before blood was spilt. Or drained.

"Sure." They got up. The song was fairly slow, and Angel wrapped his arms around her. He was, in truth, scared for Buffy. He didn't want her to get hurt. He didn't want the baby to be hurt either. He wanted to protect her.

***

"So, she was like the Super Slayer?" asked Mari. Angel nodded. He had told her of the time that Buffy had stormed City Hall, managing to destroy the Mayor before he was able to complete his invincibility ritual. As a result, his Ascension never took place, because he was, you know, dead already.

He told her of the time Buffy had used a rocket launcher to dismember the Judge. He even told his granddaughter how it had been Angel himself who took the Judge to the Mall, just after he had changed. It had warmed Angel's heart to know that his granddaughter loved him, even knowing what he had done in the past. Like Buffy, she could differentiate between Angelus the Demon and Angel the Man. Mari was a lot like Buffy, and it made Angel so proud and happy to see Mari follow in Buffy's footsteps.

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