It was dawn now, and they'd heard no word on their friends. Huddled in Xander's basement, the one place they had a key to, Buffy and Faith watched the clock tick and hoped that the Harris's wouldn't develop a sudden interest in their son's activities, and come down.

At six o'clock, Faith jumped up. "I can't take this," she muttered. "I'm going out to look for them. You stay here."

Buffy nodded and glanced at Kathy, who was next to her on Xander's bed, fast asleep. "We'll be here."

The younger Slayer nodded and went out the door.

Buffy pulled a blanket around her and contemplated her coward ness in abandoning her friends.

*-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-*

Faith returned after an hour and a half. The expression on her face told Buffy everything she needed to know. Buffy closed her eyes. "You found something?"

Faith was quiet for a moment, and Buffy looked at her again. "Yeah. They want Kathy."

"Kathy for the gang."

"Kathy for the gang," Faith confirmed. "The vamp I talked to said we're supposed to meet at the Master's laire at sunset." Faith sat down across from her. "It's up to you what we do."

Buffy closed her eyes and tried not to cry.

*-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-*

Only a few months after Buffy had moved to Sunnydale, she had died. A master vampire had been in control of the the vampire realm in Sunnydale at the time, and after months of fighting smaller battles, Buffy had taken the battle to him, and paid the ultimate price of death. Fortunately, Xander had been there to give her CPR and revive her. She'd then gone on to defeat the Master.

Even so, the crypt that held the entrance to his laire was frightening to Buffy.

Especially when she was bringing her daughter and one of her best friends there.

As she stepped in the doorway, her eyes adjusted and she saw four vampires there. Faith was ready to stake them, but one of them took a small step forward. "Come with us." he ordered through a mouth full of fangs. The other three looked nervous.

"Boo," Faith hissed, making a face at them. One flinched and the others just snarled at her.

The Slayers followed the vampires into the laire.

It was as dark as Buffy remembered, and as frightening as well. Now, instead of being empty of almost everything, the cavern was filled with vampires. They all looked at her and Faith and Kathy, and she could see them drooling.

Why did I talk myself into this? she wondered. Not only was it a death wish, but they weren't even sure if their holy water and crosses would keep the vampires at bay for long. Not to mention, vampires weren't the most honest people in the world. Who said they'd actually release the gang afterwards? 

But there wasn't any other choice. There was no way that Buffy could just abandon her friends, and she wasn't about to lose her child.

Not like she'd lost her lover.

She glanced at Faith and saw the look in the other Slayer's eyes.

At least she looked confident.

"You brought the child. Give her to me."

Buffy and Faith tensed and looked over to the vampire that had stepped forward. His face was normal, but his eyes screamed with a confidence that only a vampire would have in this situation.

"Let me see my friends." Buffy said, amazed that she could make her voice sound so even.

The vampire smirked. "I have a better idea." He motioned to two of the other vampires and they disappeared, going down one of the other tunnels. He faced Buffy and Faith again, smiling so calmly it was obvious that he was up to something. "I have several friends in hell, you know."

"Why don't you go join them?" Faith suggested sweetly.

He smiled as if he hadn't heard her. "Some of them have incredible power, and some of them have incredible magics.

"One, in particular, has been most helpful lately." He smiled at Buffy, amused by the wariness in her gaze. "He... well, actually, I don't know if my friend is a he, but anyhow. It has the power to open a portal from hell, or anywhere on this earth, and close it. Incredibly enough, it looks quite similar to an explosion happened afterwards. But the point is, the portal can open and stay open for a few seconds, and then it closes, perhaps staying in place long enough to pick someone up after a brief fight."

The two vampires returned, dragging someone between them

Buffy's mouth fell open and she stared at the man who was tossed before her, and she didn't notice as the two vampires left once more. "Angel!" She fell to her knees, holding Kathy in one arm and caressing her husband's bruised and slightly bloody face.

"You fucker." Faith said coldly, enraged by what they'd just learned.

"Buffy," Angel murmured, managing to sit up, very slowly. 

"Oh, Angel," Buffy whispered, caressing his face. 

He looked at her, and she realized that he was only half conscious. She glared at the vampire who acted as boss. "You're gonna die," she promised him.

The vampire just laughed. "Your friends will be in much worse condition if you don't hand over the child."

Buffy smiled coldly at him and then looked at Angel. She carefully gave their daughter to her husband. "Get her out of here," she murmured softly, and stood up. "We'll follow you out." She didn't have time to wonder at the smile on her husband's face. 

Faith started fighting. Buffy followed her lead.

It was bad enough that they were outnumbered by too many to count.

It was bad enough that Buffy was pregnant and not up to par on her fighting abilities.

It got worse.

Buffy was shoved against the wall of the crypt, and she rolled over to get out of the way. As she did, three vampires grabbed her and pinned her down. 

She could see Angel from where he was still. He looked over at her, and a smile crossed his face.

Faith grunted as she too was pinned down.

Angel stood up, Kathy in his arms. He looked over to the leader vampire, and Buffy could only watch as he handed the vampire their child. "Angel?" she whispered, horrified.

The vampire smirked at her. Angel smiled at her and melted into a tall, black and green figure.

"Meet my friend the shape shifter." 

The shape shifter hissed at her. "Hello, lover," he said in Angel's voice.

And then the vampires that held her knocked her out.

*-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-*

"Generally, shape shifters have to have touched the victim to be able to take over their personality," Giles said quietly. "If the demon turned into Angel, it may imply that he was in contact with Angel. And to have impersonated him so well as to fool Buffy, it must have been watching him for a while, or after..."

"After we thought he was dead," Xander finished, leaning against the cold rocky wall behind him. He stretched his legs out and rotated his ankles. They'd been chained up in the largest area of the Master's laire, and they'd been abandoned for hours. Then the vampires had brought Buffy and Faith in and added them to the wall.

Buffy was in shock, and hadn't said a word. They'd only been able to get the story from Faith.

"Buffy didn't get a chance to socialize with him," Faith murmured, resting her head against the wall.

"What on earth were you thinking when you let her come with you?" Willow demanded crossly. She glared at Faith. The two had never gotten along, and this only added fuel to that fire.

Faith glared back. "It's not like I had a choice, okay?"

"Now's not the time to argue," Jenny reminded them from next to Xander and Faith.

"Right. Instead we get to stick here and ponder how we're going to bloody well croak in a few minutes," Spike muttered, frustrated. Dru looked at him worriedly, but said nothing.

"You'll be around longer than that."

They all looked to the doorway again, except Buffy, who just stared down at the ground, lost in her own world.

The vampire entered. "I'm the newest Master around here. It shall be an honor to kill you all, I must say."

"Fuck off," Faith said sweetly. 

"You offering?" he returned coolly.

Faith almost smirked. For a vampire, he was not only a hottie, but also quick. 

If he hadn't been holding her, her friends, and the baby she cared about like she was her actual niece hostage she might have given him a go, then dusted his ass. But he'd not only taken them all hostage, but he'd killed Angel.

Fucker's gonna die, she decided calmly. And not nicely.

"Anyway, as I was saying. You all shall have the choice of watching the ceremony or being killed before." He looked over to Buffy, realizing for the first time that she hadn't even looked at him. "Well, that won't do," he muttered, and walked over to her, standing directly in front of her. She looked at him, then looked away, uncaring.

He scowled. "Slayer, look at me." She didn't. "I said look at me, Slayer." She still didn't. "Look at me or I'll snap the neck of your precious little friends."

She did look at him now, and her eyes were filled with anger and rage. "You already killed my husband. You're going to kill my baby. Fuck you."

He stared at her, considering her words. "We won't be killing her, you know. Just raising her in a proper family." He looked over at the crowd of vampires who'd gathered to watch. "Leave them be for now. I'm sure they'll all be interested in what we'll do."

Another vampire stepped into the room, carrying Kathy, who was crying. "Um, Mr. Crispon, sir, the baby's crying." The vamp looked nervous. Crispon sighed and looked at Buffy. "Raising a child is so difficult. However, I think we'll be able to do it just fine." Buffy looked down. If she closed her eyes and ignored them, maybe it would be over soon.

*-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-*

"We're putting a spell on her," the leader told them in a conversational tone of voice. "It shall erase the memories that she has of you and her father."

Giles frowned. He'd heard of a spell that could do something like that. But there was something wrong with the idea that would make it impossible.... he just couldn't remember what. Probably had something to do with the headache he had from being knocked out then chained up for several hours without release. It tended to make him feel rather fuzzy. The only other one who could have a possible idea as to what it might mean was... well, no one. No one else would have been able to stand reading one of his ancient books for pleasure.

He forced himself to pay attention again when the vampire who'd been speaking to them went over to Buffy again. He refused to leave her alone, and it was angering everyone. She was the one who was hurting the most. Not to mention, everyone was just angry in general.

The vampire bent over a little so he was even with her face, and then touched the side of her neck. Giles was proud of her. She didn't flinch, just kept her gaze cold and steady and on his face.

He laughed. "Rather unflappable, aren't you."

"Are you gonna chat all night?" Buffy demanded haughtily. "'Cuz if you are, I'm gonna take a nap. That might actually be more interesting than listening to you chat."

The vampire chuckled. "Well, we must wait..." he looked at his watch. "Fifteen minutes to actually start the ceremony. It must be done at midnight, you see."

"Sir, we can start preparing now," one of the vampires told him.

"Excellent!" the master vampire said cheerily. "Bring out our little brat."

Kathy was carried into the room again. Her face was red from her crying, but she was quiet, to tired to cry any longer. Her breath came in little gasps, and Buffy paled, afraid of what was to come.

She hoped they'd kill her. She couldn't deal with it if they hurt Kathy and killed Angel and then made her live.

Two of the vampires went over to her and unchained her, dragging her over to the altar in the center. The vampires tied her arms down so she was half on top of it, and her cheek rested against the cold stone.

She closed her eyes and began to pray for her death.

And then she heard them bringing someone else out and opened her eyes again.

She didn't believe it. The shape shifter again, it had to be. The two vampires who had brought him in tied him across from her, in a similar position so that their fingers could touch. He looked at her weakly. "Buffy," he said, and his voice was cracking. She stared at him, in horror. "Angel?"

The vampires who had brought him in snarled, and one of them hit Angel on his side, making him jerk with pain. "Shut up," the vamp ordered, snickering a little when Angel groaned.

Buffy couldn't take her eyes off him. Was it him? Or was it the shape-shifter again?

Then the vampire placed Kathy down in between them and she saw his expression as he looked at the vampire. Utter and complete fury, the kind she'd only seen once before, when the Council had taken her to England with plans to kill her.

"Angel..." she breathed, stunned. He heard her and looked over at her.

Their fingertips brushed against each other and Buffy felt anger rise in her as she actually looked at him.  He looked ready to pass out, from either blood loss or too much pain. His face was bruised, his lower lip had a trail of dried blood from it, and here he was, still struggling to free himself.

Though she wasn't quite sure what he'd do if he got free. He looked so tired and beat that he couldn't even stand.

"Now, let's begin." A group of vampires surrounded them, and a new one, dressed in a monk's robe, stepped forward with an old looking book in his hands. The vampire looked at the others and they began chanting, slow and steady. Buffy didn't recognize the language. She looked over at Angel-if he really was Angel. "How badly hurt are you?" she demanded as softly as she could. The last thing she needed was for one of the vampires to beat either of them up because they were talking.

He didn't meet her gaze. Her worry doubled.

And someone grabbed her hair and yanked her head back. She gasped with pain. Another vampire grabbed Angel and forced him to look up as well. Pain flickered across his face, and though he tried to hide it, he couldn't. One of the scrapes on his neck started to bleed again.

"Blood of the Slayer."

The robed vampire who spoke carried a long silver knife. He scraped it across Buffy's cheek, and she felt a slight sting. She glared at the vampire, but he didn't say a word.

"Blood of the Hunter."

He did the same to Angel, who flinched a little. Buffy saw a little bit of blood on his cheek, and her terror grew. What was all this about, anyway?

"Together create the Child of Evil." The vampire said, and rested the blade of the knife on Kathy's chest. She began crying again, whimpering for her mother and father.

"Touch her and I'll kill you," Buffy hissed.

Crispin went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Be quiet, child. Otherwise we'll take care of the other brat before this one. Would you like that?" He smiled at her and patted her stomach, and she twisted away from him.

"Fucker," Faith hissed loudly. "You're a real brave prick, ain't ya? Picking on a pregnant chick. Unlock me, and we can see if you're the big shot you think you are."

 He laughed. "I wasn't born yesterday, fool."

"Quiet." the robed demon ordered. He wiped one side of the knife on Kathy's cheek, and the other side on her other cheek. The child sobbed throughout the experience. Buffy knew how she felt. 

"The blood of the child. The Spawn of Evil. By this ceremony of blood she is Evil." Crispin and a female vampire knelt before the robed vampire. The robed one went over to Buffy again. He slit open her palm, drawing blood once more. He took the female vampire and slit her palm as well, then pressed their bleeding hands together. 

Buffy jerked and dug her nails into the vampires wound, scratching. She screeched loudly and dropped Buffy's hand, vamping out. "You little bitch!"

"Quiet!" the robed one ordered, only to be ignored.

"What the hell happened?" Crisipin demanded, snarling.

Buffy glanced at Angel and saw a whisper of a smirk on his face. Then the vamp who held him slammed his head down against the altar, and the one that held her kneed her in the back, then slammed her face against the altar.

"Go B," Faith muttered.

"Gag her!" Crispin ordered, glaring at Faith. "She dies first."

Faith was gagged without much hesitation. 

The robed one looked annoyed. "I must have silence." 

As if on cue, the Scooby gang began a rendition of "la la la" in loud and proud voices.

They were all gagged too.

The ceremony began once more. The vampire sliced Angel's palm and joined his with Crispin's.

One of the vampires stood near Willow, vamped out and ready to kill her at the sign of trouble.

"By the ceremony of the bloods, the Child is-"

Someone screamed. "What now?" the robed one demanded, furious.

Everyone turned towards the entrance in time to see another vampire dusting, and a crowd of men in black rushing in.

Quentin Travers was in the lead of them, and armed with a crossbow. Despite the number of vamps, the Council had the surprise, so the fight wasn't hard. One of the men started unlocking the Scooby gang, and Willow rushed over to unlock Buffy and Angel. Buffy rushed over to Angel's side, and helped him over to sit out of the way. He couldn't even walk on his own. She was stunned by the damage that had been done to him. It was far worse than she'd even imagined, and even worse than she'd feared.

She left Kathy with him, and prayed that her instinct was correct this time. Then she joined the fight, dusting vamps.

She lost track of Quentin in all the excitement. As she dusted her final vampire, she turned, planning on going for Angel.

Quentin had beat her there. He had a crossbow raised and aimed at Angel, who was barely conscious. 

Buffy started towards him, knowing she'd never make it in time.

And then Quentin gasped, arching his back in pain as a bolt struck him in the shoulder. He accidentally fired and missed Angel by several feet.

Faith, who'd just been freed by Xander, dove at him and tackled him to the ground.

Giles dropped his crossbow, satisfied with his shot. "Should have done that a while ago. Bastard."

Buffy stared at Quentin, who was now moaning and groaning in pain, and then looked over at Angel. He was watching her, and tried to smile when he saw her looking at him. The effort fell flat. She went over to him and knelt down, even with him. She kissed his forehead and then looked over to Xander and Spike. "He needs to get to a hospital."

Even as he started seeing several Buffies and a lot of stars, Angel hated the thought.

*-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-*

It was never a good sign when one woke up to a steady beeping noise that wasn't an alarm clock. Angel realized this quickly, and opened his eyes. He regretted it almost immediately. 

He knew at one point in his life, he'd enjoyed the sunlight. Well, his feelings had changed today.

He opened his eyes again, wincing at the sunlight, but getting used to it quickly. He looked over on both sides and wasn't too surprised to find himself in a hospital. He tried to sit up and found that he liked lying down much better. His head exploded with pain at his slightest movement.

He looked to his right and saw a call button hanging and tried to reach for it. That was when he realized he was hooked up to several IVs.

"Oh fun." he said unenthusiastically. His voice came out as a croak. He closed his eyes again, searching through his memory. He could vaguely recall a long ride to the hospital, with Kathy crying and Buffy cradling his head in her lap and trying to calm him, even as she looked more panicked than anyone.

"He's still asleep, I think," someone said outside the door. 

"I just want to check on him," someone else said patiently.

Buffy. She stepped into the room, looking worn and haggard. He couldn't remember her ever looking more beautiful. She looked over to the bed and stopped midstep when she found him watching her. "Angel," she said in surprise. "You're awake."

"I think so," he said, and winced when his voice still sounded croaky. 

She rushed over to the side of his bed and began placing feather light kisses over his face. "Oh, Angel," she said softly when she was done. "I thought you were dead," she told him, and her eyes filled up with tears.

"They said-" he coughed, trying to talk right, "they said you were dead too. And then they had Kathy. Where is she?"

"Right here, Angelica who faints when she feels pain." Spike and the rest of the gang were in the doorway. Spike looked inordinately pleased with himself.

Drusilla hit him. "He didn't faint, love, he passed out."

"Looked like a faint to me," Xander said cheerfully. Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"He didn't faint," Willow agreed. "It was a pass out from lots of pain."

"Can I be unconscious again?" Angel muttered.

Buffy scowled at him. "You may find that funny, but I don't think it's funny in the least. You aren't going to be allowed to leave my side for at least a month."

He gazed up at her. "Not a problem," he told her quietly.

"Tell the girly girl how long he's been out," Spike requested, bouncing Kathy in his arms. He stepped further in the room, and handed Buffy her daughter. She then set Kathy so Angel could see her. The Hunter smiled at his wife and daughter. 

"Two very long days," Buffy told him, frowning at him again. Their hands were clasped, and neither looked ready to let go. "Giles has been going nuts 'cuz he wants to do a spell to make sure you're you."

Angel looked at her blankly.

"There was a shape shifter," Giles explained. He looked a little nervous, and held a spell book.

Angel nodded. "I know. He came in and did something to me." He coughed a little.

"Probably so that he would be able to impersonate you," Giles hypothesized. 

"Well, do the spell if you really want to, then I'm gonna get the doctor," Buffy said firmly. 

"Hey! Fainting boy's awake!" Faith entered the room and was grinning. Behind her and on crutches was William, his face covered with a few bandages, but other than that, he looked relatively unscathed.

Angel scowled. He hadn't fainted. He didn't even remember passing out, but he was sure he hadn't fainted.

But before he could argue, Giles pushed everyone out so he could do the spell. Then when it was confirmed that he really was himself-Angel had never had any doubts- Buffy went and got the doctor and Angel got to be poked full of holes again

*-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-*

It was almost a week before he was released from the hospital, and everyday he and Buffy spent together, making up for their lost time.

When he got out, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect. Buffy arrived early with Spike and Dru to pick him up.

It took forty five minutes to get him up, dressed, and checked out. It took twenty minutes for Spike to get them to the mansion.

Within another fifteen, they were settled on the couch in the front room, alone for the first time in a very long week and a half. "Angel?"

"Yes love?" the Hunter asked, half asleep.

"How's it feel to be home?" She stood up and walked over to the closet.

He cracked an eye open. "Wonderful."

"You've got five minutes to enjoy it."

He frowned at her and she pulled a bag out of the closet. "This baby's coming early."

He blinked. Then he was on his feet. "What? Ow." He leaned against the couch. His right leg had been damaged quite a bit, and it was still painful.

"I'll call Spike and get him to drive over here then he can bring us up to the hospital," Buffy said calmly. "You just sit there for a minute, kay?"

He stared at her. No, that was not okay. He was the one who was supposed to do all of that, not Spike. He limped over to her. "I'll drive," he said firmly.

She returned the firm gaze. "You just got out of the hospital. You aren't ready-"

"Buffy, please," he said with a sigh. "Spike's probably not even home yet. He was going out to lunch."

"They were?" Buffy wondered. "I didn't-"

They weren't. "Spike told me he was. And I'm perfectly capable of taking my wife to the hospital when she's about to have my child."

"Our child."

He frowned at her. "You know what I mean, baby,"

She huffed. "Fine. But if we get in an accident, I'm going to be really pissed."

*-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-* *-._.-*

It took a full five hours of labor, but finally, Kathy's little sister entered the world. Her proud and exhausted parents named their youngest child Hope Christina O'Connor.

Every one of their extended family crowded in the room to see the happy family and congratulate them. When they all were told to leave by the nurse, Xander stayed behind for a moment, a smart ass grin on his face. "So, when's number three coming along?" Cordelia, who had stayed back a moment, hit him.

"I'm thinking we can start on number three in about a month or so," Buffy said impishly, smiling at Angel.

Xander made a gagging noise. "Figures," he muttered. He threw them a grin. "Congrats, guys." He leaned over and gave Kathy, who'd been snuck in past the nurses, a quick kiss on her forehead, and then he and Cordelia stepped out, holding hands.

Buffy and Angel exchanged a kiss.

"I love you," he told her, seated on the edge of her bed. He still didn't have all of his strength, and was recovering

"I love you too," she replied, sobering. "And I'm very glad you're not dead."

Simple phrasing, Buffy thought, but truthful words that meant more than she could ever express.

"Me too," he murmured, looking up from their newest child for a moment.

It made a pretty picture, Willow thought from the doorway, and took out a camera and snapped a picture.

The picture went into a frame, and onto the mantel in their newly remodeled house. It was up there until they died in each other's arms after a very long and happy life.

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