Title: Strangers in the Night
Chapter#: (20/20)
Author Name: Spike's Slayer Vixen
Author Email: sara_pridmore@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: You know I don't own them, I know I don't own them, but I
have to say it anyway so Joss won't sue.
Pairings: B/A/S
Category: Drama
Summary: Buffy deals with an unexpected situation.
Spoilers: This story is not set in a certain season. We are to assume
that Angel has his soul, but will not lose it when he sleeps with
Buffy. This may also seem reminiscent of "I Will Remember You".
Rating: PG
Author's comments: Well, this is it. The last chapter of the first
fic I ever wrote. I hope you have all enjoyed it. I know that I have
loved writing it and reading all of your feedback. I hope that this
doesn't disappoint...
Feedback: Please, let me know how you think my first finished fic
turned out.
It was a month and a half after Angel and Spike had been injected
with the serum, and it seemed to have worked miracles. They both
patrolled now every night, dusting at least half a dozen vamps
between the two of them each night. In fact, they were doing such a
good job that it gave Buffy a chance to take a night off every now
and then. Tonight, she was lounging on the couch with Willow,
watching a movie and munching on some popcorn. After the movie was
over and the credits were rolling, she stood up to stretch her
muscles. She covered her mouth, trying to stifle a big yawn. "Wow,
I'm really beat. Are you spending the night here tonight?" she asked
the redhead. Willow nodded her head, setting the bowl of popcorn on
the coffee table. "Don't get me wrong, Will, I love having you here
to keep me company, but aren't you parents getting sick of you
spending the night over here all of the time?"
Willow shook her head, taking a sip of her soda. "No way. My mom
doesn't even notice that I'm gone half of the time. You know how it
is at my house. My parents have always had a bad case of absenteeism.
They have parental apathy. It's really not a problem, but...well,
I've just been kinda of wondering why you don't spend the night at
the mansion more. I would think that you would be over there twenty-
four hours a day, seven days a week spending quality time with your
honey."
Buffy shrugged her slim shoulders casually. "I dunno. I guess it's
probably because if I stayed at the mansion every night, I would
never want to get out of bed and go to school." She gave Willow a
mischievous smile. Buffy went to the mansion every afternoon after
school and even spent the night there sometimes, but usually she came
home and slept in her own bed. It was lonely of course but she didn't
want to wear out her welcome around the guys. She doubted that could
happen, but she didn't want to take a chance. It's not like they had
asked her to move in or something. They were entitled to their
freedom. "I think I'm going to spend the night there tomorrow night,
though."
"So, how is your mom doing?"
"She's doing good. I called today and her doctors say that she is
making progress, slowly but surely. Maybe she'll be home by my
birthday," Buffy said. She tried to sound enthusiastic, but she
secretly dreaded her mother's return. She wasn't so sure that her
mother wouldn't go back to her bad habits, and she didn't want to
have to go through that again. Her mother and she hadn't had a good
relationship with each other in a long, long time. Even if she did
make a full recovery and managed to keep her cravings under control,
Buffy knew it wouldn't be all sunshine and daisies when she got home.
"Well, that's great," Willow said cheerfully. "So, how have *you*
been feeling? Have you still been feeling nauseous in the mornings?"
Buffy nodded, staring down at her hands."Yeah, I have. I'm kinda
getting worried, Will. I've thrown up every morning for the past
week. The flu has been going around at school, so at first I thought
that maybe that was the problem. The only thing is that I don't have
any of the other symptoms of the flu. No fever, no chills, no body
aches. I've just been feeling a little tired lately and my back has
been cramping a little, but other than that I'm fine." She busied
herself with gathering up their empty soda cans and stray pieces of
popcorn. "I've got a doctor's appointment the day after tomorrow.
Maybe he can tell me what is wrong."
Willow looked closely at her friend. There was something Buffy was
not telling her. "Okay, Buffy, spill it. I've known you long enough
to know when you are hiding something. What is it that you aren't
telling me?" She grabbed Buffy's hand, pulling her down onto the
couch beside her. "I'm your best friend, sweetie. You can tell me
anything," Willow said gently.
Buffy looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. "I didn't want to say
anything until I knew something for sure," she said hesitantly. She
bit her lip, trying to find the words to tell Willow her suspicions.
Finally, she stood up, pulling Willow up with her. "I don't know how
to tell you, so I'm just gonna show you," she said, walking towards
the bathroom. Willow followed behind her, a puzzled expression
written across her pale face. Buffy flipped on the bathroom light and
opened a drawer, shuffling around until she found what she was
looking for. She slammed the drawer shut and took a deep breath
before pressing something into Willow's hand.
Willow gasped in surprise when she opened her hand and saw what was
resting in her palm. It was a pregnancy test...and it was blue. "Oh
god, Buffy," Willow said in a shaking voice. "W-What does this mean?"
"Well, if I read the instructions right, if the stick turns pink,
you're not pregnant. If it turns blue, you are," Buffy said with a
sad smile. "Lucky me, I got a blue one."
"B-But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're pregnant, right? I
mean, these things are wrong all the time. My mom took five tests
that all came back negative before she finally went to the doctor.
Turns out she was pregnant with me. So you see? This doesn't mean
anything, Buffy," Willow tried to assure her.
"Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Will, but what am I going
to do if I *am* pregnant?" Buffy asked anxiously. "I-I don't even
know who the father is," she said in a tiny voice. She stared down at
the floor in shame. She couldn't bear to look at her friend's face
and see the horror and disapproval that would surely be there.
"What?" Willow asked in disbelief. She was sure she must have heard
her friend wrong. Angel had been Buffy's first, and Willow knew that
Buffy would never cheat on him. "What do you mean, Buffy? Of course
the baby would be Angel's...right?"
"That's the thing, Will," Buffy admitted reluctantly. "I don't know."
She hadn't told any of her friends about her complicated relationship
with Angel and Spike, but now it looked like she was going to have to
come clean. "You see, I haven't been sleeping with just Angel. I've
been sleeping with Spike also."
Willow gasped in surprise. "What? Are you serious? Oh, Buffy, how
could you do that to Angel? He is going to be so hurt when he finds
out."
"He knows, Will," she said in shame. "He knows all about it. We have
a very...open relationship. That's not the point. The point is, if I
am pregnant, I don't know whose child I am carrying," she said
miserably. Buffy knew that something like this could rip the three
lovers apart. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. She could
have gone on the pill or suggested that they wear condoms, but it
just hadn't crossed her mind. Hell, she was used to having a vampire
lover, and vampires couldn't get a girl pregnant.
"So I take it you haven't told Angel and Spike?"
"No, they don't know anything about it," she said. "Please don't say
anything to them. I don't want to upset them if there isn't any
reason to. I'm going to the doctor in two days. After that, I will
know for sure, one way or another. If I'm not pregnant, there is no
reason to say anything to them about it at all. And if I am...well,
I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there, I guess."
Willow wrapped her arms around her friend, giving her a comforting
hug. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always be
here to support you, Buffy. It's all going to be okay. Try not to
worry about it right now, okay? There is no need in making yourself
sick for no reason. And even if it turns out that you are pregnant,
it's not the end of the world."
"No, the end of the world I know how to deal with," Buffy said dryly.
"I just don't get it," Spike said irritably. "Why can't she stay here
all of the time? I miss her." He sat in a chair across of from Angel
in the living room where they had been watching some lame sitcom and
eating pizza. "It makes no sense for her to stay in that big empty
house all alone. It's not safe. What if something happened? What if
someone broke in? What if there was a fire and she couldn't get out?"
"That is enough, William!" Angel snapped. "I don't need you filling
my head with any more ideas about the many ways that she could be in
danger. I've already dreamed enough of them up on my own. Besides,
she's got Willow there with her in case something happens. She's a
big girl. Hell, she's the Slayer. She can take care of herself. She
doesn't need us hovering over her like she's helpless. Besides, if
she wanted to be here, she would be here." He sat slumped down on the
couch, glaring at the television set. Both men had been in cranky
moods since Buffy had left a few hours ago. They had both wanted her
to stay, but like usual she decided that it would be best if she went
home.
"Why don't we just ask her to move in with us? I mean, it's not like
she won't have her privacy. I have my own set of rooms and so do you.
She would have her own set, too. And it's not like we just want her
to live here so that we can have sex whenever we want. I just wish
she knew how much we miss her when she is gone," Spike said sadly.
"You know, you may be on to something," Angel said thoughtfully. "I
never really thought about it before, but maybe that's what she
needs. Buffy isn't the kind of person who would just take it upon
herself to move all of her stuff in here just because. She's very shy
about things like that. I know it seems silly to you and I, but she
would feel like she was imposing or something. Maybe we should just
come out and ask her to move in. She doesn't have anything keeping
her in that house anymore, and I know I would feel a lot better with
her being here. Even if she stays in her room all of the time, I'll
feel better just knowing that she is safe. I just hope that she
doesn't think that it's our way of trying to keep tabs on her."
"Oh, quit over thinking it, you big poof," Spike scoffed. "She's not
going to think that. I think that she'll know that our intentions are
good. Now, are we going to ask her or not?"
"We will," Angel decided. "Tomorrow when she comes over after school,
we'll ask her."
Spike sighed with relief. He felt much better now that it had been
decided. He just hoped that she would agree to move in. "Well, now
that it's been settled, why don't I go make us something to eat that
is actually edible? This is the worst rubbish I've ever tried to
eat," he said, tossing a pizza crust into the box in disgust.
Suddenly, he had his appetite back.
Buffy trudged over to the mansion after school that day with a heavy
heart. That morning when she had woken up, she had gotten sick yet
again. The more time went on, the more sure she was that she was
pregnant. Her period had been late, but she really hadn't thought a
lot about that. With all of the stress and physical exertion that she
underwent, her period never really had been on a set schedule. When
she had started to experience morning sickness, however, she began to
grow concerned. She had broken down into tears when she had seen the
results of her home pregnancy test. She didn't know what she was
going to do, and she felt so afraid that she was going to lose Angel
or Spike, or maybe even both. She decided to take Willow's advice and
not worry about it for now. She tried to put on a cheerful smile as
she pushed open the door to the mansion.
She walked into the living room, where she found Angel and Spike
talking in low voices. Their conversation stopped abruptly when they
noticed her standing in the doorway. "You know, it's not nice to keep
secrets," she said suspiciously.
Angel smiled warmly, motioning for her to come and sit down beside
him. "You are right, love. It's not nice to keep secrets. That's why
we are going to let you in on ours right now."
"Actually, it's more of a surprise than a secret," Spike added, the
excitement evident in his voice.
"Okay, what is this all about?" Buffy asked, cocking an eyebrow at
them as she sat down. They were both acting so weird. She couldn't
stand it when they were like this.
"Buffy, honey, we wanted to ask you to move in here with us," Angel
said, getting right to the point. "We love you very much, and can't
stand it when you leave us to go home. *This* is your home, love.
Please say you'll come and live with us. Make us the happiest men in
the world."
Buffy sat there, stunned into silence. She couldn't believe what she
was hearing. Angel and Spike wanted her to live with them? She felt
as if her heart were overflowing with love. She felt like the
luckiest girl in the world. "Of course I will," she said, tears
coming to her eyes. "There is no place I'd rather be." The two men
smiled broadly, breathing sighs of relief. Their little Slayer was
coming home to stay. "Well, you two look like you thought I'd say no
or something," she said with a smile. "How could I say no to you?
You're all I have. You two are everything to me. I feel lost without
you, like I'm all alone in the world. I know that this is meant to
be. Look at everything that has happened in the last few months. You
guys went from mortal enemies to gentle lovers. You've been given
back your humanity, and you got to keep your vampiric abilities. It's
so obvious that this is what the Powers That Be have planned all
along. Don't you get it? You weren't turned for no reason. You were
turned so that you would still be around to meet me. And me? I was
born to be with you two. To live and to love and to share the rest of
my life with *you*. There is no way I could turn my back on that. I
would *love* to move in here you."
Spike stood up abruptly and strode over to her. "Well that is great
news, luv," he said, lifting her up into a big hug. "I don't know
what we would have done if you had said no."
"Never would have happened," she said, giving him a warm smile.
"Well, I've already taken the liberty of preparing a suite of rooms
just for you. It is right down the hall from Spike's room and my own.
If it's not too soon, I say we go over to your house and start
packing up some of your stuff now. We can get the essentials tonight,
and then tomorrow while you are at school, Spike and I can move the
rest of your things," Angel told her, pulling her into his arms and
kissing her gently.
"That sounds great," Buffy said enthusiastically. Her smile faded
slightly when she remembered her appointment the next afternoon. "Uh,
I might be a little late coming home from school tomorrow," she said
hesitantly. "I have a doctor's appointment, but it shouldn't take
long."
"Is everything okay?" Angel asked, his face etched with concern.
"Oh, yeah, definitely," Buffy said quickly. "It's just that I've been
feeling a little under the weather lately. I'm just going for a check-
up, you know to make sure everything is okay. It's nothing, really,"
she assured him.
"One of us could go with you if you want, pet," Spike offered.
"No!" Buffy said a little too quickly. "I-I mean, that's okay. It's
no big deal, I swear. You two should just go ahead like you planned
and finish moving my stuff. I'm sure that they are just going to ask
me to cough for them, put that cold stethoscope thingy under my
shirt, stick a thermometer under my tongue, and tell me that I have a
cold. I'll be fine, I promise," she said anxiously.
"Well...if you're sure," Angel said hesitantly. She nodded her
head. "Okay, then let's get started packing."
The next afternoon, Buffy sat on an examination table, tugging self-
consciously on her paper gown. She could hardly stand the wait for
the results of her test. Even though she felt a little bit better
about things after last night, she was still a nervous wreck. She
hadn't even been able to concentrate on her trig test. The numbers
had seemed to swim around on the paper before her eyes. She hadn't
even eaten a bite of her lunch. Now she sat there in the examination
room, feeling as if her life was hanging in the balance.
Another fifteen minutes had passed before the door swung open, and
her doctor walked in with her chart in his hands. "Miss Summers," he
said in his very professional voice. "I have your test results for
you." She was sure that her heart actually stopped beating as she
waited for the doctor to give her the results. Half of her had
actually grown used to the idea of having a baby, of having a life
growing inside of her, of being a mommy. That half of her was excited
about the prospect of having a baby. The other half of her was
completely terrified. She held her breath, waiting for her answer.
When she walked out into the waiting room a few minutes later, Willow
waiting for her, flipping through a magazine to keep herself
occupied. When the redhead looked up and saw Buffy, she immediately
stood up and went to her. Buffy's expression was hard to decipher and
tears streamed down her face. "Are those good tears or bad tears?"
Willow asked her anxiously.
"I don't know, Will," she whispered to her friend. "I honestly don't
know."
The end!
AN: Sorry but I couldn't resist. You know what they say...always
leave them wanting more ;)
