Part 34

      "Come on, we don't want to be late," Angel called as he waited at the
bottom of the stairs.
      "I'll be right down," came the reply, shouted from somewhere above him.
The vampire looked again at his watched, wondering if he and his wife were
going to be late, once again, for the christening.  "Well, how do I look?"
Angel looked up and saw Willow standing at the top of the stairs.  He took
in a lungfull of unneeded air as he stared at her.
      "Ravishing as usual."  Willow made her way down the staircase and wrapped
her arms around her mate, planting a deep kiss on his lips.
      "Always the flatterer," she teased as she felt his arms lift her up.  She
squealed as he spun her around the room.
      "It's easy when the person being flattered is you," he told her before
settling her down.  "Are you finally ready?"
      "Yes, although I don't know why you felt the need to rush me since Delia
and Spike aren't even here," she admonished him.  "I mean, it isn't like it
can't start without them.  They are the god parents after all."  Angel shook
his head as he thought of Spike being the moral guardian of any child.
      "You know, it still scares me that Wes asked that blonde childe of mine to
be the godfather of his son," Angel commented.  "I mean, who would have
thought that anyone would want him to be in charge of helping to raise their
child."
      "Well, considering that you and I are his wife's godparents, I think its
only fitting that Spike and Delia were chosen," Willow told him.  "I just
wish Faith and Giles could have been here to see their only grandchild being
christened.  They would have been so proud."
      "Well, Wesley will more than make up for the fact that William only has one
set of grandparents.  Him and Kate are more than willing to spoil that child
rotten," Angel reminded the red head.  He thought of the former Watcher and
his wife.  Wesley had followed Angel when the vampire had left Sunnydale, he
and Willow having wanted to put their past behind them and joined him when
Angel started a private investigation firm that specialized in dealing with
demons and other paranormal activities.  It was during one of those
investigations that Wesley had met the woman that was destined to be his
wife.  Detective Kate Lockley.  At first, Angel didn't think that Kate would
be able to accept what Wesley had done, her inability to accept the fact
that the things that went bump in the night were real was a huge factor in
what separated the two of them, but eventually she did accept them.  And
Wesley and she became inseparable, actually having a double wedding with
Faith and Giles who had finally decided to get married after five years of
just living together.
      "Oh, like you hadn't planned on doing the exact same thing," she teased.
"You can't wait until Will is older so that you can take him to all of the
places that you've been.  Between you and Spike, that kid will be the most
well traveled kindergartner in history."  Angel grinned sheepishly at
Willow's teasing, knowing it to be true.  He already had fallen in love with
the child that bore the name of his own blonde childe.  There was an aura
around the baby that just made all of those that knew him, and what his
parents helped fight, that made them all realize that he was truly going to
be the warrior of light that had been prophesized.  He was going to be more
than just the Slayer.  He was going to be a combination of everything that
made a slayer powerful with some of the advantages of having vampires as his
guardian angels.
      "Willow, can I ask you something," Angel questioned tentatively.  Willow
nodded her head.  "Do you ever regret not having any children of our own?"
Willow looked at her husband, not surprised that he had asked that question.
  He had done the same thing when Faith and Giles had both of their
children, as well as when Kate and Wesley had their three.  It was only
natural that he would ask again now.  He was always unsure of how Willow
felt about having to give up on some of her dreams because she was involved
with a vampire.
      "In a way, I guess," she admitted truthfully.  "I would love to see what a
child of yours would look like.  To see a younger version of you.  I think
you would have been a wonderful father.  But, I'm content with watching our
friends' children grow up and their children also.  To know that there will
always be a part of them around, even when they aren't.  I think it's one of
the reasons why it doesn't hurt as much knowing that Faith and Rupert are
gone."
Angel nodded his head as he remembered the couple that had been killed in a
car crash twenty years previously, leaving their two young children to be
cared for by the vampire and witch.  It had nearly killed him when he saw
how hurt Willow at the death of the man that was more of a father to her
than her own, and the girl that she considered a sister.  Willow always knew
that she would outlive her mortal friends, watching them grow older while
she stayed young herself, had let her know that their mortality was frail,
but the way that they had died, by a stupid drunk driver, wasn't something
that she was ready to accept. Sometimes he thought the only reason she even
got through it was because of the children, who were no longer children
anymore.  In fact, the daughter of Faith and Giles, Kathryn, was now married
to Wesley's eldest son and a mother of her own precious child.
Even Buffy was still alive, having finally been retired by the Council when
she turned thirty, although Willow wouldn't wish the kind of life the former
slayer had on anyone, even Buffy.  The formerly vivacious blonde was now a
bitter old lady, who lashed out at anyone that came close to her.  Buffy had
never truly accepted that Angel had chosen Willow over her and refused to
let anyone get close to her, waiting for the day that the souled vampire
would return to her.  It had turned her from a beautiful young girl into an
ugly woman before their very eyes and Willow was grateful that the Council
had seen fit to remove Buffy from the general population and hide her away
from anyone that might have known her.
"Hey Peaches, you ready?" Came an accented voice from the entryway of the
home.  Angel rolled his eyes as he and Willow were broken from their
reminiscing about the past as he watched Spike and Cordelia entered the
home.
"Spike, you never could just make a quiet entrance could you?" Angel
muttered, smiling at his unrepentant childe, who just grinned.  "And yet
you're the one that is going to help raise little William.  I think it's
time that we have Kat's and Wes' heads examined because they couldn't have
been in their right mind when they named you as godfather."
"Sod off, you wanker."
"Jeez, you'd think after all these years the two of you would learn to grow
up," Cordelia muttered as she came and gave Willow a hug.  "Hey Wills, how
are you?"
"Doing good.  How about yourself?"
"Hey, you know me.  Always of the good.  Did you see the latest Inquirer?"
Cordelia asked.  Willow sighed as she realized what Cordelia was alluding
too.
"Yes, I saw it.  What's that make, number eight?"
"Nine, but who's counting," the former cheerleader corrected.  "He just
can't keep it in his pants, can he?  He's becoming the male Liz Taylor."
Willow rolled her eyes as she thought of the musician that she had once
loved.  Nowadays he was popular fodder for the tabloids, having made it big
both socially and musically.  He had a reputation as a womanizer, having
gone through ten marriages, often ending when he was caught with his pants
down.  Once, Oz had come to Willow and Angel's home, when the vampire had
been out helping a client that had come to his PI firm, and told Willow that
she was still all he thought about and asked her if she would give him
another chance.  She quickly told him to leave and he had done so.  But she
knew that he still hadn't learned what it meant to truly love someone and
she felt sorry. Both for the women that had been hurt by him and for himself
too, because he was never able to find himself that happiness he deserved.
"Hey, what have I told you about talking about the exes," Spike told his
wife.
"I know, I just thought Willow should know the latest on his activities,"
Cordelia explained.  "After all, he is the only one left now, and if it
hadn't been for him, we'd never have been together."
"Okay, pet, but how about from now on, we focus on the future, not the
past."
"Agreed, no more mention of any exes at all," Cordelia agreed, knowing that
it was easier said than done.  She knew all four people often found
themselves wondering what would have been if only Oz and Buffy hadn't been
together or if Xander hadn't kept the secret.  There were so many
possibilities, none of them pleasant.  Both couples knew they had a lot to
be thankful for, the least of which was the fact that they would be together
forever.  And that, because of a spell that was preformed to break them up,
the vampires could now enjoy things that they had thought were lost to them,
including walks in the daylight and afternoon picnics with the women that
they loved.  All because two people hadn't been able to appreciate the love
that they had had with Angel and Willow.
 

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