Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Brighid Anne, Moira Jennifer, Eamon Cody, and Trevor Tiernan
Rating: same as show
Spoilers: Everything up to Surprise.
Summary: Angel returns from leaving on the boat to find a very changed Buffy.
Lore: Buffy and Angel made love when Buffy went to see him the morning before her b-day. He still left on the boat with the Judge's arm. This story starts a year after Angel left. All the teens are seniors. Giles and Jenny are married.
Feedback: I'm begging! My inbox is malnourished! It needs feedback to live.
Author's Notes: This story starts out right after Angel left in the library. Then goes to a month later and finally a year later.

Buffy Summers was tired. Her love had just left for God-knows-where and for God-knows how long. Buffy sat quietly in the library, barely listening to Giles talk about a plan to raid the factory and destroy the rest of the Judge. She just played with the ring Angel gave her at the docks. Her eyes began to water and she couldn't handle the barrage of emotions. She got up after Giles was finished and began the long walk home. Willow followed her.

"Buffy! Wait up!"

Buffy turned around.

"How are you holding up?"

She shrugged in response. "I miss him so much already, Wills. He's only been gone a few hours, but it feels like a lifetime. I don't know how I will survive without him! He became such a part of me these last couple of months. We shared so much and I may never see him again! I love him so much, Will!"

Buffy broke down right there in the hallway and Willow could do nothing but hold her best friend and pray that Angel made it back to Buffy because she would fear what Buffy would do if he didn't return. Buffy calmed herself enough to get to Angel's apartment. She wanted to be around as much of Angel as possible. Buffy changed into a pair of his boxers and a T-shirt and went to bed.

Buffy was walking along the beach. The sun shone brightly in the blue sky. She stopped and looked around. There were happy couples all over the place. Buffy was beginning resent their happiness sand getting wistful for her happiness with Angel. She didn't know how long she stood and watched the couples because soon the sun was setting. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist and she knew instinctively that it was Angel. She relaxed into his embrace, loving the feel of love, comfort, and safety he gave her.

"I miss you so much, Angel."

"I miss you too, Buffy. You're everything to me, Buffy."

He kissed the top of her head softly.

"Are we having the same dream?"

"We share dreams. This is the only way I can make sure you are all right and won't do anything stupid. You can't."

"Will I see you every night?"

"Only when we are asleep at the same time."

"What do you mean `won't do anything stupid'?"

"Please don't kill yourself if I'm not back in six months or a year."

"Angel, I love you. Even if we never see each other again, I will always be with you."

"How?"

"Two ways, my love."

"What two ways?"

"You will know soon enough."

There was a companionable silence for a little bit. Something flashed in front of Buffy's face and saw that it was a large golden retriever. It ran up to a dream version of Buffy. She laughed and petted the dog on the head. Soon, a dream-Angel came up from behind her, carrying six beach chairs easily. Four children, two boys and two girls, came running into the scene carrying surfboards and beach toys. One girl was pulling a gray and green Fisher Price wagon loaded with toys and balls people used at the beach.

Real Buffy watched in awe as the scene unfolded. She couldn't believe how much the girls looked like Angel with their dark hair and eyes. Each boy had blond hair but one had blue eyes where the other had green eyes.

"Is this our future, Angel?"

"It can be. If you choose wisely."

Buffy woke up slowly. Her dreamland chat with Angel was amazing. She hoped she could see more of him. That way she couldn't go crazy missing him.

Part 2

It had been a month since Angel had left. Buffy had been feeling a little sick but she chalked it up to missing her Angel. Everytime she thought about ending her life, she thought about the dream she had the night he left. The dream of her and Angel being in the sun and having a family. She cherished the dream. So far there had been no more from him but that just meant that they weren't both sleeping at the same time.

Buffy went to classes everyday but she knew her friends were worried. For months, she and Angel had been joined at the lips and mow that he was gone, it felt like half of her was missing. Willow tried to be optimistic but Buffy wouldn't be happy again until Angel was back in Sunnydale and her arms.

*

Angel was stuck on a slow-moving barge going to Bangkok. It was day so he couldn't go out of his room. He thought of Buffy everyday. Wondered what she was doing, how she was coping. They had only been together for months and had only made love once, but she had become his sunlight, his reason for living. Only twice had he been attacked by some of his childe's minions, obviously tracking him. Both times, he had safely protected the arm-in-a-box.

Suddenly, he felt like sleeping, knowing that this sleep would bring a dreamland meeting with his love.

Angel was walking along a beach, not the same one from their first dream. This one looked like a Hawaiian beach. Up ahead, he saw Buffy staring off into the waters. Slowly, he made his way over to her, vaguely aware that the sun was just beginning to set. He tried not to let her know he was there, but their connection was too strong. She turned to face him.

"I felt you the moment you fell asleep."

"How are you? It's been a month."

Buffy shrugged. "I've been a little sick lately, but nothing major."

"It is beginning."

Confusion marred Buffy's gorgeous face. "What is?"

"The prophecy."

"What prophecy?"

"The Codex doesn't just bring bad news."

Buffy now understood. There was a prophecy in the Codex Angel wanted her to find. A thought occurred to her.

"Am I pregnant, Angel?"

He smiled and hugged her. That was all the answer she needed.

Part 3

The next day, Buffy bought a home pregnancy test and sure enough, she was pregnant. Normally, a 17-year old girl would be frightened at the thought of becoming a mother, but not Buffy. She was overjoyed. She had proof that that one perfect morning really did happen. She had a little reminder of Angel inside her. She knew her friends wouldn't be too happy, nor would her mother, but that was life. That was the price of bearing Angel's child. She might lose her friends.

Buffy was scared. She had to tell her friends and Giles the truth. She took a deep breath before pushing the library doors open and walking in. Giles was on the upper level, in the stacks as usual. Ms. Calender was at the library computer, Willow had her laptop open on the study table and was absorbed at whatever she saw on the screen. Xander was keeping his distance from Willow, sitting on the checkout counter and reading a comic book. All in all, it was a normal, everyday scene. Ms. Calender was the first to notice her entrance.

"Good morning, Buffy."

Buffy smiled and nodded her head slightly. She walked into the middle of the room.

"I have something to tell everyone."

That got everyone's attention. Willow closed her laptop, Jenny came around the counter and stood by the stairs, Xander hopped off the counter and sat in one of the study chairs and Giles made his way down the steps to stand slightly behind Jenny.

"Now that I have everybody's attention. I have an announcement that will most likely shock you. I'm pregnant."

There was utter silence in the library. Then there was chaos.

"You're what?"

"Pregnant. As in 9 months, I'm going to be a mother."

Giles was the first to respond. "I suppose Angel is the father?"

Buffy just nodded her head, too ashamed to meet his gaze.

"When?"

"The morning before my birthday. I went over to Angel's apartment to tell him about the dream. We started kissing and things got out of hand."

Willow looked at her best friend in a sudden understanding. "That's why you were late to school that day."

"Yep."

Xander had been quiet long enough. "How could you, Buffy?"

The slayer turned to face her livid friend. "How could I what?"

"Going out is one thing, Buffy. Sex is another thing all together. You let a corpse touch you. You let something that should have been dust and bones over 200 years ago. You are sick."

Buffy was now beginning to get angry. "I can't help the way I feel, Xander. I didn't plan to fall in love with Angel. It just happened! And if you ever disrespect Angel in my presence again, you won't live to see the sunrise."

Part 4

Buffy ran out of the library, in tears. Everyone in the room was furious with Xander. Willow was the first to say something.

"How could YOU? Buffy and Angel love each other! What gives you the right to tell her what you did?"

"This baby is going to be a freak, half-vampire. We don't even know what the kid will look like. It could be a monster for all we know."

"You're jealous! You want Buffy to be with you and its killing you that she loves Angel and is having his baby, instead of yours!"

Xander scoffed. "Please! What in the world would make you think that?"

"Only the fact that you have been mooning over Buffy since she moved here! All last year, it was Buffy this and Buffy that! Get out of my sight Alexander LaVelle Harris!"

Xander ran. A few minutes later, Willow ran to Buffy's house to see how she was doing.

*

Buffy let Willow in when the redhead reached her best friend's house. The blonde had been crying, Willow was sure of it.

"How are you holding up, Buffy?"

"You mean besides having your best friend tell you that he thinks you are sick and perverted and not having the man you love here to comfort you? I'm doing just fine."

"Buffy, there's no need to be sarcastic on me. Take it out on Xander."

Buffy smiled a little. "I plan to during school tomorrow."

"Have you told your mom yet about the baby?"

Buffy was thankful for the change in topic.

"Not yet. I took the test this afternoon and Mon hasn't been home. I know she's going to flip. I have to tell her that, not only did I sleep with a man I never told her I was dating, but I have to tell her that I'm pregnant with his baby and he's out of the country hiding a box with an arm inside that, if connected with the other parts, would bring terror and destruction to mankind."

"Buffy, you do realize that you can't tell your mom about the last part of that."

The Slayer groaned. "I know, but what could I tell her?"

"I don't know, Buffy. But you're gonna hafta think of something fast because your mom's car is pulling into the driveway."

"Could you give my mom and I some time alone?"

"Sure, but call me later and tell me how it went."

"I will."

Willow left right as Mrs. Summers was coming in. Buffy let her mom get settled before approaching her.

"Mom? There's something I need to tell you."

Part 5

Mrs. Summers looked up at the serious expression on her daughter's face. They moved and sat down in the living room.

Buffy had thought long and hard about exactly how to tell her mother.

"I've been dating this guy for a couple of months. A month ago, we moved things to the next level."

Joyce looked at Buffy in shock. "You had sex."

Buffy nodded. She took a deep breath to be able to tell the next part of the news.

"I took a pregnancy test today and it came out positive."

Joyce was about to pass out. Her baby, who had just recently turned seventeen, was going to have a baby of her own.

Buffy waited for her mother to respond, all the while wishing Angel was here so that she wouldn't have to go through this alone.

"I just don't know what to say, Buffy. This is the last thing I ever expected to hear from you. I'm sorry, Buffy, but you know how strong my opinions are about teen sex and pregnancy. How could you throw your life away like this? Did either of you even think of the consequences of your actions?"

Buffy didn't respond, giving Joyce her answer.

"I gave up my life so that Hank and I could raise you and this is how you repay me?"

Buffy now began to cry. "Mom, I love my baby's father so much! I wished that you could be happy for me `cause I'm happy for me! This baby is my only link to my boyfriend because he may never return to me!"

With that, Buffy fled up the stairs and packed a bag. There was only on place where she felt completely safe, Angel's apartment. So that's where she went. She tossed her bag out the window and followed it down to the ground. There, she picked it up and without a second glance, left her mother's home for good.

Part 6

The next couple of months were hard on Buffy. She had to pay Angel's rent with the small salary she got from working part-time at a dress shop. She couldn't slay because of her expanding stomach so Kendra had been called up to take her place. Whenever she saw her mother in public, they ignored each other and her grades in school were dropping because she never had a chance to do her homework or study. Willow and Giles were the only ones who still talked to her but neither of them was much of a replacement for Angel, who still had not met Buffy in her dreams since the last time.

Buffy had told Giles of the prophecy Angel mentioned in her dream but he had to translate the text so that would take a while. She was always tired but she was as happy as she could be without Angel. She was glad that she was able to have his child, a little life that looked like him.

Buffy was working one afternoon when a pretty brunette walked up to her. Buffy recognized her instantly. It was her cousin Brighid Anne Summers.

"Buffy!"

Buffy was shocked to see Brighid on the west coast, let alone Sunnydale.

"Brig! What are you doing here?"

"I transferred to UCLA from Penn. Decided to take a weekend and visit with my favorite cousin."

"I'm your only cousin, Brig. Why'd you leave Penn? I thought you loved it there."

"I didn't want to become a doctor anymore. My drama teacher in high school said that I had some real talent so I decided to try my hand at acting."

"That is so cool."

Buffy came out from behind the high checkout counter and Brighid was very surprised.

"Oh my God! When did this happen?"

"Six months ago. My boyfriend had to leave the next night for business in Asia."

Brig hugged her cousin. "How'd Aunt Joyce take this little piece of news?"

"How do you think? She totally freaked. I'm living at my boyfriend's apartment for the time being."

"I just want you to know that I will always be here for you, not matter what. So will Mom."

"Thanks."

Buffy sniffled."I'm sorry, it's just my raging hormones. I'm really beginning to hate the mood swing part of pregnancy."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Listen, I'm staying at the B & B on Sunset for the weekend. Come by after you're done work. We'll talk and catch up."

"I will."

With that, Brighid left the small store and Buffy felt much better. Her cousin could always lift her spirits no matter how down she was.

Part 7

The next day, Buffy and Brighid were waiting for Buffy's OB to call them back to a room.

"Are you sure you want me to come with you? It seems a little private."

"Yes, I'm sure. This baby is family. Besides, you don't even have to look when she does the icky part of the exam. I want to have a sonogram done so I can start buying clothes and stuff for it."

"You haven't gotten one before?"

"I've gotten them done before, I just never wanted to know the sex before. I had always hoped that Angel would be back by now."

"Buffy Summers." The cousins looked up at the nurse who called her name. They got up and walked over to her.

"Who's this?" This nurse asked, referring to Brighid.

"My cousin. Is it okay if she comes back with me?"

The nurse smiled. "Of course it is. Dr. Bashir will be relieved that you have at least one friend through all this, Buffy."

The nurse led the girls into a room, took Buffy's blood pressure and temperature and left. The cousins were left alone again.

"Is your boss okay with you taking the day off?"

"She wasn't happy, but there was nothing she could do. She knows I need this job and she also knows that not a lot of other people would hire a pregnant, 17 year old, high school dropout."

Doctor Amanda Bashir cew in then. She was a middle aged British woman with light brown hair and smiling blue eyes.

"Hello, Buffy. How are we today?"

Buffy smiled right back. "We are doing just fine."

"And who's this?"

"My very best cousin Brighid."

Bashir shook hands with Brighid. The twenty-year old couldn't help but smile back.

Dr. Bashir got down to business and started with the sonogram. Buffy lifted up her shirt so the doctor could apply the jelly and wand to her stomach. A picture came up on the small black and white screen. Buffy could clearly see the shape of her baby's body. The little feet and hands seemed so unreal.

Dr. Bashir gave a startled "Oh!" a minute later.

"What? What is it?"

"Buffy, it appears that you are carrying twins!"

Buffy couldn't help but stare, uncomprehending, at the Brit. "Twins? Really?"

Dr. Bashir noticed that this girl had never thought of her pregnancy as anything unwelcome. Quite the opposite, in fact. The girl seemed almost thrilled to be having a baby, completely giddy to be having twins. Buffy's behavior was quite the change from most of her teenage patients. They always saw the pregnancies as if their lives were ending. Amanda wished all of the teenage girls she saw were like Buffy.

Part 8

Buffy and Brighid went back to Buffy's apartment after Buffy's exam was completed. Buffy was silent the entire time her cousin drove her.

She was thinking about the fact that she was going to have two babies now instead of one. She would have two little bits of Angel, his sons. Dr. Bashir had said that both of the babies were boys. She now began to actually get a clear picture of the four of them: her, Angel, and their sons.

Brighid noticed her cousin's silence."What's the matter?"

Buffy sighed."I used to worry about how much care one baby requires. Now that I'm going to have twins, I just wonder how I can do it by myself. I have no clue if Angel is even still on this earth, let alone if he is ever coming back. I won't be able to do this alone!"

Buffy began to cry and Brig pulled the car over so she could comfort the blonde. Buffy cried into the brunette's shoulder for almost thirty minutes before calming down.

"Angel will be back. If he loves you half as much as you say he does, then he will be back. Besides, you said that you share dreams sometimes, so he knows that you're pregnant."

"I can't help but have all these nightmares about Angel dying all these horrible deaths before he can return to me. To us!"

After Buffy calmed down again, Brig dropped her off at the apartment, knowing that Buffy wouldn't try to kill herself when the lives inside of her were so precious.

Part 9

Angel was finally finished with his quest and on his way back to Sunnydale, to Buffy, and to their child. He knew that Buffy had to be six months along in her pregnancy. He couldn't believe that somebody up there liked him enough to give him this redemption, a life with Buffy and their baby. A baby was redemption enough. To be able to be a father, something he always secretly wanted but knew he could never be. The feelings inside of him were indescribable. He would have been content to just have Buffy.

The very thought of Buffy, her stomach swollen with their child was enough to get his long dead heart nearly pumping again. It felt like his entire body was ready to get up and do a jig at any moment. With those thoughts and more, sleep claimed him to see Buffy in their dreamland once again.

It was the same beach as last time.

Buffy was sitting in a comfy beach chair, asleep, her hands protecting what slept within. She woke immediately apon feeling Angel enter their dreamland. She smiled up at him. He was shocked at her appearance, looking even more beautiful than he thought she would look.

"Long time, no see, my love."

Angel sat down on the chair next to her. "A couple of months. I'll be home soon."

"That's good. My doctor gave me good news today."

"Oh really?"

Buffy nodded."I'm having twin boys."

"The prophecy is coming to pass."

"You don't seemed shocked by my revelation."

"Our sons are part of a prophecy, along with a set of twin girls that will be born at the exact same time as ours but across the country."

Buffy just nodded. She crawled over to lie in Angel's lap and sleep.

Part 10

Angel was glad to be back in Sunnydale. He had been away for far too long, missing most of his wife's pregnancy. He couldn't wait to see her. His plan was to stop off at his apartment before heading over to Revello Drive.

Buffy and Brighid were sitting on the couch in Buffy's apartment, watching an old black and white movie on the television. They were so engrossed in the movie, they didn't hear the lock turning on the door and the door open. It was only when there was a commercial and Brighid got up to get some drinks did she see the man standing just inside the doorway.

"Hello. Who might you be?"

"Angel. And you?"

"Brighid Summers."

At the man's blank stare, she explained."I'm Buffy's cousin, I go to UCLA but am down here for the weekend."

"What are you doing in my apartment?"

"Watching a movie with Buffy. Speaking of, BUFFY!"

The Slayer reluctantly got up when she heard her cousin yell her name. Coming out of the living room, Buffy stopped dead in her tracks. There, right in front of her, was her Angel. Slowly, a smile crept over her face and she ran for Angel's arms. He enveloped her immediately and the reunited couple hugged for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, Angel pulled back enough to kiss her. And kiss they did, rediscovering each other's mouths and simply rediscovering each other. During all this, Brighid crept out of the place, not wanting to interrupt the welcome.

Angel finally pulled away when he remembered that Buffy had to breathe. He led them back into the living room and down onto the couch.

"Why are you living here, Buffy, and not at your mother's?"

"She kicked me out when I told her I was pregnant. She has some pretty strong opinions when it comes to teen sex and pregnancy." Buffy began to sob and Angel instinctively held her until she quieted down again.

"Please, Angel, say that you will never leave me again. I could never handle it if you left me."

"Never again, ionuin. Never again."

They fell asleep on the couch, content in the feel of each other.

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