Chapter 1
Buffy sat in her car for a long moment and stared at her house. She could see her friends and her sister sitting at the dining room table. They hadn’t seen her drive up. Buffy had just come back from seeing Angel between Sunnydale and LA. The meeting had been…. Buffy didn’t know what. Confusing, mostly. Both of them wanted to find comfort in each other’s arms after the last year they had both had, but they couldn’t, so they had tried everything to stay away from each other’s arms and just talk.
Buffy had had a lot to talk about. He had guessed, just as she knew he would, that she had been in heaven, not some hell dimension suffering unspeakable torment.
“You’re better than that.” He had said.
“What’s better?” Buffy had asked. “I did it to save Dawn, not the world.”
“Sacrificing yourself to save a loved one is a selfless act. The Powers wouldn’t send you to hell, Buffy. Besides, you’re the epitome of all that’s good in this world. You’re the reason I keep fighting.”
“Why?”
“Because I know you won’t stop fighting.”
“And when I did?”
“I fought in your name. I wanted to honor you. You’re the reason I am who I am today.”
“I just want this pain to go away, Angel. Everything hurts.”
“I know.” He had held her to him, offering the only comfort he could provide her without taking it too far.
Buffy shook her head, trying to forget the memories of her and Angel. They had decided that they were still too close. (That kiss they had shared when they had first seen each other was a good indication of that.) Angel said he would always be there for her if she needed him and they had parted on that note. Buffy sighed and grabbed the bucket of chicken she had picked up for dinner. She got out of her car and walked inside, tossing her keys on the side table.
“Hello?”
“Buffy?” Willow's voice came from the dining room.
Buffy turned in that direction. “Oh. Yep, it's me, and I brought dinner.” She walked into dining room. “Deep fried chicken parts. Hope you're….” Buffy saw Tara, Giles, and Dawn sitting around the table, and Willow standing with a dish of food in her hands. They had clearly just finished a meal. “Hungry. You already ate.”
“No!” Giles said, putting down his half empty wine glass. “Well, uh, yes, obviously.”
“Uh, we didn't know when you'd be coming back.” Dawn said.
“It's ok.” Buffy said. “More for me.” She put the bucket of chicken on the table and sat down.
“I don't know about everybody else, but…. I would love some chicken.” Tara said.
“Yes. As would I.” Giles said.
“I'll take a drumstick.” Dawn threw in.
“I'm a breast girl myself.” Willow said and then added quietly to Tara, “But, then again, you knew that.” Willow and Tara exchanged a smile as they all passed the bucket of chicken around the table.
“So.” Dawn said conversationally.
“What so?” Buffy asked.
“So…. how was it? Seeing Angel…. him seeing you. Was it weird?”
Dawn, Tara, and Willow looked expectantly at Buffy and she shifted uncomfortably. “Um…. it was…. intense.”
Willow smiled. “Well, i-if you wanna talk about it….”
“I don't. I-it's…. not important. Past. I'd just…. rather keep this one to myself, if that's ok.”
“Sure, whatever.” Dawn said.
“Buffy, um, there was…. Some discussion in, uh, your absence a-about, um…. w-what you're gonna do now.” Giles said. He had a pile of paper napkins and gave one to Dawn. “You know, um…. your plans.”
“Oh, um, I've been giving that a lot of thought actually.” Buffy said, trying to act cheery. “I think I've figured it out, what I should do.”
“That's good, that's good!” Willow said.
“Yeah. I figure, if I hold off paying the plumber, I can pay the utility bill. And then I can wait to re-shingle the roof until we get the refund back….”
“Um, I meant…. With your life.” Giles said.
“Oh. Life plans. Um…. well….” The others continued to watch her. “I have no idea. I guess, um…. well, I, I left school, you know, when Mom got sick, but I always figured I'd go back…. and then she…. Um, so I-I was thinking about re-enrolling, but I missed the registration cutoff. Busy being dead and all.”
“Well, if it's too late for late registration and too early for early, you can always come to classes with Tara and me.” Willow said.
“Right.” Tara said. “Y-you can audit for the rest of the semester until registration.”
“Audit.” Buffy said. “I-I guess I could do that.” Willow and Tara smiled tentatively. “Yeah, that…. sounds like a good plan. What do you think, Giles?” Giles nodded and looked as if he was searching for words. “Well, I have a plan for the here and now.” They all looked at her expectantly. “Patrol.”
“But you just got back.” Willow said.
“Well, I haven’t been here for a couple of days. The beasties probably think I’m dead…. Again.” Buffy stood up and headed for the door.
“Are you sure?” Dawn asked.
“I’ll be back.” Before anyone could say anything, Buffy practically threw herself out the door and into the night.
She walked in the quiet darkness, enjoying her solitude. Apparently the beasties had taken the last couple of days off too. Everything was quiet. She strolled through the Sunny Hills cemetery and admired the craftsmanship of some of the monuments. She’d never actually stopped to look at them before.
“Buffy Summers?” An Irish accented voice asked behind her. She spun around to see a man…. No, demon standing there. “You’re Buffy, right?”
“Who’s asking?”
“Just a lowly demon looking to help you out.”
“Help me out? How?”
“By offering you the chance of a lifetime.”
“Yeah, I don’t take too kindly to strangers offering poisoned candy.”
“No poison. It’s all sweet. I promise.”
“Who sent you?”
“Nobody. I heard your story on the underground chain and thought I’d help you out.”
“My story?”
“Fell in impossible love with a vampire…. A vampire with a soul. His curse wouldn’t allow you two to be together, so he left town. You keep trying, but it’s impossibly hard.”
“You like that word, impossible, don’t you?”
“Just what I’ve heard over and over. I also heard you died and came back. Gotta be rough on ya.”
“Uh huh.” Buffy got the sense that the demon truly was there to help her out, so she decided to give him a chance. “What’s this ‘chance of a lifetime’ thing you were talking about?”
“What if I told you I could make all your dreams come true? I could erase this life and create a whole new one. A better one?”
“I’d say that’s impossible…. Since you like that word and all.”
“It’s not impossible.” Buffy lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “Listen, I can make it so Angel’s human, you’re not a Slayer, you two are happily married, completely in love…. And, as a bonus, you’ve got kids. It’s the American Dream. A nice house, lots of money, a white picket fence, the picture perfect family, and there’s even a dog in the mix.”
“Once again, I’d say it’s impossible.”
“Just trust me here, will ya? I’ve come a long way to help you out. You’ve had it rough and I think it’s about time you got to be happy. It’s time to make that pain and heartache and suffering go away.”
Buffy sighed. “You know, it sounds like a great offer and all, but it’ll never happen.”
“Would you take it if I could make it happen?”
“I don’t know. Probably.”
“Probably’s good enough for me.” The demon blew a powder in her face and she fell backwards as if she’d been hit. The blow knocked her out and she lay on the ground, motionless.
Chapter 2
Buffy woke up when she heard the sound of her two year old son Connor crying in the next room. He was calling her name, Mommy, and screaming at the top of his lungs. She sat up, holding her five months pregnant belly, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. In the bed beside her, her husband stirred.
“Go back to sleep, honey.” Buffy said.
“You sure?” Angel asked.
“Yeah. He wants me.”
“Ok.” Angel rolled over and went back to sleep.
Buffy walked out into the hallway and flipped on Connor’s light. It took her eyes a minute to adjust. She looked at her son crying, “Mommy!” at the top of his lungs over and over and holding out his arms to her from his new toddler bed. “What’s the matter, kiddo?” Buffy went over to him and picked him up. She carried him over to the rocking chair and sat down.
“Bad dream!” Connor cried, holding tightly to her neck.
“You had a bad dream?”
“Uh huh.”
“Are you ok now?” Connor shook his head. “Do you want to sleep with mommy and daddy?” He nodded and clung tighter to her neck. “Ok, you’re choking mommy now.” He didn’t release her and she sighed and stood up. She adjusted Connor so he was comfortable, but not squishing his little sister inside mommy’s tummy. Buffy and Angel had found out that afternoon that they were having a little girl. Connor had been excited about it and asked if he could buy his baby sister something. Buffy was going to take him shopping tomorrow for baby girl things for the nursery since they didn’t have anything but baby boy things.
“All right. Here you go.” Buffy set Connor down and he moved across the bed under the covers and snuggled up to his father’s back. Buffy got in next to Connor and laid down on her back. As her son drifted off to sleep, Buffy stared at the ceiling trying desperately to follow suit. On top of the aches and pains that were worse with this second pregnancy, there was something tugging at her mind. Like she’d left the coffee pot on or like she’d forgotten to call someone back.
Buffy couldn’t think what it would be bothering her. She had the perfect life. Angel was a lawyer with Wolfram and Hart, one of the most prestigious law firms out there. He was up for a promotion, so he’d been working extra hard. They lived in Beverly Hills in a nice six bedroom house with a pool, a big patio with a fancy grill and tables, and a playground for Connor. Buffy was your run of the mill housewife. She took care of her kids, helped their housekeeper Lucy where she could (although these days, Lucy wouldn’t let her “because of the baby”), and kept herself pretty for her husband.
She and Angel had gone to high school together. She had been the new girl in town sophomore year and had found a friend in Cordelia Chase, a very popular girl, right off the bat. Her boyfriend, Xander, wasn’t as fashionable as her, but she helped him get by. With Xander came his best friend since practically birth, Willow. She wasn’t the popular type of person, but she got to hang out with that group because she was smart and helped them get by with schoolwork and Cordelia accepted her because of Xander. Angel was Cordelia’s older brother. He had been a freshman at UC Sunnydale when Buffy had met him.
Cordelia and Buffy became best friends and Buffy would spend a lot of time at Cordy’s house. Eventually, Angel realized that he didn’t see Buffy as “his little sister’s friend.” He was beginning to see her as someone he could fall in love with. Buffy didn’t come to the realization until her senior homecoming when Angel asked her if he could be her date to the dance. By the time graduation rolled around for Buffy, she and Angel were deeply in love.
Buffy had started attending college at UC Sunnydale to be closer to Angel, even though he only had one year left. Cordelia left for LA to try her hand at acting, but promised that she and Buffy would keep in touch. That Christmas, Angel proposed to Buffy in front of her family and his. They had a long engagement and got married just after Angel graduated from law school and got a job at Wolfram and Hart. The ceremony was small, but romantic and very beautiful. Not long after, Buffy became pregnant with Connor.
That was two years ago. Over those two years, Angel had quickly moved up in the law firm and he and Buffy had been trying to have another baby. They had had a lot of complications with Connor, so they were having difficulty conceiving. Buffy had had two miscarriages before it had finally taken, and that had been 20 weeks and three days ago. Life couldn’t be better.
So why was Buffy having the nagging feeling that none of it was right? That her life was…. Wrong somehow?
“Hey.” Angel turned over and looked at her, making sure he didn’t squish his son or wake him up. “You ok over there?”
“I can’t sleep.” Buffy said.
“What’s wrong? Your back hurting again?”
“Yeah. This second pregnancy is a lot harder than the first one.”
“Well, the doctor did say that after the complications with Connor’s birth, any pregnancy after him would be rough.”
“If I even could get pregnant.”
“Don’t. You know that upsets me.”
“Well, it’s true.” Buffy sighed. “I would go through all of it again for my babies.”
Angel smiled and reached over to gently massage Buffy’s swollen stomach. The motions soothed her and their daughter and pretty soon, Buffy was drifting off to sleep despite that nagging feeling in the back of her mind.
**********************
When Buffy woke up the next morning, Angel had already gone to work. He had left her a cute little note saying he loved her and would see her that night. Lucy was already there cleaning up the kitchen. Connor was in the playroom upstairs with the family dog, a mini Australian Shepard named Ireland, watching cartoons and playing with his toys.
Buffy settled down in the den to watch a little TV and Lucy brought her a mug of hot tea with honey and lemon. “Thank you, Lucy.”
“Mr. Delany said you had a rough night.” Lucy said, starting to clean the den. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“A little better.”
“Have you thought of any names for the little princess?”
“No. Angel and I were going to sit down sometime this week and pick one out.”
“You’re going shopping today, yeah?”
“Yeah. Do you need me to get anything from the grocery store?”
“No. You’re stocked up for the rest of the week. Unless you’re having a craving for something we don’t have.”
“No. No weird cravings as of yet.”
“Do you want me to get Connor ready for you?”
“No. I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure you should be moving around so much?”
Buffy laughed. “Lucy, I’m fine.”
“I just worry about you and the little one. You’ve had enough heartbreak for a mother.”
“Thank you.” Buffy shut off the TV and stood up. “I’m going to go get dressed and then get Connor dressed and then we’ll get out of your way.”
“You’re never in my way, Mrs. Delany. Don’t you ever think that.”
Buffy smiled. “You’re too good to us, Lucy.” She patted Lucy’s shoulder and headed to the back stairway and up to her room. Buffy quickly got dressed and did her hair and makeup. Connor was playing with his new Kangaroo Climber activity gym, playing hide and seek with Ireland. Ireland was too scared to go into the gym, but she would poke her head through some of the lower holes only to be scared by Connor and back out barking. “Connor.” Buffy called. Connor poked his head out of one of the holes and laughed. “Come on, kiddo.” He climbed up to his slide and slid down, running over to Buffy.
Connor squealed with delight when Buffy picked him up. “Mommy!”
“Let’s go get dressed.”
“You shop?”
“We’re going shopping.”
Connor clapped his hands. “Go shoppy!”
Ireland followed them into Connor’s room and laid down next to the rocking chair, wagging her tail happily. Buffy picked out a little New England Patriots football jersey and a pair of jeans for Connor. He picked out his favorite black tennis shoes and Buffy put them on him. As they walked out the door, Lucy called for them to be careful.
*********************
“Like this one.” Connor held up a dark blue jacket.
“Think pink, Connor.” Buffy said. “You’re getting a little sister.”
“Like this one!”
“You like that one for you. We’re shopping for your sister.”
“I want it.”
“Connor, stop it. You got a new jacket last week.”
“Not this one.”
“No, not that one. A different one.”
“I want this one!”
“No.” Connor’s face squinched up and Buffy knew he was getting ready to throw a tantrum. “Connor, no. I bought you a new jacket last week. If you’re a good boy and you help mommy pick things out for your sister, then I’ll buy you the Dinosaur movie you wanted.”
Connor stared at her and then reluctantly let the jacket go. “Still want it.” He crossed his arms defiantly and pouted.
Buffy laughed at him and pushed his stroller away from the boy’s clothing. “You’re just like your father.”
“I tell daddy.”
“Ok.” Buffy moved down an aisle of baby cribs and changing stations. She looked at one that was white with baby pink trimming. She didn’t have a price limit, but $2,000 was a lot for a crib.
Just as she looked again and saw that the price was for the crib and the matching changing table, a woman walked up to her. She was in a woman’s business suit with a knee-length skirt. She also didn’t look like the type of person to be shopping in a baby store.
“Buffy Summers?”
“It’s Delany.”
“Can I talk to you?”
“Uh…. Ok.”
“Your husband is in danger.”
Buffy’s heart rate went up slightly, but she remained visibly calm. “Danger?”
“This promotion he’s up for will put his life in danger. You have to stop him.”
“His life? How? He’s just going to be junior partner.”
“The company he works for is deep into dangerous dealings with very powerful and…. corrupt people.” Buffy didn’t look convinced. “If he gets promoted, they’ll bring him into that world and you and your family won’t be safe.”
“Ok, I’m leaving now. Stay away from me and my family.” Buffy grabbed Connor’s stroller and rolled away. She was scared now, but she wouldn’t show this woman that. Buffy rushed Connor out to the car and got him strapped in. She no longer felt like shopping, so she took Connor to Burger King for lunch. While he played in the playplace, Buffy tried to call Angel. He was in a meeting and his secretary said that as soon as he got out, she would have him call Buffy. Buffy nervously munched on her fries as she smiled and waved at her son.
********************
Buffy didn’t want to talk to Angel about the woman in front of Connor. So, she waited until after she had given Connor a bath and put him to bed. Angel had ended up being in the meeting for the rest of the day and then a client of his had needed him for something. He was a little late getting home, but he didn’t miss dinner. Now, he and Buffy were curled up in the den watching a movie. Angel’s head was on Buffy’s stomach so he could listen to his daughter. Buffy paid more attention to the baby monitor sitting on the table next to her head that was watching Connor sleep.
“Hey, you ok up there?” Angel asked.
“Just thinking.” Buffy said.
Angel sat up and looked at her, concerned by the note of worry in her voice. “About what?”
“Oh, this woman that came up to me today at the baby store.”
“What woman?”
“She told me that you were in danger.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Buffy sighed. “She said that Wolfram and Hart was into dangerous dealings or something and that if you took this promotion to junior partner, then Connor, our baby girl, and I won’t be safe anymore.” Buffy saw the flicker in Angel’s eyes and she panicked. When his eyes flickered like that, he was thinking of a lie. She was the only one that actually caught it. “Oh God….”
“No. Buffy, no. You forget about that woman.”
“What she was saying was true?!”
“No. Stop it. You know it’s not true.”
“You were going to lie to me!”
“No I wasn’t. I was thinking about who this woman could be. If you see her again, you call the police right away and then you call me.”
“Why? She didn’t threaten me.”
“Yes she did.”
“No….”
“Just do what I say, damn it!” Angel yelled. Upstairs, Connor heard him and woke up crying.
“You woke him up.” Buffy said, getting up and leaving Angel in the den. She made sure to take the baby monitor with her and turned it off as she got into Connor’s room.
Chapter 3
Buffy walked through the baby store again, looking at the same crib and changing table set. She was actually planning on buying this, but she was also hoping the woman would show up again. Buffy picked up the tag she was supposed to take to the check out counter and walked slowly through the aisles. When the woman didn’t show up, Buffy purchased the furniture set and a few other odds and ends and let the workers load the things into her car.
Just as they finished, the woman walked up behind Buffy. “He lied to you, didn’t he?”
“How do you know that?” Buffy asked her.
“It’s happened before to other lawyers in his position.”
“What position?”
“Come on. We need to get out of the open.” The woman got in the passenger’s seat of Buffy’s SUV and waited.
Buffy sighed and got in behind the wheel. “Where are we going?”
********************
Buffy and the woman sat in the back of a local restaurant in the darkest corner they could find. They ordered food for show, but neither of them was hungry. “Why did you bring me here?”
“They’re probably watching you now.”
“Who?”
“Wolfram and Hart. Your husband’s told them about me and now they’re watching you because they know I’ll want to contact you again.”
“How do you know this?”
“I work for them. Or, at least, I used to.”
“You were fired?”
“Technically…. No.”
“So that means yes.”
“I was dimension hopping for obscure texts, it’s a thing I like to do, and when I got back to this world, everything had been rewritten.”
“Dimension hopping?” Buffy asked incredulously. “Obscure texts? Ok, now I think you’re a nut job.”
“Have you been feeling like there’s something wrong…. Or that there’s something missing?” Buffy stared at the woman. “Demons are real, cupcake. Demons, vampires, ghouls, goblins…. You name it, they’re real. And the law firm your husband works for is deep into that world.”
Buffy shook her head. “This makes no sense.”
“Yes it does. And this tale goes even deeper. You’re not who you think you are.”
“What?”
“Nobody is. This life…. It’s not real.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Despite her confusion and rising anger, the nagging feeling she’d been feeling the last couple of days was pulling harder.
“You changed everything. I managed to get into the records room of Wolfram and Hart. You made a deal with a demon.”
“A deal with a…. What are you talking about?”
“You’re a Vampire Slayer.”
“Huh?”
“And your husband? He’s a 248 year old vampire with a soul. Or…. At least he used to be until that demon pulled his mojo.”
Buffy shook her head, but words escaped her mouth before she could stop them as a memory hit her. “He’s 246 years old, he doesn’t exactly get the prom.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you remember Sunnydale?”
“Of course I remember Sunnydale. I went to high school there.”
“Do you remember the Hellmouth?”
“The Hellmouth….?” Another memory ran through Buffy’s brain of a big demon coming out of the floor of the library at Sunnydale High School. “That never happened!”
“Your memories are coming back, aren’t they?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Lilah Morgan. Your husband has my job. When that demon of yours rewrote this timeline and the memories of this world, I wasn’t in it.”
“Is that why you remember what was?”
“Apparently, you’re starting to remember too.”
“This is insane. It’s…. It’s not logical!”
“Nothing is, sweetheart.”
Tears started to fall down Buffy’s cheeks as her memories came flooding back to her. “Why is this happening? This was supposed to be the perfect world.”
“Well, demons are funny that way.”
“He tricked me. This isn’t the world I wanted.”
“What was it supposed to be?”
“No demons. Just me and Angel and our family…. Happy. I was supposed to be happy. This…. This isn’t happy. This is…. Fucked up! He’s…. what? A demonic lawyer?”
“Well, he’s not a demon. He’s human. He’s just…. Power hungry. Which is almost demonic.”
“Almost?”
“Well, and I can’t believe I’m admitting this, when a person is power hungry, driven if you will, then that person will do anything to get to the top. They’ll stop at nothing until they get there.”
“So…. He knows about all of this?” A memory of Angel telling Buffy about Wolfram and Hart and all the problems they caused came back to Buffy. “God, this was supposed to be our happy life. This is….”
“You can have that happy life still.”
“What? How? If demons exist and…. And I’m still a Slayer…. I can’t have that normal life that this was supposed to be.”
“You’re still pregnant. You still have his kids. They’re his kids. You two made them. And you two can have your normal life.”
“How?”
“Help me get Angel out of there and get me my job back.”
“How would I do that?”
“You’re his wife. He loves you, right?” Buffy didn’t answer. “Well, if you beg him to leave….”
“If he’s power hungry, a pleading pregnant wife isn’t going to stop him.”
“We have to come up with something.”
“You’re the evil lawyer! Shouldn’t you have a plan?”
“You are the plan. You know him the best. You know what to do to get him to listen to you.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “No wonder he hates you guys. Nothing gets through your thick skulls.”
“So, he told you about us?”
“Of course. What? You didn’t think we were running on radio silence these last three years, did you? We still talked.” Buffy sighed. “I’m not supposed to be remembering that. You know, I have two memories of my high school graduation. In one memory, I’m happy. I’m graduating. My mother’s there. Angel’s there. Even my father’s there. All my friends are graduating. We’re taking pictures with each other and smiling and laughing and the sun is shining. We have our whole future ahead of us with infinite possibilities. It’s the way it was supposed to be. In the other memory…. There’s pain and suffering…. Death. And in that memory, Angel’s leaving me at the end of it all. There’s no sun shining or birds singing….”
“So get it back.”
“But I’ll always have these memories.”
“Ignore them. If you get Angel away from Wolfram and Hart, you can move away. Find another law firm for him to work at. Live your life somewhere else.”
“You don’t get it. I’ve tried quitting. I’ve tried forgetting. It doesn’t work. And now that these memories are here…. And Angel knows about demons and all that…. I can’t just forget and move on. I can’t have a normal life knowing demons are out there.”
“You’ll have to figure it out if you want to get Angel out.”
“What’s the use? Now that I know and he knows, it’ll be just like it was.”
“You’ll be fighting on opposite sides. He’ll be with the bad guys.”
Buffy laughed. “You just called yourself a bad guy.”
“Well, maybe not bad, but definitely not good.”
“I need to get home. My son is waiting for me.”
“Talk to him.”
“I’ll try. But I really don’t see the point.” Buffy stood up.
“Take this.” Lilah handed her a piece of paper with an address. “This is where I’m at if you need my help.”
“Thanks.” Buffy walked out of the restaurant.
***********************
“Mommy, come play.” Connor said, tugging on her hand.
“Not now, Connor. Mommy’s busy.” Buffy said.
“Not busy! You walky.”
“Connor, go play with your toys and let mommy think, ok.”
“Where Lucy?”
“Lucy went home.”
“Why?”
“Because I told her she could.”
“Where daddy?”
“Daddy’s at work.”
“Then you play.”
“Not now, Connor.” Buffy had given Lucy the rest of the day off so she could think and strategize how she could talk to Angel without telling him everything. She was starting to think that was a bad idea. Connor wanted her to play and she couldn’t concentrate on what she was going to say. Maybe she should wait until tomorrow to talk to Angel. She could ask him to take the day off.
“Mommy!” Connor wailed.
“Not now, Connor!” Buffy snapped. She saw his lower lip start to quiver and the tears well up in his eyes and the guilt hit her. This was her child. This was her baby boy. “Come here.” She picked Connor up and hugged him tightly. “Mommy’s sorry, baby. I’m just worried.”
“What bout, mommy?”
“Your daddy.”
“What wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Don’t you worry about it.”
“Play with me. Please?”
Buffy heard Angel’s car door open and close outside. He was home. “Connor, go on up to your playroom. Mommy will be up there in a little bit. Daddy’s home.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise.” Buffy set Connor down and he rushed up the stairs. Buffy stood at the bottom of them to make sure he got upstairs safely. The front door opened behind her and Angel walked in. She didn’t turn to look at him until Connor was safely up the stairs and she heard his playroom door shut. “You’re home late.” She said, finally turning to look at him. He looked pissed.
“I told you to forget about it, didn’t I?” Angel asked, calmly setting his briefcase down and taking off his blazer. Too calm for Buffy’s taste.
“Forget about what?”
“Don’t play games with me. I know about your lunch date.”
“I didn’t eat lunch today.”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what? I didn’t eat lunch today.”
“You were at Montigoes today at twelve thirty. You went to that baby store and you picked Lilah up.”
“How do you know her name?”
“We know everything at Wolfram and Hart. Buffy, I told you to forget about all of this. Why can’t you just let it go?”
“Because this isn’t you!”
“Stop interfering with things you don’t understand!”
“Understand!? I understand perfectly well what’s going on at that place! You’re working with demons!”
“Demons? That’s absurd.”
“No, it’s not.”
Angel chuckled. “You’re letting that woman get to your head.”
“She’s not getting to my head. My head is pretty clear on this all by itself. My head figured this out all on its own.”
“Buffy, I swear, if you interfere in this promotion….”
“You’ll what? Turn me into a battered wife?”
“I would never hurt you.”
“Too late.” Buffy realized she was crying, but she didn’t care. “I can’t believe you would let that place get to you like that.”
“Like what?”
“You’ve become a monster. You’ve let that place corrupt you. All you care about is power and wealth.”
“For you! I care about power and wealth for you! I’m doing all of this for you. I’m giving you the life you said you wanted.”
“This isn’t what I wanted.”
“You said you wanted a big house and you didn’t want to work because you wanted to raise our children. I’m giving you that, aren’t I? I’m giving you what you wanted!”
“What I wanted was a loving husband who cares about his family.”
“You think I don’t care?”
“Obviously not! I want my old Angel back.”
“I’m the same Angel.”
“I chose this life because I wanted to be with you as two humans who are madly in love with each other and have a family and have nothing to do with demons or vampires or Slayers or any of it!”
“Chose this life? What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t choose this! I was offered the perfect life. I was offered a loving husband and children and no demons! I wasn’t supposed to be the Slayer.”
“The Slayer? What are you talking about? How do you know about Slayers?”
“Because I am one!”
“No, you’re….”
“I made a deal with a demon. Not completely intentionally, but I told him if he could change it, I would say yes.”
“A deal with a demon? What kind of demon?”
“I don’t know. He was human looking. What does it matter? He tricked me.”
Angel nodded. “So, you what? Made a deal with a demon and he sent you here?”
“He rewrote time. He redid memories so I could have this life. He said it was my dream life.”
Angel laughed at her. “Well, you have your dreams, now, don’t you?”
“No!”
“Well, that’s too bad. You made a deal with a demon, sweetheart. This is the life you chose and this is the life you get. Live with it.”
Buffy stopped crying and glared at Angel. “No. The life I chose doesn’t exist. But it will. I’ve fought too long and too hard to get stuck with this!” She rushed upstairs before Angel could stop her and grabbed a few clothes of hers and Connor’s, threw them in a bag, and grabbed up her son.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Angel asked, blocking the stairs.
“I’m taking my son and leaving.”
“He’s our son, and I say you’re not taking him.”
“Watch me.” Buffy shoved Angel out of the way, surprised to find that she did still have Slayer strength because Angel ended up flying down the hallway. She took a moment to stare, stunned, and then ran down the stairs and into her car. She buckled Connor in the passenger seat for the moment and sped away. Once she was far enough away from the house, she pulled over and strapped Connor into his car seat. Pulling out the address Lilah had given her, she drove to the only place she thought she and her son would be safe for the time being.
Chapter 4
Buffy banged on the door to the apartment and Lilah opened it finally. “What!? Oh, it’s you…. And you’re son…. With a bag.”
“We need a place to stay.” Buffy said.
“There’s a motel right down the….”
“Somewhere safe.”
“What makes you think this is safe?”
“You’re staying here aren’t you? Wolfram and Hart hasn’t come after you here, have they?”
Lilah sighed, giving up early. “Fine. Come in.” She stood out of the way and let Buffy carry a sleeping Connor inside.
“Do you have somewhere I can lay him down?”
“In the bedroom. Second door.”
“Thank you.” Buffy laid Connor down on Lilah’s bed and took his shoes off. She laid his favorite stuffed rabbit next to him and quietly snuck out of the room, leaving the door open a crack in case he woke up scared and started crying. “He threatened me. Or…. At least he started to threaten me. I told him everything and he laughed at me. He said, ‘this is the life you chose and this is the life you get.’ He told me to live with it.”
Lilah shrugged. “Guess you were right about the pleading and the pregnant thing.”
“Told you. What am I going to do?”
“I’ve got a guy coming up here to help.”
“Who?”
“His name is Lindsey McDonald.”
“What’s he got to do with all of this?”
“In our world…. My world…. Whatever you want to call it…. Lindsey knew everything about the Senior Partners.”
“Who are they?”
“The demonic powers that run Wolfram and Hart. Anyway, Lindsey left the company for greener pastures. Namely, Texas. He’s been spending his time there learning more and more about the Senior Partners. That was about a year ago. Well, he did the same thing here. Angel took his job as well, and Lindsey has never liked Angel, so he left instead of working with him. I called him up and told him everything. He said he should be here by tomorrow morning.”
“What can he do for us?”
“He can help us figure out a way to fix all of this.”
“Fix how?”
“I don’t know.” Lilah sighed. “Listen, just go get some rest. Go in the bedroom with your little boy and Lindsey will be here in the morning to help straighten this whole thing out.”
“What will happen if Angel comes for us?”
“Nothing. The apartment is mystically protected and they can’t get in.”
Buffy started to head towards the bedroom, but stopped and looked at Lilah. “Why are you doing all of this?”
“I’m doing it because I want my life back. I liked my life. I don’t like this hiding out until it’s safe for me to come out. I liked being able to go where I wanted and doing what I wanted.”
“You’re doing all of this for you, then?”
“Well, not entirely.” Lilah sighed and shook her head. “For some reason, I’ve always liked you.”
“We’ve never met before.”
“I know all about you, though.”
“How?”
“I read about you in the files at Wolfram and Hart.”
“I have a file?”
“More than one. You make a lot of guest appearances in Angel’s files too. You’re quite the tragic heroine, aren’t you?” Buffy shrugged. “Well, I’ve actually found you to be quite the role model. No matter how many times you get knocked down, you always get right back up and punch your way through until you win. It’s an endearing quality.”
“I guess…. thank you.”
Lilah shrugged again and shooed Buffy away. Buffy headed into Lilah’s bedroom and curled up next to her son, holding him protectively.
*******************
The next morning, Buffy woke up to Connor playing with a toy car next to her. “Hey, kiddo. Where’d you get that?”
“Man gave me.”
“What man gave it to you?”
Connor shrugged and pointed to the door. Buffy sat up and quickly got dressed. She got Connor changed into another outfit and changed his diaper. She opened the door and pulled him into the living room. A tall, handsome man with longish brown hair was sitting in the living room talking to Lilah. He turned around and smiled at them.
“You must be Buffy.” He stood up and held out his hand. “I’m Lindsey.”
Buffy shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Lindsey squatted down and smiled at Connor. “Hey there, little guy. Are you enjoying that car?”
“Yeah.” Connor said.
“Connor, what do you say to Lindsey?” Buffy asked.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Lindsey said, standing back up.
“Connor, why don’t you go over there and play while Mommy talks to Lindsey?”
“Kay!” Connor took his car and rushed over to the corner.
Lindsey escorted Buffy over to the couch and sat down next to her. “Ok, let’s get down to it. The Senior Partners won’t let Angel go that easily.”
“Why?” Buffy asked.
“They know about everything. They even know about your life switch.”
“How do they know?”
“Like I said: They just know everything. They’re the ultimate power. And they know about the Angel from your world: The Angel that this one truly is. That’s why they’re giving him the promotion.”
“It’s not because he’s a good lawyer?”
“Hey, Angel is a great lawyer. He kicked my ass and that just doesn’t happen, so I’ve gotta give him the props he deserves, but the Senior Partners don’t care about that. They want him because of his destiny.”
“Wait, I’m confused. That’s not his destiny anymore. I changed that.”
“Not really. The gist of it is: They just wrote over everything and changed memories. Angel, until a few days ago, was the vampire with a soul who would be a pivotal player in the Apocalypse. And you…. You, until a few days ago, were the best Slayer that ever lived, died, lived, died, and then lived again.” Lindsey chuckled at that, but the women in the room just stared at him. He shook his head and continued. “You also had a prophecy that said you would be one of the pivotal players in the Apocalypse alongside Angel.”
“Ok.”
“Even Connor had a destiny and was meant to be.”
Buffy looked over at her two year old son playing with his new toy car and shook her head. “That’s impossible. Connor never existed before three days ago.”
“Actually, he did because Darla was pregnant with him.” Lilah said.
“What? No. Darla’s a vampire. She can’t have children.”
“Darla’s is…. was a mystical pregnancy. Connor was originally to be born to you and Angel, but when Angel took back the day he was conceived, which was two years ago, it messed the prophecy up and the Powers had to rewrite it. So, when Angel slept with Darla, Connor was conceived, thereby making it possible in this world to set it right.”
“What? The day he was conceived? I’ve only been with Angel once in that life and he sure wasn’t able to have children.”
“As a human he was.”
“He was never human with me.”
“He was, you just don’t remember it.”
“I think I would remember being with Angel and him being human and us making a child together.”
“That’s because he took the day back. He went to the Oracles and had them turn back the clock so he would never become human.”
“Why?”
“To save you, apparently. According to our records, the demon that made him human was part of some legion that would bring about the End of Days and you would die. Or at least, that’s what the demon said. Angel, being scared that you would die and he wouldn’t be able to save you, took back the day.”
“How was he…. How did he become human?”
“Demon blood. It mixed with his and rejuvenated his system, making him human for a whole twenty four hours. And in that twenty four hours, you two went at it like bunnies as two humans. And two humans going at it like bunnies with no protection can make babies.”
Buffy shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t remember that.”
“Because you weren’t meant to. Only he was supposed to remember that day.”
Buffy had to take a moment to collect herself. She felt like she was two Buffys at once. One Buffy was in shock at the revelation that she and Angel had been together and had been normal for one whole day, but he had taken it back and that hurt. The other Buffy grieved for the loss of the first Buffy and grieved for the husband she was loosing too because of the decisions that Angel was making now.
“What…. What about the baby inside me now?” Buffy asked, finally able to speak. “Does…. Does she have a destiny too?”
“I don’t think so.” Lilah said, feeling compassion for the broken women sitting in front of her. “I think this baby most likely represents where Connor would be now in the world before and she’s just a little bonus for the happy family to balance out the universe.”
“Ok. So…. I’m still a Slayer with my old destiny?” Lilah nodded. “And Angel is a human with his old destiny?” Again, Lilah nodded. “My son, who was supposed to be born two years ago, has a destiny?” Lilah nodded again. “And this little girl inside me is…. Connor in Darla?”
“That’s my guess.”
“Wow, this is really messed up.”
“It’s better than your old life.” Lilah said. “Or at least it will be when we get Angel out of there.”
“Here’s a fun fact for you.” Lindsey interrupted. “By finding a way to get Angel away from Wolfram and Hart, it will stop everyone’s destinies. Buffy won’t be a Slayer, Angel won’t be a pivotal part in the Apocalypse, Connor won’t have his destiny…. “
Buffy shook her head. “Wait…. If our destinies stop, then doesn’t that mean the world is doomed or something? That if we’re not here to stop what we’re supposed to stop, the world will….”
“Be eviscerated.” Lindsey finished for her.
Buffy shook her head again, more forcefully this time. “I can’t let that happen.”
“This is the world you chose. These are the consequences of your actions.”
Buffy started to cry again. “I just want to be happy! Is that too much to ask?”
“Yes.” Lilah said simply.
After a long moment, Buffy asked, “Can I…. Could I change it back somehow?”
“There’s no way to change what’s already done.” Lindsey said. “The Powers won’t take it back.”
“It was the Powers that sent that demon guy to me?”
“Most likely.” Lilah said. “There’s no demon in this universe or any other universe that has that kind of power to rewrite history and make a vampire human all at the same time.”
“Ok, so what are the Powers playing at? Why would they do this?”
“I have no clue, but you’ve got another choice to make it seems.” Lindsey said. “You can live the life you have now and be married to a power-hungry Angel. Or you can take away their destinies and leave the world doomed.”
Buffy looked over at Connor and then back at Lindsey and Lilah. “I need time to think about this.”
“It’s up to you.”
“Connor, come on.”
“Where we go?” Connor asked, rushing over to his mother.
“We’re going for a drive.” She picked Connor up and walked out of the apartment.
***********************
Buffy drove through Sunnydale and looked around. For some reason, she half expected it to be rundown and crawling with demons. But it wasn’t. Everything was the picture perfect Sunnydale Buffy remembered of both worlds. She drove past her old house that had new cars in the driveway and new lawn decorations in the front yard. She kept driving and stopped outside Willow’s old house.
Buffy had a flash of a memory in Willow’s room of the two girls with Cordelia looking at a picture of Buffy’s sleeping mother that Angelus had left as a present. It was a horrifying memory, so Buffy drove on and stopped at Xander’s house. The place looked shiny and new and Buffy remembered that Xander’s parents had moved to Florida after their son had gone to Chicago. She also remembered being holed up in Xander’s basement hiding out from Adam and the Initiative.
Buffy decided to drive to Cordelia’s house. There were no bad memories there. She drove into the nicest part of town and to the biggest house in Sunnydale. Cordelia’s family still lived there and they lived in serious luxury thanks to their very famous daughter. Cordelia’s mother was outside with their gardener picking out flowers when she spotted Buffy’s car. She didn’t recognize it, so she walked up, fully intending on telling the person inside the car to move on because they were trespassing, but stopped when she realized who the person was.
Buffy went in with Connor and Cordelia’s mother doted on Buffy and Connor. She asked why Buffy had never stopped by before and that she missed her other daughter. She told Buffy how wonderful the little blonde looked and that pregnancy really became her. She fell in love with Connor, who she hadn’t seen since a couple of weeks after he had been born.
After a long visit, Buffy finally managed to pry herself loose from Cordelia’s mother, promising that she would return soon. She left and drove through Sunnydale again, stopping at random points of interest to both sets of memories. Finally, she stopped at one of the many playgrounds and let Connor out to play. She sat in the swing and looked around at the playground.
This was where she and Angel had come and talked about their future together before he graduated law school. They had spent almost the entire night there talking and planning and making out. In that memory, Buffy was still a virgin. She hadn’t allowed Angel that access even though she knew he would be the one to take it.
Then Buffy remembered that this very same playground was where her mother had found the bodies of those two children that had turned out to be one big demon. In that world, Buffy had lost her virginity to Angel at seventeen, he had lost his soul and tried to kill her for months, she had killed him, he had come back, and at that point were trying not to be together but still be together. She liked the Angel of the first memory. They had been just two people completely in love with their whole lives ahead of them.
Now she faced the possibility that she would lose Angel, the love of her life…. Of both her lives. She’d already lost him in her first life, so she was starting to believe that she and Angel just weren’t meant to be. But as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she pushed it out of her head. Angel was the one person that made her happy. He was the one person that knew everything about her and how she felt without either of them having to speak a word.
Buffy looked at her son playing in the sandbox and smiled at him. Her smile grew wider as she felt her daughter move around inside her. She knew she was meant to be with Angel one way or another. Unfortunately, she didn’t want that way to end the world. Connor smiled back at her and reached out his arms for her to pick him up. Buffy walked over and picked him up.
He hugged her tightly and said, “Love mommy.” Buffy stared at her son, tears welling in her eyes. “No cry.” He wiped at the tears on her cheeks and Buffy knew she didn’t have the heart to let him grow up to a world that was destroyed because of her. She couldn’t sit by and live a life of luxury at the price she would have to pay. At the price her children would have to pay.
An idea formed in her head and Buffy started to cry, hugging her son closer. If her plan worked, she wouldn’t be a mother and she wouldn’t be married to the man she loved. She would be giving everything in this life up. This must’ve been what Angel had felt when he had given up their life as normal people together two years ago and now Buffy was making the same decision to save Angel just as he had saved her.
Chapter 5
Buffy drove back to Lilah’s apartment, putting on a brave face for her son. Lilah and Lindsey were still there, obviously waiting for her return. Buffy had been gone all day long and it was almost dark out now.
“What did you decide?” Lindsey asked.
“The Senior Partners.” Buffy said, setting her son down to go play in the corner again with his toy car.
“What about them?”
“They can turn it back. If the Powers won’t, then the Senior Partners can.”
“What makes you even think that they would help you?”
“They have to. Angel is important to them, we know that, but we also know that Angel as a human could never fulfill his destiny. He’s only human and he’s weak. He would never make it through the End Of Days. Angel as a vampire would. They have to know that so they would have to turn back the deal.”
“I don’t know.” Lilah said. “The Senior Partners are…. Tricky to say the least.”
Lindsey shrugged. “I think Buffy’s right.”
“How do I get to them?” Buffy asked.
“I’ll have to show you.”
“Then show me.”
“How do you expect to get in?” Lilah asked.
“All I need to do is get into an elevator.” Lindsey said.
“That should be easy.” Buffy said. “I visit Angel a lot, so they’re used to seeing me.”
“They might know something’s up if you walk in with Lindsey.” Lilah said.
“I’ll take my chances.” Buffy walked over to her son and kneeled down, playing with his hair. “Hey kiddo, mommy’s gotta go do something, but I’ll be back. Lilah’s going to watch you, ok?”
“Uh….” Lilah started to protest, but she was quickly silenced by Lindsey.
“You come back?” Connor asked.
“Of course I will.” Buffy was starting to get choked up because she knew it was probably the last time she was going to see her son. “I love you, Connor.”
“Love mommy more.”
Buffy hugged her son tightly, smelling his perfect baby smell and feeling the softness of his hair against her cheek. After a long moment of holding him, she let him go and walked out as fast as she could without scaring him. If she looked back at him, she wouldn’t have the heart to go through with her plan. It was hard enough carrying a baby made with Angel inside of her.
***************************
Buffy and Lindsey walked into Wolfram and Hart. The receptionist at the desk recognized Buffy. “Hey, Mrs. Delany! Mr. Delany’s been expecting to see you all day. Is everything ok?”
“Yeah Morgan. Everything’s fine. He’s just worried about me and the baby.” Buffy said, heading for the elevators.
“Yeah, after those miscarriages you had, he was a real wreck around here.” Buffy just smiled politely and waited for the elevator. “Hey, Mrs. Delany, who’s the cutie with you?”
“Oh this is…. Craig. He’s, uh…. He’s a friend of mine from way back.” The elevator doors opened and Buffy waved at Morgan. Lindsey and Buffy got into the elevator and as soon as the doors closed, Lindsey punched in a sequence of floor numbers.
“You ready?” Lindsey asked her.
“For what?”
A bigger, glowing button appeared above all the others. “For the White Room.”
The elevator turned a bright white and Buffy had to shield her eyes from the bright glare. When her vision cleared, a little girl dressed in her Sunday best sat primly on a chair facing them. She looked royally pissed off.
“You dare to enter the White Room Lindsey!” She said calmly, her little girl voice throwing Buffy off from the sophisticated speech. “You should be punished.”
“I’ve brought someone very important to see you.” Lindsey said. “I would never come here if she didn’t bring you some dire news.” The little girl’s attention fell on Buffy and for some reason, Buffy grabbed her stomach protectively. “This is the Slayer that had time rewritten.”
“Ah, so we have you to thank for our star lawyer.”
“Your star lawyer is in danger and won’t be any use to the Senior Partners any longer.”
“What do you mean?”
“Angel still has his destiny.” Buffy blurted.
“Yes, that’s why we’re keeping him.”
“You don’t understand. His destiny is screwed up now. He’s not a vampire.”
“Of course not.”
“If he’s not a vampire, then he can’t fulfill the destiny you all want him to. Without him fulfilling that destiny, I can’t fulfill mine alongside him like I’m supposed to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Angel is a pivotal player in the Apocalypse,” Lindsey said. “As a vampire. He doesn’t have the strength to be more than human if he’s ONLY human.”
“And I’m not THE Slayer.” Buffy said, omitting the fact that she still had Slayer powers. “I’m just a pregnant woman.”
“What do you want me to do about it?” The little girl asked.
“Change it back. Fix it.”
“The Senior Partners have that kind of power.” Lindsey said.
“Please. Ask them to change it back for all of our sakes.”
“I should make you suffer for this.” The little girl said to Buffy. “You changed the world. You took your destinies into your own hands and screwed them up.”
“I didn’t do it intentionally. That demon did!”
The little girl closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly listening to something far away, and she then looked back at them with a deep, perturbed sigh. “The Senior Partners have agreed and they will erase the history the Powers have made and restore what was.”
Before Buffy or Lindsey could say anything, the White Room flared up. Buffy waited for it to go away and for her to be standing in a graveyard or something, but everything stayed white and Lindsey and the little girl had disappeared. Buffy looked down and saw that her baby bump had disappeared as well. A shadow appeared on the horizon, walking towards her. As Buffy watched, the shadow turned into the form of the demon that started this whole mess.
Buffy groaned. “You again!”
“Yeah, me again.” He said.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you. You tricked me!”
“I didn’t trick you.”
“Excuse me? I’d call an evil husband that….”
“It was a test.”
“A test?” Buffy asked incredulously.
“To see if you were really worth it.”
“Worth what?”
“The Powers know you’re ready to retire. You were supposed to stay dead this last time, but your friends brought you back. You coming back has upset the cosmic balance, so they have to fix it.”
“How do I upset the cosmic balance?”
“Something about the First returns with a great army and destroys the Slayer line. It’s not good.”
“Ok. So…. Why did they let my friends bring me back?”
“They didn’t know that was going to happen. They saw those demons botch the spell. They didn’t see it work under the ground where you were.”
“Then why don’t they just kill me and get it over with?”
“Because you deserve more that that. You’re their greatest champion next to the big guy.”
“God?”
“No. Angel. That’s what I called him when I knew him.”
“You knew Angel?”
“I was his link to the Powers by way of the visions. Name’s Doyle.”
“Doyle?”
“Yeah. We met…. Once…. Sort of. Cordy kinda rushed me out of there before we could be properly introduced.”
“Oh.” Buffy shook her head. “Why were the Powers testing me?”
“They wanted to make sure that you were still their champion. The way you’ve been feeling since you came back? They took notice.”
Buffy looked around at the white nothingness and then at the deceased half demon standing in front of her. “I guess I passed, cause I’m dead.”
“You’re not dead. This is just…. Well, let’s just call this a waiting room.”
“So…. I failed?”
“No. You passed. With flying colors. You were willing to give up everything…. Your kids, the man you love…. To save the world. Angel proved himself to the Powers as well when he gave you up for the same reason.”
“So…. Angel was being tested too?”
“Not really. They liked that scenario. They knew that given the perfect life with a catch like that, there’s no telling what the outcome would be, even for you. That’s the reason you had that kind of test.”
“Not seeing the humor.”
“Me either. But anyway, back to the good news I never got to tell you I was getting to. The Powers are going to give you that world for real now.”
“I don’t want it!”
“Not that world, kid. I meant the world you wanted. No demons. Normal life.”
“Oh.”
“You and Angel have both earned it. So, when this white fades away, you’ll be back where you started. You’ll wake up next to your husband with a baby girl on the way and a two year old son crying for his mommy.”
“No more prophecies?”
“No more prophecies.”
“No more Apocalypse?”
“Nope.”
“What about the world I left?”
“Doesn’t exist where you’re going. This world was created for you and Angel. This is a separate world with no mystical qualities. There’s no way to gain access to it except by the Powers themselves. No demons, no vampires, no ghosts, nothing except humans. The only evils you’ll have to worry about are stretch marks and wrinkles.”
“And this is for real?”
“You’re about as trusting as Angel is.”
“We’ve both been handed lies before by people we trusted.”
“I hear you on that. And the answer to your question is: Yes, this is for real. You’re done, champ.” Doyle looked behind Buffy. “Both of you are.”
Buffy turned and looked at Angel standing behind her. “Angel?”
“What the hell?” Angel asked. “Doyle? Buffy? What’s going on? Where am I?”
“You’re in a mystical waiting room.” Doyle said.
“What? Why?”
“We’re about to get our reward.” Buffy said.
“Reward?”
“You may recall your man Wesley saying something about a Shanshu prophecy.” Doyle said.
“Shanshu? But I haven’t stopped the Apocalypse.”
“You’ve stopped enough, big guy. The Powers are ready to reward you two.”
“Why?”
“I passed a test.” Buffy said.
“A test?”
“You both passed a test.” Doyle said.
“Ok, we both did.” Buffy surrendered.
“What test?” Angel asked.
“I gave up happiness to save you and to save the world…. Just like you did.”
“I didn’t…. How did you know about….”
“Just go with it.” Doyle said.
“We both passed the test and now we get to be happy.” Buffy said.
“What about our friends?” Angel asked.
“They’re all there.” Doyle said. “All you two have to do is take your places.”
“What kind of world is this?”
Doyle sighed and said mechanically, “It’s a separate world with no mystical qualities. There’s no way to gain access to it except by the Powers themselves. No demons, no vampires, no ghosts, nothing except humans. They’ll never ask you two for a thing again. All expenses paid. No strings attached. It’s time to live in peace guys.”
Angel looked at Buffy. “Are you sure about this?”
Buffy nodded. “More than. It was a great world except that you were a power hungry asshole that worked for an evil law firm.”
“Whoa! I don’t want to be….”
“You won’t.” Doyle said. “You’ll be a regular Joe lawyer making the big bucks and taking care of your five month pregnant housewife and two year old son.”
“Connor.” Buffy filled in. “We have to name the little girl on the way.”
Doyle looked up at the white nothingness for a moment and then looked back at Buffy and Angel. “All right guys, it’s show time.”
“Will we remember any of this?” Angel asked.
Doyle just smiled at them as the white light flared.
************************
Buffy woke up when she heard the sound of her two year old son Connor crying in the next room. He was calling her name, Mommy, and screaming at the top of his lungs. She sat up, holding her five months pregnant belly, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. In the bed beside her, her husband stirred.
“Go back to sleep, honey.” Buffy said.
“You sure?” Angel asked.
“Yeah. He wants me.”
“Ok.” Angel rolled over and went back to sleep.
Buffy walked out into the hallway and flipped on Connor’s light. It took her eyes a minute to adjust. She looked at her son crying, “Mommy!” at the top of his lungs over and over and holding out his arms to her from his new toddler bed. “What’s the matter, kiddo?” Buffy went over to him and picked him up. She carried him over to the rocking chair and sat down.
“Bad dream!” Connor cried, holding tightly to her neck.
“You had a bad dream?”
“Uh huh.”
“Are you ok now?” Connor shook his head. “Do you want to sleep with mommy and daddy?” He nodded and clung tighter to her neck. “Ok, you’re choking mommy now.” He didn’t release her and she sighed and stood up. She adjusted Connor so he was comfortable, but not squishing his little sister inside mommy’s tummy. Buffy and Angel had found out that afternoon that they were having a little girl. Connor had been excited about it and asked if he could buy his baby sister something. Buffy was going to take him shopping tomorrow for baby girl things for the nursery since they didn’t have anything but baby boy things.
“All right. Here you go.” Buffy set Connor down and he moved across the bed under the covers and snuggled up to his father’s back. Angel turned over in his sleep and hugged Connor protectively to his chest. Buffy got in bed and laid down on her side, looking at her husband and son together. As her son drifted off to sleep, Buffy stared at her husband, trying desperately to follow suit. The aches and pains that were worse with this second pregnancy were keeping her awake.
She had the perfect life. Angel was a lawyer with Wolfram and Hart, one of the most prestigious law firms out there. He was up for a promotion, so he’d been working extra hard. They lived in Beverly Hills in a nice six bedroom house with a pool, a big patio with a fancy grill and tables, and a playground for Connor. Buffy was your run of the mill housewife. She took care of her kids, helped their housekeeper Lucy where she could (although these days, Lucy wouldn’t let her “because of the baby”), and kept herself pretty for her husband.
She and Angel had gone to high school together. She had been the new girl in town sophomore year and had found a friend in Cordelia Chase, a very popular girl, right off the bat. Her boyfriend, Xander, wasn’t as fashionable as her, but she helped him get by. With Xander came his best friend since practically birth, Willow. She wasn’t the popular type of person, but she got to hang out with that group because she was smart and helped them get by with schoolwork and Cordelia accepted her because of Xander. Angel was Cordelia’s older brother. He had been a freshman at UC Sunnydale when Buffy had met him.
Cordelia and Buffy became best friends and Buffy would spend a lot of time at Cordy’s house. Eventually, Angel realized that he didn’t see Buffy as “his little sister’s friend.” He was beginning to see her as someone he could fall in love with. Buffy didn’t come to the realization until her senior homecoming when Angel asked her if he could be her date to the dance. By the time graduation rolled around for Buffy, she and Angel were deeply in love.
Buffy had started attending college at UC Sunnydale to be closer to Angel, even though he only had one year left. Cordelia left for LA to try her hand at acting, but promised that she and Buffy would keep in touch. That Christmas, Angel proposed to Buffy in front of her family and his. They had a long engagement and got married just after Angel graduated from law school and got a job at Wolfram and Hart. The ceremony was small, but romantic and very beautiful. Not long after, Buffy became pregnant with Connor.
That was two years ago. Over those two years, Angel had quickly moved up in the law firm and he and Buffy had been trying to have another baby. They had had a lot of complications with Connor, so they were having difficulty conceiving. Buffy had had two miscarriages before it had finally taken, and that had been 20 weeks and three days ago. Life couldn’t be better.
“Hey.” Angel opened his eyes and looked over at her. “You ok over there?”
“I can’t sleep.” Buffy said.
“What’s wrong? Your back hurting again?”
“Yeah. This second pregnancy is a lot harder than the first one.”
“Well, the doctor did say that after the complications with Connor’s birth, any pregnancy after him would be rough.”
“If I even could get pregnant.”
“Don’t. You know that upsets me.”
“Well, it’s true.” Buffy sighed. “I would go through all of it again for my babies.”
Angel smiled and reached over to gently massage Buffy’s swollen stomach. They stared at each other and couldn’t believe how lucky they were after all they had gone through. This was their life. Tomorrow, Buffy would wake up and Angel would be at the breakfast table getting ready to leave with his briefcase sitting next to him at the table. Connor would be watching cartoons in the living room with their Australian Shepard, Ireland. She would get him dressed and take him out for a day of shopping for the nursery because they don’t have anything for a girl. She and Connor would come home and help Lucy, their housekeeper, make dinner and Angel would come home and they would enjoy a family meal together. After everything they’d been through, the normalcy of their lives was wonderful.
The motions of Angel’s hand massaging her swollen stomach soothed Buffy and their daughter and pretty soon, Buffy was drifting off to sleep and dreaming about her normal life with her normal husband.