Slayers and Witches and Vampires, Oh My! by Tango

 

Slayers and Witches and Vampires, Oh My!

Part One

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.
DISTRIBUTION: Of course you can have it! Please let me know though.

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: Please let me know what you think of this!

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17 - SMUT WARNING

***

an angel's face is tricky to wear constantly

"I'm here to see Buffy Summers," Angel said politely, standing in the main lobby of the FBI as if he were in the grocery store asking where the bakery was.

"I'm sorry sir," the receptionist answered, "There's no one here by that name."

The receptionist was an armed guard with a bullet proof vest underneath his suit and tie. Angel made out the outline of the gun in his shoulder holster and knew his finger was poised on the alarm button beneath the desk.

"I suggest you call her and tell her that Angel is here to see her," he said with an easy smile.

"My apologies," the receptionist said, returning with a more guarded smile, "I can't call a person who doesn't work here."

Angel sighed. He hated that she wouldn't just work for him, but no, she had to work for the FBI, the CIA, anti-terrorist groups and everyone else who needed an "expert" for odd situations. She wanted an independent career, even if she lived the rest of her life for him.

The worst part of it was trying to get to her when she was in a meeting and had turned off her cell phone. She had long since stopped giving him clearance to the places she worked - partially because they never admitted that she worked there, so they wouldn't check the list and partially because they always got nosey about who he was and tried to do background searches on him. It was kinda difficult to explain to a top secret government agency that her husband was a creature of the night. Even if they knew about demons, they usually didn't understand the whole married to a vampire thing.

Tonight he didn't have time for these run arounds and pleasantries. There was a massive nest two miles away, festering underground and he couldn't do it alone. He needed The Slayer.

Using vampiric speed, he hauled the man over the wide desk before he could press the silent alarm and cracked his balding head against the counter. Angel walked around and easily found the release button that opened a special door, which slid out from the wall. He strolled into the passageway and closed the door quietly behind him.

***

guess i thought i could never feel the things i feel

Buffy glanced at her watch as the FBI's "special" case unit lead agent debriefed her and her "associate" Willow Rosenberg in the conference room along with seven other agents. She wasn't sure why debriefing even included the word "brief." There was never anything brief about it, especially when it was a government organization.

She and Willow had made a badass team in the last several years. After college, they found that their Hellmouth education proved very useful in the real world. Together they were the most powerful women on the planet and nearly unstoppable. Of course, none of the people they worked for knew that they were Slayer and Witch. They just knew that these were two women to be reckoned with...and feared.

Buffy quickly gained a reputation as a martial arts and weapons expert. Willow had special "gifts" in the form of extra sensory perception. No one ever found out how extensive the two women's powers went. Since the Initiative was destroyed and all the files classified, Buffy's Slayerness had never been revealed among the ranks. Only a handful of people remained who knew what they really were.

Every time they started a new job, they had to prove themselves. Seeing the pair of pretty and petite young girls always triggered a bout of snickering. These two waifs were the powerful secret weapons? Yeah, right.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy snapped irritably at the department head. He was talking as if he actually knew how to kill a demon - any demon - when his theories had actually been pulled out of his pompous ass.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Summers?" Agent Wilder asked.

"A Molshach demon can only be killed one way," Buffy snapped, feeling Willow's hand on her arm in an attempt to calm her, "At least look something up before you starting spouting bullshit."

"What she means is that we have already performed the research on the subject," Willow said, shooting a what are you doing look at her friend. Buffy hadn't seen Angel in two days and she had been on edge as she rounded her second sunset without her lover. He had been deep sewer hunting for some nests that Doyle had a vision about, but last night he had not resurfaced. Even though she knew he was alive, not seeing him was making her crazy. She wanted nothing more to leave the meeting, kill the damn demon and make sure Angel was okay. It was a joke that they were spending so much time in the not-so-brief debriefing when they could have taken out the threat and made hot cocoa already.

"I see," Agent Wilder replied, pretending to be unfazed even though he was incredibly pissed from the blonde's outburst. When he entered the department the month before all he heard about was Buffy Summers this and Willow Rosenberg that. Every time someone sneezed, the entire department begged him to call in the two very expensive "experts." He already had the sneaking suspicion that most of the men in the office were in love with one or both of them. The women in the department idolized the pair with some sort of twisted woman power thing. It was sickening.

When Buffy and Willow walked in, they were greeted warmly by the entire staff. The damn janitors loved them. The cafeteria workers gave them food for free! Admittedly, they were both beautiful, but let's not be ridiculous. They were just two little girls barely out of college. What could they possibly do that was so earthshatteringly special?

"If you would give us the coordinates," Willow added, squeezing Buffy's arm as The Slayer started to open her mouth again, "We will be glad to take care of the infestation immediately."

"It's a bit more-" he started to say when red lights began flashing all over the building. Buffy knew that Angel was in the building about thirty seconds before the guards started going apeshit. She cursed under her breath and stood, heading for the door.

"Ms. Summers," Agent Wilder said, holding his hand up as if the gesture would in any way halt The Slayer, "This is a code red. You are not to be involved in this situation. It's an issue to be handled by the staff."

Buffy swung open the door and stood aside so that he could see the very large, very angry dark haired man that had breached the top floor easily. He had been shot three times and was flinging agents off his body with amazing speed.

"Everyone stop!" Buffy yelled, causing the room to screech to a standstill and look at her in confusion. She turned to Agent Wilder and smiled calmly, "Considering your men are shooting my husband, I thought I might get involved."

Willow smiled smugly at the agent before following Buffy out to where Angel stood fuming and desperately trying to hide the demon that was coming dangerously close to the surface. Buffy wanted to be angry at him for causing such a huge scene as well as breaking into this supposedly tightly sealed building, but she was so relieved to see him there and in one piece, except for a few bullet wounds that is, she just couldn't hold back her smile.

"Hi, sweetheart," she said, weaving around the confused FBI agents, all still waiting to charge. They had all seen the tiny blonde snap bones with her delicate hands and fight unbeatable odds. They had seen the redhead walk out of situations that anyone else would have died in. What they hadn't seen was a man take three bullets and stay standing without even a groan of pain. His wife of all people didn't even seem upset that her husband had been shot!

"Hi, baby," he said, bending to peck her lips, "Sorry to drop by unannounced, but I need you and Willow right away."

Two days without Buffy and Angel was thinking that maybe he had slightly overreacted. He probably could have found a less violent way into the building, like maybe explaining to the guard that he was her husband.

"I'm sorry. I'll have to cut our meeting short," she said, turning to Agent Wilder and trying not to laugh at his expression of horror.

"If you page us with the coordinates," Willow added, "We'll take care of the situation."

Threading an arm around Angel, Buffy heard his slight wince as they headed for the door. She stopped when they reached the exit and turned around, "Oh, if you guys could not shoot my husband in the future, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!"

They left the room behind, still and stunned. Agent Wilder walked slowly into the room where the trio had been standing. He paused for a couple of minutes before turning to his research assistant, "Find out everything you can about those three."

***

i know i know you well, well better than i used to

"You really are an asshole," Buffy said eight hours, a large vampire nest and a score of demons later.

"Which part of what happened makes me an asshole?" he asked, taking off his leather jacket and eyeing the holes in it.

"I know it seems like a long time ago, but you did break into the FBI at sundown tonight. Remember?" she said, pushing her finger through one of the holes in his jacket and wiggling it at him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, tossing it aside and pulling her into his arms.

"Me too," she answered, her voice muffled against his chest, "There was also the night I had to sleep all by myself with no call from my husband to tell me he was still alive."

"You knew I was alive," he said, kissing her gently before pulling away and stripping down to his boxers. He pulled her with him to the bed and groaned as he laid back on it. Buffy had long since taken the bullets out of him, but the wounds hadn't healed completely.

"I was still afraid," Buffy answered, using his punctured chest as a pillow.

"Sorry, love," he mumbled and sighed as if the her nearness was a salve for his injuries. Angel began to settle in as he did when he was about to fall asleep.

"You can't fall asleep yet," she said, sitting up.

"Why not?" he groaned, opening his eyes and squinting sleepily at her. She brushed her long hair aside from her neck to give him a clue.

"Nope," he said, trying to turn over. She never really grasped just what it meant to him that she offered her blood, and bared her neck for the taking. Even if he refused her, every time it happened, he felt a rush of love and guilt that overwhelmed him.

"You're hurt," she argued, pressing him back against the mattress.

"Don't care," he mumbled, closing his eyes again.

"Dammit Angel," Buffy swore, "Haven't you filled your asshole quota for this week? Can we just not fight about it this once?"

"Nope," he repeated.

"You'll heal quicker."

"Uh-huh," he grunted, turning onto his side successfully this time.

"I don't like you very much today," she fumed, crossing her arms and glaring down at him. Unfortunately, Angel had already fallen fast asleep and the slumbering vampire didn't benefit from her dirty look or from the smile that inched across her face a few seconds later. She caressed his face for a moment, thankful for his existence. She stood up and stripped off her clothes before climbing back in bed and meshing her back against his wounded chest. His arms snaked around her and pulled her close to him.

"Faker," she whispered as she realized he hadn't been asleep after all.

"Love you," he whispered back. Finally having her in his arms, he let sleep take him.

***

getting off, getting off while they're all downstairs

Buffy woke in the late afternoon with the simultaneous feeling of Angel's arousal pressing insistently against her and his large hand moving over her naked body. She grunted a complaint as sleep left her and she caught his hand at her breast. Intertwining her fingers with his, she held his hand still and snuggled in to go back to the dreamland she desperately wanted more of.

Vampires aren't known for being brushed off easily and Angel was no exception. He swept her hair away from her neck and kissed the warm place the golden strands had covered. He moved to her bare shoulder, nibbling on it before drifting along her upper arm in more of a caress than a kiss.

"Tired," she complained even as she began rubbing her ass against the harden silk of his boxer shorts. Using their intertwined hands, he moved her own hand over her breast, watching as her nipple hardened. She released his hand, allowing him the freedom to roam over her body. He explored her skin as if he hadn't already memorized it and she rolled over on her back to give him better access.

His boxers drifted to the floor and he amused himself by laving her breasts, nibbling and sucking, leaving her increasingly wet core untended to. She waited impatiently for him to move down from her breasts to her aching core but was left waiting long enough for her to moan impatiently, "Angel, please."

"What, love?" he asked, focusing his attention on her breasts and pretending he had no idea what she was talking about.

"You have to...please...touch me," she moaned.

"I am touching you," he answered, catching one erect nipple between his teeth and delighting in her groan of pleasurepain. His cock throbbed and it took almost all of his willpower not to enter her but he loved the built up tension that was well rewarded later.

"Angel," she panted again, "Please."

"Please what?" he asked, kissing her without touching any other place but her breasts and her lips. He loved that it always took his lover long moments before she could tell him what she wanted. But God did he love it when she finally did.

"I need to feel you," she whispered.

"Where? Tell me what you want. Tell me how you want it," he growled against her neck. He nearly purred as he smelled her arousal increasing. The sensual aroma of her filled his nostrils and he stilled himself from shaking in need for her.

"Touch my pussy," she whispered, almost embarrassed by saying the words, but more turned on that she had. She loved this game as well, loved that he made her go outside of her comfort zone, bringing them even closer together. She was rewarded when his hand moved down and slipped between her dripping folds. He moved lightly there, barely touching her. She groaned in protest, lifting her hips to press against him.

"Tell me," he demanded, pinching her nipple roughly with his free hand, "I'll do whatever you want me to, baby. You just have to tell me. I want to hear you say it."

"I want to feel you inside me," she whimpered, "Please Angel."

He pushed two fingers just inside her opening, holding her back as she lifted her hips to push him in deeper. He circled slowly, allowing his free hand to move over her belly and breasts.

"Deeper," she said, still speaking in whispers. He moved in slightly deeper, easily gliding in and out.

"Deeper," she panted, "All the way."

He obeyed, pressing his two fingers all the way in and back out again, still moving slowly, forcing her to give him more instruction. He wanted so badly to give up the game and fuck her with all he was worth, needed to ease the throbbing want of her, but he forced himself to wait.

"Angel," she begged, heaving breaths as she spread wider for him, "I can't..."

"What do you want?" he repeated, lowering his mouth between her thighs, "You want me to taste you?"

"God Yes!" she cried. He placed wet kisses on her outer lips before tentatively licking her clit, barely touching it as he continued to move his fingers inside her. Then he waited for her to give him more instruction.

"Dammit Angel," she moaned, "have to do it again."

He smiled innocently at her groan of frustration as he lapped her clit one more time and waited.

"Don't stop," she demanded, "Keep going. Suck my clit. Please baby, you're killing me."

He bent down again and following her instruction, he continued the slow movement of his fingers inside her, twisting them as he slid in and out as he sucked her clit between his lips, nursing gently there.

"Harder," Buffy begged, lifting her hips, "Make me come. Need to..."

She couldn't finish her sentence as he finally consented to the pressure he knew she needed, sucking roughly and nipping her swollen bud with his teeth as he almost involuntarily increased the speed of his invasion of her. She shuddered and bucked beneath him as she climaxed, begging him not to stop.

When he finally released her, he wanted to do what he usually did, which was enter her while she was still spasming. He loved the feel of her vaginal walls clenching and flexing around his cock as he began to fuck her, but today he was keeping with the game. He knelt between her thighs and waited, but was taken completely by surprise when The Slayer grabbed him and pulled him on top of her.

"Fuck me," she said in her womanly growl. He entered her immediately, needing it as much as she did. She reached around and placed her hands on his firm ass, pulling him in deeper.

"Fuck me harder," she cried as he began moving harder and faster inside her, "Make it hurt, baby."

He obeyed, unleashing inhuman strength on his lover, crashing against her as she moved up to meet his thrusts. Each stroke caressed her already sensitive clit and moments later she came again. Gifted with another of her orgasms and incredibly turned on by the lovemaking session, he let go, spilling his cold seed inside her. He rolled them over so that she was blanketing him, reeling in the aftermath sex and the sensation of her body heat streaming into his undead skin.

"God, I love you," she said with her face pressed against his chest, enjoying the coolness of him.

"I love you, too" he answered, holding her tightly against his chest, wondering idly if his wounds were healed or not. If they weren't, he sure as hell couldn't feel them.

***

tell me is your city paved with gold

"Somebody just got their brains fucked out," Faith said with a wry smile to Doyle as Angel entered the lobby. Buffy had just left with Willow to report on their success the night before with the Molshach demons and Angel was left with two jokers to deal with.

"Morning," he replied, walking through the kitchen for breakfast, even though it was late in the afternoon.

"So, did you just forget that we were here or do you not care?" Doyle called in, laughing.

"I don't care," Angel answered honestly, returning with a glass of blood, "And this is my home, in case you forgot."

"Buffy certainly didn't," Doyle answered, shifting in his seat. Being half demon himself, he could still smell the lingering sex in the air and it was enough for him to want to go out and find his ex-wife for a friendly rematch of spousely fun.

"Shut up," Angel said with a I just got laid grin and then asked, "What's new?"

"We were kinda hoping to distract you from that question," Faith answered losing her smile for a grim expression.

"What now?" Angel asked, leaning against the counter sipping the blood.

"People been askin' questions," Doyle answered, "I think your little FBI break in started something."

"Great," Angel muttered, "I take 3 bullets, battle demons all night, argue with my wife and now I'm under investigation."

"It's kinda your fault," Faith answered, "And that didn't sound like arguing to me."

"Did you hear me when I said ‘shut up'?" Angel asked.

"Nope," the alternate Slayer answered, "I musta missed that part."

***

Soooo...want more?

***

Part Two - "Old Friends"

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.
DISTRIBUTION: Of course you can have it! Please let me know though.

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after college graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: Please let me know what you think of this!

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17

***

through the life force and there goes her friend

"Can you say ‘fucking jerk,'" Buffy demanded of her friend once they were safely outside of the front doors of the FBI.

"Yes, but I try not to," Willow said honestly, "Buffy, Agent Wilder was just trying to-"

"Piss me off? ‘How's your husband, Ms. Summers,'" she mocked, "‘He didn't look too hurt to me.' I would love to show him how a hard piece metal feels when it-"

"Buffy," Willow warned, pulling her towards the car, "You're right outside the FBI. Maybe you shouldn't be threatening agents."

"Screw him. I'm just glad we're done with that assignment! Now we can move on to better things," Buffy said as she climbed in the passenger side. For a woman of her strength and ability, Willow thought it was humorous that she had never bothered to get her driver's license.

"Like food? I'm hungry," Willow said, trying to change the subject, "Are you?"

"Let me guess," Buffy mused, cheering slightly simply because it was impossible to stay angry in Willow's presence, "Veggie wraps?"

"Is that okay?" Willow asked with that little light of hope in her bright green eyes that made it impossible to say no.

"Sure. Why not?" Buffy relented, "We've only had them for dinner every night this week. It wouldn't be right to break our record."

Buffy couldn't imagine doing this job without her best friend. Not only was Willow almost as knowledgeable as Giles now, but her Wiccan powers had saved the day more than once. Neither of those reasons were really why Buffy wanted her around though. Willow always seemed to put an entirely different spin on the world. As she got older, she never stopped looking at the world through excited eyes and as much as Buffy wanted to be like that, she was never going to shrug the weight of the world. Willow kept the balance and was a constant reminder of what they were supposed to be saving.

Buffy watched as Willow bounced out of the car and scooted into the wrappy place she loved to eat at. Pulling out her cell phone, Buffy found that she had missed a call from Angel. She smiled at the phone as she called him, knowing she shouldn't bother checking her messages first. He never left a message, even when it was life or death. She had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't leave them because he didn't know how to check his own voicemail. She felt a giggle rising up in her as she listened to the phone ring.

"Angel Investigations," Faith's voice sternly announced on the other end. She refused to add the "we help the hopeless" crap on the end of it. Buffy still cracked a smile when she remembered the way her sister Slayer stared at Angel when he suggested it, as if he had grown a third eye. She told him in no uncertain terms that she would answer the phone, but she wasn't a secretary. He should be glad that she didn't just say "hello." Doyle tried a couple of times when he answered the phone, but he always seemed to fumble it. Eventually, the idea was dropped altogether.

"Hey," Buffy said, smiling at the memory.

"Hey B," Faith said, "Lookin' for Angel?"

"Yeah, is he there?" Faith, always the discreet girl, dropped the phone on the desk with a loud clunk and shouted across the hotel for Angel.

counting your bees. oh me honey like one two three

"Hello?"

"Are you in your office?" Buffy asked, looking through the window at Willow talking to the girl behind the counter in the shop across the street. She wouldn't be surprised if they already considered each other friends.

"Yeah," he said, lifting his feet to the desk top and crossing them at the ankle, "I have an appointment in about 5 minutes and then I'm done for the day unless Doyle has a vision. Are you coming home?"

"Willow's picking up food and then I'll be on my way."

"Veggie wraps?" he asked with a chuckle.

"What else?" Buffy answered, "I think I might turn into a tortilla before the end of the month."

"How was your day?" he asked, settling his head against the back of the chair, wishing she was already there.

"I thought about you all day," she said huskily. Buffy was feeling a little evil after her tiring afternoon and decided to take it out on her husband. You hurt the ones you love, right?

"Really?"

"I was wet all day thinking about how you woke me up this morning," she answered, knowing that was she was about to do was evil, but he deserved it. She wanted him aroused for her. She could imagine him trying to hide his obvious excitement from his appointment and the thought made her grin wickedly.

"It was really afternoon," he said, gulping for unneeded air.

"You think anyone noticed that I wasn't listening to them? All I could do was think about getting home to you."

"Buffy," Angel said, glancing up at the door nervously, "I can't talk about this right now. I'm going to be...distracted when our new case comes in."

"Distracted?" Buffy asked lightly, "Like being surrounded by all those men with my pussy dripping for you? Do you think any of them noticed how hot I was, that my nipples were hard underneath my shirt?"

"Baby," Angel groaned, dropping his feet to the floor, sliding behind the desk and gripping the phone tightly in his hand, "My appointment is going to be here any minute."

"I can almost feel your hands on my body," she whispered, hoping Willow would take her time. She was loving the hell out of this and wasn't ready to stop yet. Making Angel squirm is something that was a difficult thing to do - if you weren't Buffy, that is, "I can almost feel your cock inside me.... What if I walked in right now?"

"Right now?" he asked hoarsely.

"Would you rip my clothes off?" she asked, "Would you bend me over your desk, baby? Can't you imagine me there...my ass in the air...spreading my legs for you? Can you picture me begging you to fuck me like I did this morning? I'm ready for you, Angel...right now..."

"God, Buffy, please come home," he growled, his voice thick with want.

"What if I reached under my skirt while I'm waiting for Willow," she continued throatily, "I could pretend my fingers are yours as I -"

"Okay, ma'am," Angel interrupted loudly, as he heard Doyle greeting his appointment in the lobby, "Please come in any time and we'll attend to your needs."

"Promise?" she teased.

"Come home," he growled before hanging up the phone. He peeked out into the lobby and silently cursed his wife for her cruelty as he donned his leather jacket to cover his obvious erection. He paused for a second more to collect his senses before going out the greet the guests.

***

got a cloud sleeping on my tongue
he goes then it goes
and kiss the violets as they're waking up

Buffy held her phone gently in her hand, smiling at the mental image she had of Angel trying to be cordial with a raging hard on. It was beautiful. She jumped when the phone buzzed in her hand and she glanced at the number that was displayed before answering, "Hello Cordelia."

"I don't understand why people have to call me when you have a phone," the brunette complained.

"Because you're my secretary, Cordy," Buffy answered calmly as Willow climbed back into the car and set a sack of food on her lap, "That's what secretaries do. They answer phones, take messages, you know?"

"When I finally get my big break, you'll be answering my phone."

"Sure," Buffy said, "Whatever. Is there a message or are you just calling to bitch?"

"Of course there's a message."

"And? What's the message?"

"Routine top secret mumbo jumbo," she answered, "This time ‘Mr. Smith' called and said you knew who he is."

"Right," Buffy said, seeing her erotic night with Angel quickly disappearing, "Anything else?"

"Yes," Queen C snapped, "I want a raise."

"You don't even have to sit in an office. Everyone calls your cell phone," Buffy explained, "I've gotta go. Could you call Angel and tell him I got called in? Also, please stop by the hotel this week and do the filing, okay? And Cordy, use the alphabet."

Buffy heard her friend's exaggerated sigh as she hung up without saying goodbye. She turned to Willow and looked at her for a second, silently begging her to make the next assignment go away but even her wiley witchy friend couldn't make everything disappear. Buffy's fingers flew over the buttons of her phone as she dialed into the secure line. A monotone voice answered the line, "Smith Enterprises."

"Relay 43-51627," Buffy said.

"Hello, Mrs. Summers," the woman said, raising her voice half a step, "Mr. Smith is expecting your call. One moment please."

Buffy waited as a series of clicks tapped out over the line. She always thought it would be nice if they could put some music over that or something. She would have to remember to mention that.

"Hello?" a warm, familiar voice answered finally.

"Xand," Buffy said, "What's the what?"

"Need you, Buff," he answered grimly, "And in a right now kinda way."

"You know, you have horrible timing," Buffy complained as Willow pulled out into post-rush hour traffic.

"You and Dead Boy have plans?"

"We never have plans," Buffy answered, "Cause people like you are always calling me. And by the way, why did you choose ‘Mr. Smith' as your code name? Could you be something more interesting? What's wrong with ‘Mr. Harris' anyway? Remind you too much of your dad?"

"Buffy," Xander said, "You're not grasping the whole code name thing, are ya? I can't use my real name ‘cause then it's not code."

"Cordy would just love to know that she just gave me a message from you."

"I'm sure she would."

***

someone's knockin on my kitchen door. leave the wood outside

"Where are you going?" Doyle asked Angel as he headed out the door behind the too pleasant looking couple with a demon problem.

"I'm following them," he answered, "Get Faith and dig up some informants. Someone's been asking about The Slayer."

"You think this is about Buffy?" Doyle asked, giving his friend a disagreeable look, "Not everyone is trying to kill your wife."

"No," Angel said, "I don't think they're trying to kill her. I think they're trying to find out who she is."

"You gathered that from a twenty minute conversation in which she never came up once?"

"The guy pretending to be the husband," Angel snorted, "He's seen Buffy. Today."

"How do you know?"

"I caught her scent on him," Angel answered as he hurried out the door, "He's gotta be FBI."

Doyle headed slowly over the phone and paused as he picked it up. Angel wanted him to research the FBI. Well, Christ, why didn't he just walk in and introduce himself while he was at it? They probably had a file three inches thick on him already. As he began to dial, it occurred to him that the hotel phones were probably tapped. He looked around him imagining himself under constant surveillance.

"Yeah?"

"Faith," Doyle said, "Listen to me, okay?"

"I usually do when I'm on the phone, Doyle."

"Meet me at that one bar, the one we don't like to take Angel to."

"Is it Cryptic Day? No one told me!" She said, laughing.

"Just hang up the phone and go there," he said sternly, "Gotta talk to you."

"Alright, I'll play."

"Good. See you in a few minutes."

Doyle, who was normally a fairly paranoid half-demon anyway, found that he was downright jumpy. He went to the basement and shook on his demon, taking a whiff of the air for a second before entering the sewers. He reverted back to his human form as he jogged through the murky maze. He climbed up underneath Caritas and entered the club from underground.

"There's a door," Lorne said, nodding his horned head at the entrance, "You and Angelcakes never seemed to understand that."

"We have a problem," Doyle said severely.

"You kids always do," Lorne said, waving his Sea breeze, "Faith's already here."

Doyle gazed over to the bar where Faith was laughing at something a scaley demon had just said to her, "How'd you get here so fast?"

"I was already here," she answered, holding up her half consumed drink, "Now what's the emergency?"

***

knock 'em off the ladder if they even seem to stand a chance

"God damn!"

"What?" Xander said as he paused his mid pace to look at his employee, who was already heading the recon team for this case.

"Is that the expert team you called in?" he said, nodding at Buffy and Willow. They were currently passing through security, which was a slow process. Xander sometimes forgot that everyone didn't already know them. Paul was fairly new to the team and hadn't had the pleasure of meeting his friends.

"Yes."

"You didn't mention that they were hotties," Paul muttered, drinking them in with his eyes. He settled on the blonde and looked over her body eagerly, "What I wouldn't give to dive under that skirt."

"They're very good friends of mine," Xander snapped, "And unavailable."

"Sorry," Paul said, holding his hands up in surrender, "I was just saying-"

"Don't," Xander answered before walking out to meet his two closest friends in the world. In his line of business, no one could be trusted, so it was always a welcome relief to be around them. To them he was just plain old Xander and not the head of a covert demon fighting organization. He felt goofy again just by looking at them. He put an arm around each of them, pulling them in for a group hug and kept his arms hanging over their shoulders as they walked to his office. It had been too long since the last Scooby meeting.

"Where's Giles? I thought he was coming back this week," Buffy asked immediately. She frowned on the young man who was looking at her instead of the kind eyes of her Watcher.

"He got held up in England," Xander answered and then explained when he saw her look of concern, "I think the hold up was Olivia, but he won't admit it."

They all smirked knowingly at the joke. Giles had married Olivia two years ago and since then he stayed in London most of the year, much to the chagrin of the Council. He was making a nuisance of himself with them, mostly because he was the only Watcher alive who had ever actually watched anything. Nothing irritated the Council more than the fact that they couldn't fire him again and that not one, but two Slayers refused to listen to anyone else. Now that he wasn't living in the same country as them, the Council had tried to replace him, only to receive some major blowback from The Slayers. Giles was their Watcher. Period. Buffy still smiled every time she thought about the look on Quinton Travers face when they told him to go to hell. Albeit, Faith was a bit more forceful than she, the point was made and he high tailed it back to the mother country. That was a sunny day in the life of the Chosen Ones.

"What's the apocalypse this time, Xander?" Willow asked, "Should we duck and cover?"

"Nah," he said as he sat down behind his desk and handed them a file filled with pictures, "This is Paul, by the way, he heads up the recon team. Paul, these are my friends, Buffy and Willow."

"So there isn't an apocalypse?" Buffy asked, "Then what's the problem?"

"Oh, there is an apocalypse," Xander said, flashing his trademark goofy grin, which Paul had never seen and was a little horrified by, "But guys, this is what? Number 10? No big. You slay, we'll party."

"You sounded worried on the phone," Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was before you were here," Xander said, shrugging and moving towards the weapons closet in the corner of the room.

***

the big picture is starin' at me, starin' at me

"Smith Enterprises."

"Relay 53-51627," Angel growled into the phone.

"Hello, Angel," the woman said, "One moment please. Mr. Smith is only taking emergency calls, sir."

"This is an emergency, I assure you."

"Angel," Xander said, inside a yawn as he crawled into bed next to Anya, "Looking for Buffy?"

"What do you think?" Angel snapped, "She's been gone all fucking night. Where is she?"

"On her way home," he said, so tired he barely could hold the phone to his ear, "She's fine."

"Thanks," Angel said, hanging up and looking out the front doors where the day held him captive. He had been out chasing information and ended up with a big bunch of nothing. The only information that came out from all of it was from the song stylings of Doyle and Faith at Lorne's bar. He would preferred spending his night listening to badly sung songs than running around after people who knew how to cover their tracks.

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"Are they home yet?"

"Not yet," he answered, looking over and smiling fondly at the pajama clad blonde that came padding down the stairs, "But they're on their way."

"Good," she said, leaning against the counter next to him, "I can't sleep without her."

"I know what you mean, Tara," he answered. She leaned on his shoulder and together they stared out at the blinding day waiting for love to cross back over the threshold.

***

nothing's gonna stop me from floating. nothing's gonna stop me from floating.

"It was nice," Buffy said, sinking into the tub and blowing at the bubbles that puffed up around her.

"Saving the world again?" he asked, tightening his arms around her slippery body.

"No, fighting alongside Will and Xander," she said, leaning back against his chest, "It was just like old times."

"Sorry I missed it," Angel said sarcastically, "I could've been called ‘Dead Boy' for half the night and then I would've gotten to stop myself from strangling him."

"You know you miss those days when we actually got to fight together," she said, kissing the arm that circled her body.

"We still fight together."

"Yeah, every other week when we have time to patrol together," she snorted, "You should give Faith a raise."

"Faith already makes more than me," Angel complained, tracing her delicate shoulder blade.

"As it should be," she said and laughed at his glare, "Just kidding, honey."

"You're going to have to make that up to me," he growled against her neck, "Not to mention your little phone call. I think you deserve to be punished."

"Repeatedly, I hope," she moaned as his hand moved between her thighs.

***

 

Part Three - "Work Relationship"

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.
DISTRIBUTION: Of course you can have it! Please let me know though.

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after college graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: THANK YOU everyone for the wonderful feedback. It's greatly, greatly appreciated.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The moment this idea came into my mind, I almost dismissed it. I'm glad there are people out there that want to read this! I'm having a little too much fun with this one (and a good measure of difficulty), as I desperately try to write semi-violence free fluff. So if you find that a lot of the fight scenes I usually include are missing, that's because I'm fluffing here. Well, at least as much as I can fluff anyway, so please encourage me and let me know what you thought of this part.

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17

***

yes, i wore a slinky red thing

Buffy was irritated for several reasons. First of all, they were doing a new assignment for the FBI, which meant working with Agent Wilder again. From what Angel had said, the agent already knew a lot about them from his little investigation, but he wasn't sure how much. Did he know she was The Slayer? Did he know Angel was a souled vampire? They weren't sure, but one thing was certain - that knowledge was dangerous. She hated the idea of that man having the upper hand.

Secondly, Angel was out of town and he had been gone seven days already.

Seven.

In a row.

Without coming back.

At all.

Doyle's vision had sent him to the Hellmouth of all places and the thought of Angel meeting up with the end of something wooden and pointy was giving her nightmares. She wasn't sure why she worried more when he was in Sunnydale than when he was in LA, but she did - more than she was willing to admit. She made him promise to call every day, which he had and usually spent the time downplaying the danger involved and professing his undying love. He had thought about giving her a little of the phone torture she had treated him with the week before, but she was so tense, he decided against it. He also made calls to Doyle every day checking up on things and asking how his wife was faring without him. He was a little disturbed to find out that the female population of the hotel were all keeping a secret from him and as much as he tried to lurk and eavesdrop, he just wasn't succeeding.

Buffy's third reason for concern was that the new assignment was undercover...but not under much. Willow and Buffy had been sent to be a waitresses at a seedy bar in one of LA's less pretty parts of town. They were called "waitresses" but Willow had come to think of them as "buck naked girls." They weren't naked, of course. They had teeny red bikini tops and teenier black shorts. Willow was not used to showing off that much of her body, or any of it at all actually, and Buffy had to round up Tara to provide some moral support before work each night. Tara provided that support by holding the paper bag while Willow breathed into it. As she hyperventilated, she forced promises out of her lover that involved intricate forgetting spells.

Buffy would have thought it was funny if she hadn't been so uncomfortable about the whole thing herself. She knew the minute Angel found out that she and Willow were working at a bar called "JJ's Office," he would check it out and then would proceed to kill every male who had ogled his wife's goodies while he was gone. Faith was having more fun than usual as she described Angel's possible reactions to the situation. Her favorite one was where he set the whole building on fire. Faith had a way of describing it with so much vivid carnage that Buffy could almost smell the acrid burning bodies as her friend spoke. Faith had managed to keep her promise, however, and had not told Doyle where she was working. Maybe Angel wouldn't have to know at all...until it was over.

"JJ's," as it was called by everyone but her family (who called it the "Booty Bar"), smelled as if they actually used beer to mop the floors. That was assuming they mopped the floors, which Willow adamantly refused to believe. Good thing we have these spike heels then, huh? was Buffy's witty response and was given a glare from her friend that made her wish she had impaled herself instead.

JJ himself was the seediest part of the whole deal and the way he looked at her and Willow, calling them "sweet and innocent," made Buffy think it was only a matter of time before she would have to hurt him. He had a way of saying things and the look in his eyes when he said it made all the girls shiver. The FBI was interested in investigating JJ and his merry bunch of lowlifes because they suspected he was into providing hard to find items to the demon population, such as the still beating heart of a young girl or the whole girl, depending on the need. Five of the waitresses had disappeared over the last three weeks and not a trace of them had been found. The no corpse issue was the most disconcerting of all and had brought up the slavery idea. The thought kept both girls in a shudder since they began the job 5 days before.

"Relay 43-51627," Buffy said in the phone as she rubbed her feet. It was one thing to patrol in more sensible heels, but the teetering around in 5 inch spikes while she avoided wandering hands and spilling beer was a different issue. She made a mental note to up her tipping whenever she ate out for now on.

"Hello, Mrs. Summers," Xander's secretary answered, "Mr. Smith is in a meeting. Shall I interrupt him?"

"Nah," Buffy said, laying back on the bed in exhaustion, "Could you have him give me call back tomorrow? I have a quick question."

"Certainly," she quipped in her never ending professionalism. Buffy had never met her and didn't know her name, but she pictured her as a stern gray haired woman who rarely smiled. Buffy closed her eyes and thought about getting up to change into actual clothes when she heard little feet pad across her floor and then the slight bounce of the mattress as another body joined her on the bed.

"It's going to be fine, Will," Buffy said without opening her eyes to look at the horror that was undoubtably on her friend's face.

"Are you kidding me?" Willow said, her teeth gritted with disgust, "Someone grabbed my butt tonight. He didn't pat it, he grabbed a handful of it. I'm not even allowed to hurt someone when they accost me! I can't do this anymore. I'm going to end up blowing our cover by raining frogs on someone."

"Willow, first of all, I don't think everyone is as horrified by frogs as you are," Buffy sighed, sitting up with a groan and facing her friend, who was already freshly showered. Actually, from the pinkness of her skin, she looked like she had tried to scrub the first three layers of epidermis away, "And we can't have anymore girls missing, right? I know it sucks. I hate it too and when Angel comes back, it's going to be even more frightening, but we have to deal just a little bit longer, okay?"

"Can't we just kill him?" Willow squeaked and covering her mouth after she said it.

"Sweetie!" Tara admonished from the doorway, shocked that something so vile came from her lover's lips. She crossed the room and joined Willow on the bed as Buffy changed into her robe. She definitely felt dirtier than usual this week.

"Just this one guy," Willow begged, her voice coming from between her fingers.

"I'm sorry I'm late for the latest Booty Bar story," Faith said, bouncing into the room and onto the bed with glee, "What happened tonight?"

"You're getting way too much enjoyment out of our suffering," Buffy said wryly, joining the three on her and Angel's bed, wishing she could just bury herself in his arms and forget that JJ's Office existed.

"Oh yeah," Faith said, nodding her dark head with a smile, "And I can't wait for Angel to come home. That's going to be wicked fun."

"You haven't told Doyle, have you?" Buffy asked weakly.

"No," Faith said, "But I really wanna."

"Don't," Buffy, Willow and Tara said together.

"I won't," Faith promised, "Cordy doesn't even know anything except the name of the bar. Besides, it's going to be so much better when they all find out together and I really hope Angel gets to see your...um...well, can we even call that a uniform?"

***

don't blow these brains yet

Angel called at dawn and Buffy was sleeping soundly, having only gotten to sleep a couple of hours before. She held the phone to her ear and squinted angrily at the blinds that radiated too much light through the closed slats. Of course, she realized that no sunlight came through them for Angel's safety but it was still too damn bright.

"‘Lo?" she demanded, her strident tone letting the caller know if he wasn't Angel he should run for cover for calling at the crack of fucking dawn, literally.

"Morning baby," he said, his voice gravelly from a long night. She sighed with pleasure at the sound of his voice. She loved it when his voice had that extra layer of sexy roughness. She knew he was tired and wanted to call before he went to sleep, so she couldn't be angry with him for calling so early. She could tell that his eyes were already closed as he talked to her.

"Angel," she sighed at him, "Are you coming home tonight? Please say you've killed the big bad and you're coming home."

"Sorry, love," he said betraying his own longing to leave the Hellmouth.

"When?"

"Soon," he answered, "But guess who showed up hunting these same demons?"

"Who?"

"Your ex," he growled lightly, forgetting the nonchalance he had been practicing.

"Riley?" she yawned, waking up completely, "You didn't...do anything to him, did you?"

"You mean, like beat him until every single one of his 206 bones crumbled into dust for touching my mate?"

"Angel," she warned.

"No," he answered, "I've actually been glad to have him and his little troop around. They're shortening the trip. His wife's nice."

"Oh, Sam?" Buffy said, "Yeah, she's a doll. I really want to hate her, but she makes it impossible."

"I noticed that too," he said, "I think she almost makes Riley bearable. Almost."

"Come home soon, okay? Cause I really, really miss you."

"I will," he answered, and then paused for a second, before adding, "Are you going to tell me about your new assignment any time soon?"

Buffy bolted up in bed in surprise, nearing strangling herself on the sheets as she settled into the panic that came over her, "N-new assigment?"

"You've been avoiding the topic all week, love," he explained, "What's the danger that you won't even tell Doyle about? How worried should I be right now?"

"N-not at all?"

"Buffy."

"It's fine, really," Buffy answered, taking a deep breath, "No need to worry. Really. Everything's okay."

"So, you're not going to tell me?"

"Not today," Buffy said, "I'm not in any more danger than I usually am. I just don't want you to get all worked up about things you can't control while you're gone. Focus on taking out those demons and come home to me."

"I want to know."

"Too bad."

"Buffy," he growled.

"Angel, go to bed," she whispered, "I love you."

"I love you." Buffy held the phone and listened to the dial tone for several moments after Angel had hung up, wishing he would come home and dreading his arrival at the same time. Her gut clenched when she thought about him seeing her in that outfit, if you could call it that. Accepting her body's rush of disgust from the look she imagined coming from his eyes, she ran to the bathroom and lost the bite of dinner she had nearly eaten last night. She dry heaved for a long time, bent over the toilet, gasping for breath.

***

ran into some confusion

"I want to take you to dinner tonight," JJ said, after calling Buffy into his office the next day. Buffy and Willow had been finagled into working the lunch shift, which they never wanted to do because they were sure all the kidnapings had to be happening at night.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Buffy said calmly, "Cause, you know, you're my boss and we should keep a professional relationship."

"It wasn't a question," he answered, tossing her a gift bag, "Wear that and show up at 6 tonight."

"But I don't think-" Buffy said, catching the flying object and holding it with the tips of her fingers as if he carried some rare disease only passed on by decorative tissue paper.

"Do you want your job?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her in anger.

"Yes."

"6 o'clock then and don't be late," he said in a voice that was as greasy as his hair. Buffy walked out and went into the break room to find her cell phone. She took it outside after slipping into Angel's leather jacket and walked a block away to call Xander again.

"Hey Buff," he said, "Sorry. I was going to call you this afternoon."

"No big," she answered, "Look, I need to know what you can find out about a bar named "JJ's Office" and more importantly what you can dig up about the owner."

"Demon supplier," Xander answered immediately, "And hard to catch. You're not-"

"I'm working there," she finished.

"Buffy, please be careful. Guy's a freak."

"Yeah, I've picked that up. Look can you put someone out to ask some questions. I'd do it myself but I think the dirt I'm raking up on the inside is causing some suspicion."

"Alright," he said, "We need to nail him quickly."

There was a long pause and then a shocked question followed, "Willow's not working there with you, is she?"

"Yep."

"Buffyareyououtofyourdamnmind?" Xander shouted.

***

figure it out
she's a goodtime fella

Buffy reconvened with her three friends after her date that evening and they all took an extra few minutes to comment again on the skimpy black dress like thing she had worn. She stripped it off and tossed it in the corner of the closet wishing it would explode into flame and actually thought about asking Willow to do it, but thought better of it in case the creep asked about it later.

"Well?" Willow asked nervously, "Did anything, you know, happen?"

"He offered me a raise, but I rejected it," Buffy answered, "I'm thinking this is how the missing girl thing happens. He lures them into extra jobs with the promise of cash. He said he might have a ‘side thing' he needed a girl for. I said I'd think about it."

"Did you manage to keep him from pawing you?" Faith asked, folding her arms behind her head as she lounged on the bed.

"Just barely," Buffy answered, "And let me tell you, this is not going to be easy. The guy is very talented at getting women in compromising situations. We have another date on Friday to discuss the job. Have I mentioned how much I hate him yet?"

"Maybe three or four hundred times," Tara answered, "But with Willow telling me too, I've lost count."

"Slime ball," Willow said, shaking her head, "I could just cast a truth spell and make him tell us everything. Oooh, and do you think there's a spell where we can make his blood boil? That would be fun to watch."

"Hit the breaks, Anya," Buffy said, "We only need one vengeancey person in our group of friends."

"This is not vengeance," Willow objected, "This is extreme dislike. I don't have a cause for vengeance. Not yet anyway."

"Well, I'm sure the asshole will give you a reason sooner or later," Faith added, "I say boil the bastard and ask questions later."

"You're not helping," Tara said, eyeing the darker Slayer, almost managing to scrape up some intimidating scowl action, which was not easy for the kind blonde.

"I know," Faith beamed, "But trust me, blondie, I could do worse."

"We all have no doubt," Buffy answered.

"Relax," Faith said, sitting up, "I'm on call for you guys if you need me. I'm going on patrol. You know, B, that thing you hardly ever do anymore."

"High heels! Five inch ones!" Buffy protested, "You walk on those things all night and see how much patrolling you feel like doing."

"Wimp," Faith cast over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

"Bite me!"

"I'll leave that to Angel!" Came wafting back with the sound of Faith's boots tromping down the stairs.

***

quickest girl in the frying pan

It was midnight when Angel finally made it home. He headed directly for the bedroom and found the room desolate and depressingly empty. Although he didn't expect Buffy to be home, he really wanted her to be. Almost two weeks away from his wife was more than any sane man should be expected to deal with. He opened the closet and dropped his bag on the floor inside it and as he prepared to close the door again and go out in search of her, a silky piece of black material caught his eye. He bent over and picked it up. He held it up and stared in disbelief at the meager slip of clothing. There was no way his Buffy wore that out of the house. He hurried down the stairs and dialed his phone at the same time.

"Hello?"

"Cordy. It's Angel. Where is Buffy?"

"Can't you find your own wife? I'm her secretary, not her keeper," Cordy snipped.

"Cordelia," Angel sighed, "Just tell me where she is."

"All I know is that she's working undercover at some bar called ‘JJ's Office.' She's waitressing or something."

"That's the big secret?" He asked, not really to Cordelia, "What kind of bar is it?"

"I don't know, Angel," Cordy answered, "It's a bar and Buffy's working there. That's all I know."

"‘Kay. Thanks." He hung up and headed back out the front door as he called Doyle, who, surprisingly enough, was at another bar several blocks away drowning in Margaritas.

"What do you know about JJ's Office?" Angel asked when he arrived at the bar, sliding onto the stool next to his intoxicated seer.

"You wanna go there?" Doyle asked in surprise, "I always thought of you as the kinda guy who didn't look at other women, cause you're married to such a hottie."

"What?" Angel asked, grabbing the half-demon and pulling him closer, "What do you mean look at other women?"

"You're the one who wants to go there," Doyle answered, slurring his words, "What're ya gettin' mad at me for?"

"Where is it and what kind of place are we talking about?" he asked, slapping down money on the bar and pulling Doyle along with him as he moved toward the door.

"It's a girly bar," Doyle said, scrunching his face up in drunken confusion, "You know, a step down from a strip club where the girls all wear little outfits that leave nothin' to the imagination. Why are we going there?"

"Buffy's working there," he snarled as he threw Doyle into the passenger seat.

"Nuh-uh," Doyle objected.

"Oh yeah," Angel growled as he peeled away from the corner.

"Christ," Doyle said, sobering up slightly, "She's undercover then. You can't just storm in there."

"You bet your ass I can," Angel shouted, "You should see the dress I found in our bedroom. I wouldn't let her wear that in front of you let alone some other strange men!"

"They don't wear dresses," Doyle said, "They wear much less than that."

The roar that escaped from Angel made the Irishman think he should have left that part out. He gave directions, pointing out the turns as Angel wove around cars that were annoyingly observing the speed limit.

When he walked, or stormed, into the club, he scanned the packed bar for his wife and found her standing at the bar, holding an empty tray. She was talking to a medium sized sinister looking guy, who was shamelessly leering at her. And who wouldn't be when her firm body was barely covered by what she was wearing? Angel checked his sanity at the door as he took a full thirty seconds to eye his love. He looked over the red bikini top left most of her perfect breasts in view of anyone who cared to look and the shorts barely fit into that category and could be more aptly categorized as underwear. His eyes traveled down her shapely legs and focused on the indecent shoes she was wearing. He briefly thought about pulling them off her feet and lodging the heels into someone's skull. He headed across the bar without caring who he knocked out of the way or that his eyes were fully golden as he barely reigned in the demon.

***

but honey do drop in

JJ had Buffy cornered at the bar and was enjoying the feel of her firm ass under his hand. He was sure her toned body would be perfect for any need and thought about whether he really wanted to hand her over to his suppliers. He was thinking about keeping the fine specimen to himself when something grabbed him. He screamed as his wrist snapped and looked up at a man who looked roughly like a mountain.

"Angel," Buffy said, wanting to pull him off the dolt, but finding that she really didn't have the strength to do it.

"Keep your fucking hands off my wife," Angel demanded, crushing his fist into the guy's jaw and coldly smiling at the feel of his mandible cracking.

"Your wife?" the man managed to choke out as his head hit the bar, then the floor.

"Yes. My WIFE, you piece of shit!" Angel growled, dragging him toward the back. Doyle, Buffy and Willow ran after him, feeling a hundred sets of eyes following them as they went.

***

with a bit of a shout a bit of a shout
a bit of an angry shout

"How am I going to explain that to the FBI, Angel?" Buffy shouted with welling eyes, "You nearly tortured him to death for the information!"

"I didn't kill him and the case is closed," Angel said angrily, as he and Buffy entered their bedroom, "And you should be glad I didn't kill him and every other guy in the whole fucking place." Buffy sank to the bed and lost herself in sobs, which caused Angel's anger to crumble.

"I'm sorry," he said, gathering her half naked body into his lap, "I'm sorry, baby. I just lost it. Walking in and seeing you wearing that...another man touching you..."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Buffy sobbed, "I just was doing my job and I knew when you came home..."

Buffy stopped in mid-sentence and ran toward the bathroom. Angel ran after her, still apologizing and watched in surprised as she crashed to her knees and began to vomit.

"Are you okay?" he said, rushing over to gather her hair from her face, while he smoothed a hand over her back, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

She washed her face and brushed her teeth while Angel looked on, drenched in concern and regret. He carried her back to the bedroom and set her on her feet. He removed her clothes and dropped them on the floor, fully intending to burn them later, if Buffy didn't get to it first. He looked down at her and wiped away a stray tear.

"I love you," he said, "And I'm sorry."

Her hand moved up to his mouth. Her fingertips fluttered across hips lips to silence him and then she stepped into his arms, pulling him in for a kiss.

"Just make love to me, Angel," she said, looking to his eyes. She unbuttoned his shirt quickly as he kicked off his shoes and tossed off the rest of his clothes. He pulled her flush against him, crushing her against his chest as he attacked her mouth. Inside her perfect embrace after almost two weeks caused that familiar warmth to settle over his body. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and he moved to the wall, entering her as he pressed her back against the plaster.

He felt all his feelings turning into desire and love as he moved inside her, as she bit hungrily at his lips. Her blood seemed to pumping in all different directions, making him dizzy and confused as he thrust inside her, feeling each welcoming counter movement from his lover. Her breaths came out in pants as she held on to him, kissing every piece of flesh her lips could reach. As she came the first time, Angel was so busy reeling in the pleasure of her that he forgot about the strange flow of her blood.

He felt like his legs were going to give out as she came a second time, her inner muscles clenching around him. He growled against her neck, sucking his scar hard and barely keeping himself from baring his fangs and re-marking her as his primal need to claim what was his took over. Her orgasms were like a drug, as was the feel of her quivering around him and he reached between them and pinched her clitoris, delighting in her nearly instant orgasm. She bucked against him, screaming as she released for the third time.

He moved to the bed and he fell back on it, keeping her with him. She immediately rose and fell on his lap, slamming him deeply inside her so rigorously that his eyes rolled back in his head. With her hands pressing against his chest, she looked into his eyes. He reached up and cupped her breasts, pinching her delicate nipples. He waited for her to climax one more time, clenching his jaw as he fought for control inside the long awaited heaven of his mate.

"Come on, baby," she moaned, digging her fingers into his chest, "I want to feel you come inside me."

"Together," he moaned back as she pivoted her hips, adding an extra twist to her movements that nearly made him lose control. He felt her thrusts increasing and waited for her release as he moved his hands to her pivoting hips. When she finally climaxed, he let himself go as well with a loud groan of pleasure. She collapsed on top of him and as her sweaty, pleasured body pressed perfectly against his, he listened to her heartbeats. Both of them.

***

Soooo...shall I go on to part four?

***

 

Part Four - "The Prophecy"

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.
DISTRIBUTION: Of course you can have it! Please let me know though.

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after college graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: THANK YOU everyone for the wonderful feedback. It's greatly, greatly appreciated.

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17

***

this is not really happening
you bet your life it is, you bet your life it is

Angel tensed every muscle in his body as he detected two heart beats coming from his lover. As she laid on top of him, she radiated more warmth than usual and he thought for a moment that the extra heartbeat was just in his mind. But it wasn't. It was there, thumping softly underneath hers. He listened to the child growing inside his mate and strained to hear the life that could not be a part of him. He felt his facing shifting as he sensed the blood in her body flowing in more than one direction.

"I thought that was the making up part," she said, sitting up to look at him and gently running her hand over the new contours that had risen on his face. Her moist center rested against his stomach as she looked down at him with confusion.

"Me too," he said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Angel-"

He held his hand up, silently asking her to wait, as he tried to encase the demon. Several seconds later, she looked into tearing brown eyes. He slid his hands from her hips to her belly and covered her torso almost completely.

"I know you haven't been unfaithful to me," he choked out, "God, I would know it if you had. I would be able to smell his scent on you."

"That's good, Angel," Buffy said slowly, "Because I haven't been unfaithful to you."

"I know," he said, gritting his teeth painfully inside his mouth and thinking that his teeth might start to crumble underneath the pressure.

"And yet you seem upset about that," she said, lost in bewilderment.

"Buffy, you're pregnant."

"Angel, I threw up. It's stress, that's all. I was upset."

"There are two heartbeats. One here," he added, caressing her chest lightly and then moved to her flat tummy, "and one here. You're pregnant, love."

"But it's impossible," Buffy countered, "How could I be pregnant when I've only been..."

"Yeah, that's what I'm upset about," he said, reminding himself in between the rat-a-tat of heartbeats coming from the woman he loved that she was okay, that there was an explanation for this that wouldn't kill him inside.

***

circus girl without a safety net

Angel had always been possessive of his mate. Now that said mate was carrying his child, he was wobbling on the dementia stripe. After the doctor confirmed that she was eight weeks pregnant, Angel went directly to The Powers That Be and was informed in the usual cryptic terms that the child was "human" and "of his line." After a bit more enthusiastic pressing for information, he was tossed out on his undead ass with nothing to make the phenomenon make sense.

The past week had been a virtual cornucopia of research parties, which banded together the Scooby core in a way that had not been possible for years. Giles even brought Wesley in from England to help, who was anxious to get back in the action again. After Buffy fired him, he stayed in the states for a couple of years and eventually headed back to take on an offered position with The Council, who so graciously forgave him for his blunder with both Slayers. He suspected, and found agreement in Giles, that they just wanted to pick his brain on his experiences. Both Watchers found The Council's constant pressing tiresome and for book worms, they both wanted a piece of the excitement they used to have on a daily basis. The problem was that there was no record of how a Slayer could bear a vampire's child. There was no prophecy that they could find that explained it. All they found was one big, fat pile of bunk at the end of a long, sneezably dusty trail.

The following Monday, when the FBI called her in for another case, Angel refused to allow his wife to go back to work. He already made her carry her cell phone with her at all times, except when she was on patrol and that was only because she never got to patrol anymore. He, Faith and the witchy duo picked up the slack. Xander and Doyle even went out for a round of checking dark alleys a time or two. When the new case dropped in her lap, she fought tooth and nail with Angel. She simply was not going to sit around on her ass when she could be doing something to help someone.

"You're not going! I can't let you put yourself in danger," Angel roared, not caring that all their friends were staring at him like he lost his marbles.

"Let me?" she yelled back, "I'll do whatever I damn well please, Angel. You can't keep me inside this stupid hotel forever. I'll go insane."

"I'll go insane if something happens to you," Angel said quietly, "and our child."

"I have to do something!" Buffy said, "I'll call you when the dangerous part comes in, okay?"

Buffy moved closer and placed her small hands on his chest, pressing against him, "I don't wanna fight."

"Me either," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "And I don't want something to go wrong. What if I can't get there in time? What if it's day?"

"I'll be fine," she said with a winning smile, "I always am."

"That was before," he said.

"What? Now that I'm pregnant, I'm completely incapable of doing anything?"

"That's not what I said," he answered, "It's just that..."

"So you think I'm stupid then?" Buffy said, trapping her lover. She could feel the smiles on her as they all watched her winning.

"No, Buffy," he said, "Of course, I don't think you're stupid, it's just..."

"Just naive maybe? Unaware of the dangers of the world?"

"Alright, alright," he said, narrowing his eyes at her, "But I will hate every second of this."

"Glad we got that straight," she said, heading up the staircase to change clothes. He followed and shut the bedroom door behind him as he prepared to argue his case further, even though he had just agreed to it. He was always nervous when Buffy went on a patrol or some dangerous assignment without him, now that she was pregnant the nervousness had become a howling dread inside him. He stared at her from across the room and tried to think of a more convincing argument but completely lost his train of thought as she began the first part of changing clothes, which would be the taking off the current outfit part.

If he had to be caught in an endless cycle of watching the same thing for the rest of his life, he would want it to be that moment when Buffy took off a shirt. He loved watching her beautiful breasts revealed with her arms in the air. She lowered her arms and there was that second of fantastic where the curves of her first felt the air in the room. Her breasts rose and fell with her breath, almost imperceptibly, and she was stunning. He loved the way her hair fell over her shoulders, kissing her recently bared skin.

She looked up and saw him eyeing her hungrily but keeping his place against the wall, arms folded in quickly dissipating irritation. Taking her cue, she wiggled out of her jeans, which were becoming tighter every day. She turned her back to him, allowing him to admire her back, which was perfectly sun-kissed, lined with delicate muscles and silky smooth skin. She overemphasized the bend required to remove her jeans. Angel shifted against the wall, still keeping his place across the room as she slipped off her panties, bending over again, giving him a full view of her arousal.

She smiled as she heard him suck in a breath, expelling the unneeded air as wispy lust that floated across the room to her. Buffy knew that if Angel made his way across the room to touch her that he had lost completely. He knew that too, which was why he was making a vampire shaped indent in the wall. Determined to win and completely focused on getting her way, she climbed on the bed, moving on all fours and crossing from the bottom to the top in a tantalizing show that made Angel's already throbbing erection unbearable. Buffy laid back against the pillows and slipped a hand between her thighs as his eyes burned into her.

She allowed one hand to move over her breasts as the fingers on her other hand slipped between her dripping folds. She moaned, arching against her own hand, lifting her hips from the bed and spreading her legs wider to give him in unadulterated view of her dripping sex.

"Feels so good," she purred, pinching one of her erect nipples and tossing her head back, refusing to look at him as she rubbed her clit in slow circles. Angel thought he was going to bay in writhing anguish before he gave in because the sight of his mate masturbating before his eyes was simply incredible. Stubborn as ever, he watched her holding nothing back, pleasuring herself fully. He thought he was going to make it...until she came. She clenched her legs together, moving her hand between her trembling thighs as she cried out in ecstasy.

If she had been looking at him, the room would have blurred as he catapulted across it and onto the bed. He forced her thighs apart and pulled her hand from her heat, intertwining her fingers with his as he buried his face there, lapping up the honied juices. She arched off the bed and he wrapped a strong arm under her, keeping her pressed firmly to his sucking lips and talented tongue. She screamed as she came again, this time inserting his name in her moans of pleasure.

***

in the mist there she rides
and castles are burning in my heart
and as i twist i hold tight

Agent Wilder was already suspicious of Buffy's strange behavior in general, but now that she started the newest case she was less full steam ahead and more cautious in her moves. When she allowed a pair of agents to accompany her to the vampire crypt that was harvesting illegal magickal elements for the black market, he knew something was definitely up. According to the agent's report, a vampire matching her husband's description showed up and nearly took out the whole crypt. The little blonde warrior only staked one of the dozen and didn't even bother speaking to her demon helper before leaving him in the crypt with the ashes of his brethren.

He wasn't surprised to have the report reveal that her husband was a vampire. Several other reports and surveillance had determined the same thing. When he thought about that woman coupling with a demon, it made his skin crawl. He never liked her or that he was forced to seek the aid of a couple of women, but he refused to accept that there was a demon in the mix now.

When reports turned up from the underground that the vampire Angelus was causing a wave of fear in the forces of darkness, he was concerned. The vampires, demons and other unlovelies of the night had all but stopped their operations and a whisper was moving through the city that a master vampire was on a mission to keep anything without a soul from his lover at all costs. Agent Wilder, having lost almost all the cases they were working on, was agitated by the interference and frankly, a little afraid.

Finally, he had a lessor vampire captured and taken into custody for a little "interview." The vampire, after being restrained and beaten, was less than accommodating until the agent mentioned Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg.

"Are they here?" the vampire asked, struggling with more determination, "Let me outta here!"

"They aren't here," the agent replied calmly, "What do you know about them?"

"Are you joking?" the vampire hissed, "The Slayer's got her own band of witches. The redhead's one of them and the most powerful."

"The Slayer?"

"You've got to be shitting me! You're a fucking idiot. Let me out!"

"What about her husband, Angel?" Agent Wilder asked, trying a different approach and watched as the vampire began struggling even more. His terror was obvious as he wrenched against his bindings. The demon wouldn't speak of Angel, but he did confirm inside his demands to be released that "Angelus" was "The Scourge of Europe" and everyone was lying low in fear of the vampire with a soul.

"Why is everyone so afraid?" Agent Wilder asked.

"He's killing us," the vampire admitted, "He's sweeping the city and cleaning out every crypt he finds."

"Why?"

"The prophecy. He's protecting his child," the vampire hissed, unable to believe that the FBI was so bloody thick, but then again, they were only humans.

"What prophecy?"

"The Slayer will bear the offspring of the undead," the vampire intoned, collecting the words from much repeated memory, "and the child will break down the powers of darkness. The child will be The Destroyer and the underworld will drop to its knees."

***

caught a lightweight lightningseed

As Buffy entered her third month, everyone knew The Slayer was pregnant. A little pouch had appeared around her midsection and her usual radiance had become more of a lustrous glow. The men who had previously found her attractive were now enamored with the lovely girl. There was something captivating about her new brilliance. Her presence was more arresting and her beauty far more alluring. As if under a spell, the amount of times she was hit on during the normal course of the day had tripled and the only answer she could come up with was her pregnancy.

"It's your aura," Willow commented over lunch as they celebrated their recent success with Xander's team. A nest of fire demons had been scorching the city and they had taken them out quickly - without Angel butting in, which was refreshing.

"My aura?"

"Yes," Willow answered, smiling at her friend, "You're intertwined with some force now, more powerful than just carrying a child."

"I knew I was sluggish for a reason," Buffy joked, "Maybe there's more than one little body inside me. Feels like four. Are you sensing four?"

"There's magick coming from you now, Buff," Willow said with a smile, "It's more than just Slayerness. It's hard to explain."

"Magick? Do you think this is a spell?" Buffy asked, rubbing her tummy as she took another bite.

"No," Willow said, shaking her red head and thinking for a second before continuing, "It's not a spell. What's inside you is magickal. The ‘lil bundle of joy is a bundle of powerful energy. It's so good it makes me tingle all over."

"You're not the only one tingling here," Buffy said, "But seriously, you're freaking me out with the magick thing. Am I going to give birth to something strange?"

"I don't think so," Willow answered excitedly, "But he or she is going to be something strong...very strong."

***

if you want inside her well
boy you better make her raspberry swirl

Angel walked into the kitchen and watched as Buffy did the dishes. He loved it when she did that. Not because she was cleaning, because he could care less about what was in the sink, but because she always danced around and sang as she washed them. Oblivious to what was around her, she usually bopped around as she went, shaking her hips to the beat. He finally walked across the room and wrapped his arms around her waist. Buffy caressed the large arms that circled her, leaving a soapy trail on them.

"You better not do that for very long if you know what's good for you," she said as she put the final dish in the drainer.

"Why's that?" he asked, peppering little kisses on her neck.

"Because my husband's all freaky lately and will probably kill you for daring to touch his mate. From what I hear, she is considered his property by all the little demons in the neighborhood."

"I'm protecting you," he said, smoothing his hands over her stomach, wishing he could better sense his child.

"You missed it today," she said, turning around to face him and kissing him gently before she went on, "If you had stopped being the great protector for a second when you stormed in, you would have picked up on the conversation going on around you."

"What'd I miss?" Angel hadn't missed what everyone else was noticing, which was her newfound radiance. He had always thought her undeniably beautiful and could barely keep his hands off her before. Now she seemed to leave a trail of desire behind her as she went, tugging him along on an imaginary leash.

"That was the research office at Smith Enterprises that you stomped into," she noted, "and before you started yelling at Xander for calling me in when you specifically told him not to - the part when you made the grand entrance and simply glared for a second - the girls down there were lusting after you. It almost made me jealous."

"Really?" he asked, bending to place a sequence of kisses on her tempting collarbone, which seemed to beg for his attention. "You were jealous, huh?"

"I think the words ‘devastatingly gorgeous' directly followed ‘oh my god, look at him'? Of course there was the comment that they wouldn't kick you out their beds or something like that. It's a good that they found out you belonged to me, otherwise you might have been attacked."

"Horrible," Angel mused, moving to her lips again, "I'm glad I'm already spoken for. Guess you saved me."

"Fawning women trying to rip your clothes can be scary," Buffy answered, smiling into his kiss.

"Not that I remember," Angel said, pretending to be lost in the memory and receiving a slap on the shoulder for his efforts.

"Be nice," he said, kissing the shoulders that the thin straps of her shirt left bare.

"I thought you liked me naughty," she said, pressing against his rising arousal.

"You're right," he said, lifting her onto the counter, "Never mind."

"Hello? Lust bunnies? You have a bedroom," Faith muttered as she walked into the kitchen and found Buffy perched on the counter with Angel looking like he was getting ready to take her clothes off, "Angel, do you realize all you do is boink your wife and kill demons since you knocked her up? You need a hobby."

"I have one," he said, sweeping Buffy into his arms, "I don't think I have time for another."

Faith grunted in mock irritation as she snagged a beer from the refrigerator and strolled back out the kitchen. She grinned though, watching as Angel kissed Buffy while trying to navigate the stairs.

"Those two are really getting out of hand," Faith said, settling back on the couch in the back room where Willow, Tara, Doyle and Giles were watching a movie.

"They were all restrained before," Willow noted, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Yeah, but the screwing outside of their bedroom is getting out of hand," Faith commented, ignoring the fact that everyone was engrossed in what they were watching, "I have to peek around the corner these days before I walk into a room."

"Faith," Giles said gently, "Could we cease our discussion of Buffy and Angel's...er...relations. I don't think I have the stomach for it tonight."

"Yeah, why talk about it when you can listen?" Doyle said, picking up the remote, pressing mute and laughing as the sounds of the super couple making love filled the room.

"Turn it back on!" Willow and Tara shouted. Doyle shook his head and cocked his head to listen, pretending that he had to strain to hear. Willow held out her hand and the remote flew from his hand to hers. She pressed the mute button again and snuggled in with Tara as the sound returned, slightly masking the moans coming from the upper floor.

***

 

Part Five - "Obsession"

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.
DISTRIBUTION: Of course you can have it! Please let me know though.

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after college graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: THANK YOU everyone for the wonderful feedback. More, more, please!

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17

DEDICATION:
This one's for Hope, my personal pregnancy advisor and for Peygan, who was seriously gypped out of the fluffy smut last night AND the night before. *G*

***

there's nothing i can do
can't stop what's coming
can't stop what's on its way

"Angel! Buffy!" Doyle called through the bedroom door, his voice muffled to Buffy's ears since she was buried under the covers and against Angel's chest. Since she had gotten pregnant, she found herself clinging to him more in her sleep and craving him more while she was awake.

"What?" Angel growled, wrapping an arm around the bundle of blankets at his side that contained his wife.

"Had a brain crushin', skull crackin' vision," he called back, "Need to talk to you two."

"Just a minute," Angel answered. He slipped out of Buffy's arms and smiled at her groan of protest. She pulled the covers down just enough so she could watch him walk across the room, deliciously nude. He jerked open the dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of boxers and slipped them on before retrieving Buffy's robe. He handed to her and watched with obvious enjoyment as she climbed out of bed with a scowl covering her face. She put on the robe and then crawled back in bed, covering up again. Angel tossed her a grin as he headed for the door and opened it.

"I hope The Powers That friggin' Be know what damn time it is," Buffy said, snaking an arm out of the covers to point at the red numbers on the alarm clock by the bed, signifying that it was pre-pre-dawn.

"Sorry," Doyle mumbled.

"What did you see?" Angel asked, as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He felt his wife scooting behind him so she was against him again, her rounded belly pressing against his back. He smoothed his hand over her covered leg as he waited for Doyle to explain.

"Buffy, you can't go to work today," Doyle said.

"Did you and Angel get together and plot this out ahead of time?" she demanded, propping her head up on her elbow, "Cause next time you can wait until a little later in the morning. It would be just as believable. Really."

"No," Doyle answered, "That Agent Asshole guy has been poking around."

"We already know that," Angel said, "What did you see?"

"He's planning on interrogating Buffy about being The Slayer and about you being a vamp."

"He knows?" Buffy and Angel shouted in unison.

"Yeah," Doyle replied with a nod and then took a sip of the scotch he was carrying, "I'm not sure what he plans to do but The Powers seem to think it's not a good."

"I knew he was up to something," Buffy said angrily.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Angel added, "You're not going in today."

"Have to," Buffy said, "Don't you think he's going to find another way to get to me? It's the FBI, Angel."

"Then I'm going with you," Angel stated.

"Daylight. Remember that? The part where the sun is up?"

"There's basement access to the building," Angel informed her, clearing his throat, "The tunnels break off at the base but the exterior wall...well, it's not hard to get through."

"Someone's been breaching the FBI again?" Buffy grumbled, "How did you find the access tunnel?"

"Willow sorta decrypted the City Hall database and then she maybe cross referenced that with the FBI building blue prints that she might have stumbled upon the other day," Angel answered guiltily.

"Great," Buffy muttered, rolling over and scooting off the other side of the bed, "Now my husband and my best friend are plotting against me."

"For you, love, not against you," Angel said as she headed for the shower, "For you!"

When the door clicked shut behind her, Angel turned back to Doyle, "Wake up Faith. Tell her what's going on. I want the two of you to find out who gave him the information."

"Alright but I'm not sure that's going to be too easy," Doyle said, downing his glass and heading back out the door, "You guys have lots of enemies."

Angel followed the sound of rushing water and opened the bathroom door, breaking through the steam. He slipped out of boxers and opened the shower door to join Buffy. He stood looking at her as she poised underneath the spray, rinsing shampoo from her long blonde hair. The sight of her wet body as sudsy water streamed over her was exotic, not to mention...inspiring.

"You're going to make a nuisance of yourself today, aren't you?" Buffy asked as he pulled her warm, wet body against his.

"Actually," Angel said, "I'm going to make love to my beautiful wife. Then I'm going to get dressed, maybe have a little breakfast..."

"And then you're going to make a nuisance of yourself," Buffy countered, trying to focus on the matter at hand, but a different matter was quickly taking precedence as his wandering hands moved over her.

"First things first," he said, pressing his lips against hers. She moaned into his mouth, savoring the flavor of him. He seemed to taste better and better since she became pregnant with his child. She had a voracious appetite for him before, but now each nerve ending seemed to beg for his touch, each patch of skin needed his caress. His kisses added warmth to her body, increasing the heat in the already steamy room. He started at the curve of her belly, worshiping the miracle inside her and left more kisses at the slope of her hips and the tops of her thighs. He knelt on the shower floor as he leaned her gently against the wall and raised one of her legs over his shoulder to have better access to her inflamed core. He teased her open with his tongue, allowing his large hands to glide easily over her wet body.

"God, you feel...perfect," Buffy moaned as she sagged against the wall wrapped in the pleasure being disbursed out generously by her kneeling lover. She felt as if the child inside her was increasing her sensitivity to everything. Things she would have overlooked before seemed brighter and more obvious. Less was taken for granted now as if she was witnessing events through the unborn eyes of her baby.

Four months had passed and she was quickly realizing that this was no ordinary pregnancy. Willow and Tara had both commented on her "aura" repeatedly and how she seemed to draw them to her. She was certain almost immediately upon finding out about her newest gift that her strength would decrease but the opposite had happened. She felt stronger and more alive; she felt as if she could take on the world - if only the swelling that had recently begun in her hands and feet would go away.

Trapped between the ecstacy of Angel's mouth pleasing her below and the need to feel him inside her, The Slayer moved her leg off of his shoulder and pulled him to his feet and against her, tossing the leg over his hip. Answering her unspoken demand, he entered her and smiled at her ragged gasp of gratification. He moved slowly and each movement was a delicate caress as he kissed her and sucked her tongue into his mouth.

"Not...going...to...break," she moaned, sweeping forward to meet his thrusts.

"I know," he whispered over the sound of the pouring shower while he kissed her neck and nipped at her scar.

"Angel," she whimpered, "Harder please."

"Sorry, love," he whispered again as he did nothing to hurry his strokes. The further along she became, the more his worry developed about making love to her - and the more he wanted her. He was terrified that something would go wrong and it would be his fault, so each time they had sex, his movements were less hurried and more leisurely. It was driving his wife insane.

Knowing his weaknesses, she leaned forward and sunk her teeth into his neck. It wasn't the delicate nibbling that he had performed before, but a bite and was more than likely meant to break his skin, which it did. He growled in response and pulled away from her mouth to keep his tainted blood from touching her lips.

"Don't baby, please," he growled, showing her his beautiful golden eyes. He hadn't meant to but the bite had its expected response and he moved more urgently inside her. She trembled around him, squeezing his cock with her inner muscles, nearing the brink. He released a moan as she fluttered around him in climax. He barely reigned in his desire as he moved even harder inside her and as she rounded her second orgasm, she dug her nails into his back. He growled in pleasure and as he neared release, he was a step away from his normal speed of movement and she smiled. She knew she had won.

***

took my leather off the shelf

"Calm down," Buffy said once they had gotten back to the hotel from their meeting with Agent Wilder. Angel was moving around the lobby of the hotel, or storming angrily actually, and looking scrumptious in the leather pants he had put on that morning. She knew what the pants meant. Nothing was going to touch what was his, but she chose to forget that they signified an Angelus type anger. Instead, she thought it was more fun to watch how they hugged his ass. A girl has to weight her options, you know?

"You are not working for that prick anymore," Angel growled, slamming files around and trying to find something to do with his hands instead of breaking things, which is really what he wanted to do.

"I think I'm fired anyway," Buffy said, stifling a giggle, "But you have to admit, that was kinda fun."

"Which part was fun?" Angel snarled.

Buffy walked behind the counter where her husband stood fuming and caressed his ridged face, "Well, there was the part where Willow and Tara took all the agents' guns away. That was pretty cool. Or the part where Agent Wilder was all scared and shaking. Of course, my favorite part was when you put on these pants this morning."

Buffy wrapped her arms around him and squeezed his leather clad ass for emphasis. She looked up at his glowing eyes and smiled warmly at his anger, trying to switch the mood. It was slow coming because the vampire was far past pissed off.

"I haven't wanted to kill someone so badly in a long time," Angel growled, refusing to change his mood, "How dare that fucker think he can ‘detain' you for questioning. I have a few god damn questions I would like to ask him."

"Yes," Buffy said sweetly, tracing his lips with her fingers, "But they all involve him dying at the end. We can't have you being chased by the FBI for murdering one of their top agents, can we?"

"It might be worth it," he said, still growling but his voice was softening.

"Now that I'm unemployed," Buffy said, pressing against him, "We should think about how we're going to spend the day."

"Buffy," Angel complained, moving away and hopping up on the counter to sit and fume, "I'm trying to be angry here."

She moved between his thighs, undeterred by the action, "How is that fun? Weren't we trying to focus on the fun here?"

"Imagining him dying in a thousand different ways for trying to hurt my wife," he growled, looking down on her peaceful face, "I think there's more fun there than you think."

"I think there's more fun doing other things," she mumbled as she tugged at the button of his leather pants. Angel reverted to human form and looked around the room nervously as she freed his cock and wrapped her hand around him.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, "Someone could walk in any minute."

"I know," she said, smiling, before she bent down to taste him. The sight of her pink tongue sneaking between her lips and slowly moving over the sensitive tip of his cock was enough to force a moan from the formerly angry vampire.

"We...should...go upstairs," Angel said as she laved long, wet kisses down the underside of him.

"Mmmm," she moaned, as she took first two inches of his erect cock in her mouth and swirled her tongue around the tip. She paused and looked up at him, asking quietly, "Want me to stop?"

She didn't wait for the answer but took him back in her mouth and moved up and down as slowly as he had earlier that morning. Finally she heard his torn answer, "God no."

He gripped the counter as he looked down at her blonde head bobbing in his lap and tried to form coherent thought, but was lost in the jumbled haze of lust around him.

***

black winged roses that safely changed their color

"Pizza!" Xander announced proudly several hours later, as he entered the hotel lobby carrying a stack of steaming boxes with Anya at his side. He set the pizzas down and glanced over his shoulder at what everyone seemed to be staring at. Spike stood leaning just inside the double doors wearing a long black duster and a smile.

"I thought I told you not to come here," Angel growled.

"Yeah, Peaches, you did," Spike said, "But I have news."

"And you couldn't call?"

"I was in the neighborhood," Spike answered, proceeding down the stairs, "Besides, you can't have your cake and eat it too, mate. If you want my help then I say I'm allowed in your home. Nice digs, by the way."

"You've been working with Spike?" Buffy demanded and from glancing around the room, she saw she was the only one who was surprised.

"Don't worry, pet," Spike answered before Angel was able to open his mouth, "I'm still chipped and all. Never have been able to get the bloody thing out of my skull."

"I told you to stay away from my wife," Angel growled again, facing off with his Grande Childe.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," Spike answered, "You want to hear the news or not?"

"Yes," Buffy said, crossing her arms and shooting a glare at her husband. He should have told her that Spike was in the picture.

"Seems your little Nibblet there has its own prophecy," the blonde vampire answered, "Somethin' about making all the souless uglies of the world bow in terror."

"A Slayer of some sort?" Giles asked, stepping forward in interest.

"No," Spike said, "They are calling the child ‘The Destroyer.'"

"My baby is ‘The Destroyer?'" Buffy asked, "You better not be making this up, Spike!"

"Buffy," Angel said, turning to his wife apologetically, "I didn't want you to know that I called Spike in cause I thought it might upset you."

"Ya think?" she snapped.

"But I've had him keep his ear to the ground around the demon population to find out what's going on. I wanted to know if anyone or anything was going to try something."

"And they are," Spike said, sitting down on the stairs and reclining next to Faith who did not shy away from his closeness, "Everything wants a bite of your baby."

"Don't worry, Slayer," he continued as he noticed her concern, "I've been killing so many demons lately, I should be The Slayer. And your hubby over there has gone insane with the hunting. I hope you know that he's a few shakes short, love."

"Shut up, Spike," Angel growled in a very Sire-like demand.

"Alright, mate," Spike said, smiling and resting a hand on Faith's thigh, "No need to get all worked up. I just thought I'd help out with the research."

"I'm going on patrol," Faith said, standing up. She felt the eyes of the room staring at the pale hand on her thigh, which was Spike's not so subtle way of announcing their relationship to the Scoobies. Spike stood and followed her out, carrying with him a very smug smile. Buffy watched him go and then turned to Angel.

"When were you going to tell me Spike was involved?" she shouted accusingly.

"Never?" he answered sheepishly.

"You two are impossible," Cordy said, lifting the top pizza box and peering inside, "Buffy, you should know that-"

"Cordy," Angel warned.

"Oh please," she said, waving him off, "Angel's gone crazy, Buffy. He has been killing anything that moves and Spike's been here for over a month. Hell, I don't know how you missed him. Gunn's gang has been guarding the perimeter of the hotel every night AND I can't even go on a date without there being an interrogation."

"Everyone knows you're sleeping with Gunn," Anya said, grabbing a slice and biting in.

"What?" Cordy said, pretending to be shocked.

"‘Oh please,'" Anya answered, echoing Cordy's previous tone, "What? Am I the only one willing to admit it?"

"Is there a reason I didn't know any of this?" Buffy asked the room, eyeing all her friends severely, "Am I just someone that needs to be sheltered?"

"I asked them not to tell you," Angel said quietly.

"Angel," Buffy warned, "If there's anything else I don't know, you'd better tell me now. I will not be out of the damn loop in my own home. This is ridiculous."

"We put a protection spell on the hotel, Buffy," Willow said, speaking so quickly her words ran together, "But just a little one. I wanted to tell you but Angel said we shouldn't and I didn't think you would be mad and-"

"It's okay, Will," Buffy sighed, "Xander?"

"Two teams, Buff," Xander said, "I have two teams out patrolling for you, but that's it. I swear."

"And Lorne's been reading the demons to find out additional info," Angel answered, "I'm sorry, love. I might have gotten a little carried away."

"You're a jerk," she shouted, storming up the stairs and towards the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked, following her.

"To patrol," she said, "I'm The Slayer. In case you forgot, I can kick your ass!"

She headed out into the night and the group dove in the pizzas. Giles and Wesley were already flipping through the books to find references to the Prophecy Spike had spoken of.

***

always there through that and this
there's nothing we cannot ever fix

"Don't be mad at me," Angel said, jogging to catch up with her.

"Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Yes," he said, nodding with eyes outpouring love, "I just can't stand the idea of something happening to you. I've tried to think rationally about this but I just get-"

"Bonkers?"

"I love you," he answered, "I've never stopped being afraid for your life since the first time I laid eyes on you. I knew you'd be mad at me, that's why I didn't tell you."

"You were right," she said as continued walking. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she stopped, not turning to face him.

"Please forgive me," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her protruding belly as he gently kissed her neck.

"Should I expect you to be a lunatic until I give birth to this child?"

"Probably," he admitted, "and well into the teenage years."

She pivoted in his arms and kissed him gently, "I want to know everything for now on. You used to tell me everything. Promise me."

"I promise," he said, kissing her gently, "Am I forgiven?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head but smiling, "You'll have to make it up to me."

"I was hoping you would say that," he said, kissing her again, "Now, you want some pizza?"

"I'm starving," she answered, "You think we have any peanut butter?"

"What for?" he asked, grimacing at the thought.

"Haven't you ever had pizza and peanut butter?"

"No," Angel answered, "Of course, they didn't have peanut butter when I was human. But I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have it on pizza...neither would you four months ago."

"Sounds yummy to me," she said, taking his offered hand and heading back to the hotel.

***

Part Six

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.

DISTRIBUTION: If you’re looking for the previous parts, you can find them at my site: www.sunflower.com/~tango or at Starrkitty’s site: www.starrkitty.150m.com

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after college graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: Please! Please! Please!

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17

AN: For those of you who are wondering, I do plan on continuing all of my fics that are currently unfinished. (That includes, “In a Maudlin Sort of Way” which I assure you, I have not forgotten about.) More of…something soon! *G*

DEDICATION: For everyone who has requested that I continue this fic, for Starrkitty for my beautiful new page layout and for indie for my webspace, for which I am forever grateful for!

***

oh, i still love you, baby
everywhere i look i see your eyes
there's not another woman that would ever comes close to you
dry those tears from your eyes

Angel had not lessened his protectiveness of Buffy as she rounded into her fifth month. If anything, he had gotten decidedly worse. Partially, because there had been several attacks on his little pregnant Slayer in the past couple of months, which she infuriatingly brushed off as no big deal. And then there was the fact that she tried to sneak out to patrol on a regular basis. The Scoobies found the whole situation extremely comical and made fun of the tense vampire at every available turn.

One Thursday evening, while Angel was out meeting with a contact, not even a week after their most recent *reasons to not patrol* marathon, Buffy was preparing to sneak out for a little stroll, just to, you know, take in the night air. Course, if she just happened to run into a vampire, she would have to stake him because otherwise she would be a bad Slayer. She had almost made it to the door when the phone rang.

"Angel Investigations," Buffy piped with fake cheer into the phone.

"Looking for Peaches, love," Spike's distinctive voice said, forcing her into an automatic groan of annoyance.

"He's not here," she answered with a sigh.

"Want to tell Nancy Boy I called?"

"Not really, but I will."

"Thanks, pet." As she hung up the phone, she looked up just in time to see Angel at the double doors at the front of the hotel. He paused, pulled one open and stood aside to let Detective Kate Lockley walk in first. Not only was she blonde, attractive and irritably thin, but she was smiling and laughing in a flirty sort of way. If that wasn't bad enough, the word "beautiful" was coming out of his mouth in that low, seductive voice that always made her weak in the knees. It made her weak in the knees, that is, when he wasn't speaking to another woman.

"That's so sweet," Kate answered, batting those long eyelashes over her sparkling blue eyes in response.

"Well..." he started as he looked up to find his wife standing in front of the counter wearing one of his black silk shirts, a pair of black stretch pants and scowl so severe that it forced his mouth closed. He stepped toward her with concern and opened his mouth again, "What's wrong, Buffy?"

"Nothing," she snapped as she crossed the room in strong, pregnant Slayer strides. She made short work of the distance to the basement door before opening it and then slamming it hard enough to force the door off of its hinges. Kate and Angel watched in shock as the door tipped over and fell on the marble floor with a furious crack, sending a whirl of dust rising up around it.

"Uh..." Angel said, looking from the door to Kate and back again, "She's sensitive lately."

"I can see that," she answered quietly as if she were afraid Buffy would hear her and come back upstairs.

"I'll be right back," he said, took a deep breath as he headed for the door, looking like he wasn’t sure if he was headed for a battle that could be reasonably fought or if he should just lay down and prepare for slaughter, "and then we can talk about the case, okay?"

"Should I come back later?" she asked, wanting to be anywhere that wasn’t near his wife. Not that it mattered that Buffy was ‘sensitive lately.’ Kate had learned over the years that she usually wanted to be where Buffy wasn’t. Whether the Slayer was currently in a good mood or not really didn’t effect her decision in the slightest. She hated to be around the woman that Angel loved. It was a constant reminder of what she would probably never have…which was Angel, not love, of course.

"No," he said after a moment of hesitation, "Just give me a minute."

Angel headed toward the basement and stepped on the door on his way down the stairs. He stopped on the bottom step and watched Buffy moving through an angry kata, in which she seemed to be completely missing the point of the exercise. Since she had become pregnant, she complained that her center of balance had changed and it was harder to fight. He tried to explain on several different occasions that pregnant Slayers stayed out of situations that they would have to fight in so that their babies were safe. Right now, however, he wasn’t worried about her center of balance, only that the mind soothing motions were not soothing his lovely mate at all.

"What's wrong?" he asked after watching her for a moment. He would never get over how beautiful and glowing she was while carrying his child. He knew she was afraid that he would find her less attractive when she grew larger but the opposite happened. He never looked at other women before and now he didn't even know they existed.

"Nothing," she said, without looking up and continued to move but more erratically than before. It infuriated her that he could make her so jealous and frustrated.

"I was discussing a case with Kate," he said, "That's it."

"What was beautiful about the case?" she snapped, looking up at him with eyes that matched her furious tones, "Or were you talking about *her*?"

"First of all," he said, "I was talking about *you* and how beautiful you are when you're pregnant and secondly, I would never cheat on you. You know that."

"Right," she said, knowing she was being irrational but unable to snap out of her anger.

"Buffy, you know that I think you are the most beautiful-"

"If you say you think I'm the most beautiful pregnant woman in the world one more fucking time, I'm going to stake you and waddle through your dust!"

"How will you explain to our child that you murdered me for telling a police officer I thought you were beautiful?" he asked, stepping closer and smiling down at her. After a moment, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head, knowing she was pouting against his chest.

"Why are you still mad?" he asked, tipping her chin up with his index finger and kissing her lightly.

"Cause...I don't know," she mumbled, "Were you really talking about me?"

"Yes," he said seriously, "Why would you even think I would tell Kate she was beautiful, Buffy?"

"Cause she is," Buffy said honestly, frankly confused by his inability to see that and then as the realization hit her, she smiled.

"You don't think she's beautiful?"

"I think you're beautiful," he said, kissing her again. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just...it's one of those days. I feel ugly and gross and...forget it."

"We've been over this, love," he said, "I'm not going to lose interest in you. Pregnant women have long been thought to be the most desirable creatures. Men find their mates more alluring when they're heavy with child. Other men certainly find you more enticing, which is why I'm snarling at people so much."

***

i guess you heard he’s gone to LA
he says that behind my eyes, i’m hiding
and he tells me i pushed him away
that my heart’s been hard to find

"What are you doing here?" Faith asked Kate from the top of the stairs as she tramped loudly down them, preparing to go on patrol. Or actually, she planned to happen to bump into Spike and then dust whatever vamps stood in their way as they hurried off to yet another not so secret rendevous. Spike was more than perplexed that Faith wouldn't just admit to her "family" that they were involved, since everyone already knew anyway. What was the difference if they hung out at the hotel? And what, pray tell, was the difference between Buffy and Angel and them?

"Angel has a soul," Faith had muttered to him as she dressed the night before, sliding into a pair of black leather pants just so she wouldn’t have to meet his eyes. "You are evil."

"I'm defanged," Spike pointed out, not unbitterly, "And thank you so much for reminding me. I hate to point out the obvious, love, but we are involved and everyone knows it already!"

"I don't like reminding them," Faith said, sitting on the bed to tie the laces of her boots. She hated to have these arguments with him, but at least she didn’t have to look at him while they were having one. When she looked into those deep blue eyes of his, she knew that for a creature without a soul, there was a lot there to be reckoned with. She was a Slayer and there was no way she was going to admit to anyone, not even herself, that she was falling in love with a demon.

"You don't make any bloody sense, woman," he complained, pulling her roughly from the side of the bed and pressing her suggestively against the mattress, "We've been shaggin' each other’s brains out for months. I'm not your dirty little secret, pet."

"Maybe I want to keep you to myself," Faith said, rising her hips up to grind against her undead lover suggestively.

"I'm not that bleedin' thick!" Spike protested and then let out a groan as Faith tossed him aside and leapt nimbly off the bed. Casting him a smile as she headed to the door with an exaggerated twist to her narrow hips, she said, "Yes, you are."

“You know,” Spike called after her, “You’re the one who’s missing out! All those empty rooms in the hotel we could be ruttin’ in are left for Peaches and his little SLAYER!”

Now, the next evening, preparing to meet with her desouled, chipped vampiric lover, she was face to face with Detective Kate Lockley. Faith couldn't stand Kate or her pretend official business. The bitch had been in heat for Angel for as long as she could remember and unlike the other women who lusted after Angel, Kate was firmly locked in their lives as a helper and informant. Faith was waiting for that one little moment when Kate gave her an excuse to kick her ass. It was coming soon and Faith couldn't wait for it. She glared at the blonde and waited for her answer.

"I'm meeting with Angel about a case," Kate answered, gesturing toward the broken basement door, "He's downstairs talking to Buffy."

"Oh, so you already pissed her off," Faith said, grinning at the fallen door. She finished her descent down the staircase and stopped in front of the cop who was glaring at her, "Make sure you keep those sticky little fingers off my friend's husband."

"Angel and I have a purely business relationship-"

"Save it for someone who gives a fuck," Faith said, heading toward the door and stopping just at the exit to turn back around, "Consider this a warning, Blondie: Stay away from him."

"Are you threatening a police officer?" Kate asked tersely, knowing it was a cheap shot. Pulling police officer rank in here usually carried no weight whatsoever, but she knew that Faith was a bit more twitchy about jail than the others. She suspected that the brunette Slayer had visited more than one jailhouse around the country.

"Of course not," Faith said, sneering at her openly, "I’m just saying, you haven't seen shit until you've seen a pregnant and brassed off Slayer...but I hope you do."

Kate slumped in relief when Faith finally left and moved her gaze from one broken door to the one swinging from where each Slayer had recently exited. She wasn't about to show fear to either powerful female, but inwardly, she was scared as hell that she was playing with fire. She knew better than anyone that given the chance, she would take Angel anyway she could get him...and in any position she could get him.

***

then you love a little wild one…
all the time you know she’s smilin’
you’ll be on your knees tomorrow

Angel had nearly forgotten that Kate was waiting upstairs for him because his beautiful wife's warm little hands had moved up his shirt and were roaming over his cool skin. Lost in the feel of her and in her kisses, he soon found himself lowering her to the workout matt. He trailed over her neck and rapidly unbuttoned the silk shirt from her tiny frame, kissing the bared golden flesh.

He spread the shirt apart and kissed down her chest, puffing cool breaths over her nipples and delighting as they grew hard in response. Pulling back, he looked down appreciatively at her full breasts and rounded stomach. Taking a moment to relish in her beauty and in the miracle inside her, he moved his hands over her belly, caressing her soft skin.

"I love you," he whispered, brushing his lips over her belly button gently. It was unclear to Buffy whether he was talking to her or their child or both, but she smiled at him, threading her hands through his hair as he worshiped her flesh.

Lost in the feel of her silky skin, the dizzying smell of her arousal and the magickal pull coming from his wife, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her pants and began to peel them away from her. He growled loudly in objection when he heard Doyle's voice wafting down the stairs, "Angel?"

"Damn," Angel muttered, resting his face against her stomach for a second, before calling up in answer, "Just a second, Doyle! I'm coming." Buffy giggled when she heard the end of his sentence muffled against her belly, "...I wish."

"Sorry baby," he said, leaning in to capture her lips again, "I completely forgot about my appointment with Kate."

"Can't she just wait a little longer?" Buffy asked, her green eyes glowing with desire for her mate. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him in for another long, slow kiss, teasing him and urging for more. It took all of his self-control to pull away from her sweet lips and wandering hands.

"Believe me, love," he said, helping her to her feet and using vampiric speed to button her shirt again, "I would love to but we really need to talk about this case. Rain check?"

"Fine," she muttered in mock irritation. She was overjoyed by the fact that Angel had forgotten about Kate. Funny, how the little things could seriously change one’s mood. Forgetting about Kate helped a lot, not to mention her lover’s frustration at having to leave her to work. Angel took her hand and led her upstairs, stopping to make sure she didn't trip over the broken door. Buffy giggled at the sight of the door, laying on the floor and blushed up at him.

"Sorry," she managed over her laughter, "I didn't mean to break it."

She cocked her head to the side and watched him, admiring the view, as he picked the door up and leaned it against the wall. He turned and kissed her gently, smiling down at her.

"I'll fix it later," he murmured against her lips and then sweeping his eyes over her, realizing for the first time that she seemed to be dressed to go out, "Were you going somewhere?"

"Um...no," Buffy said, moving away quickly.

"Buffy," Angel warned, in a low, angry voice, "You weren't going to go on patrol, were you?"

"No," Buffy lied, hurrying away, passing Kate's slack jawed form and heading up the stairs.

"You CAN'T go on patrol!" Angel roared after her, even as she disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairs, "You're pregnant, damn it and I won't have you danger! No patrolling!"

"I wasn't," her voice wafted back down the stairs.

Kate shrank under his angry glare and waited for him to speak, which took a couple of seconds. He took a deep unneeded breath and headed toward his office, "Sorry Kate. Want to step into my office?"

Doyle, who had been completely ignored during the whole exercise, leaned against the counter and grinned as Kate shuffled after Angel. He didn't know what it was like when they lived on the Hellmouth, but there was never a dull moment here.

***

Part Seven

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.

DISTRIBUTION: Of course you can have it! Please let me know though. You can find the back chapters at my site: http://www.sunflower.com/~tango/slayers.html

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after college graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: Please!

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17

DEDICATION: For TrinityLast. Merry Christmas. (Note: Delivered on time. *G*) and for Peygan, who has been asking about this one for a long time. *G*

AN: As I finished writing this, it occurred to me that my idea for the mirror probably was inspired from Harpy's breast scene in her fic. Not sure which one - either "Buffy's Diary" or "Letters to Whistler." Been awhile since I read them. (If you haven't read them, don't deny yourself some of the best B/A fic in existence and head over to her site: http://harpy.bitchenvy.com/)

***

when will you wake up
i want you more than the stars and the sun

Kate was dragging out her explanation of what she needed help with and after thirty minutes in his office, Angel realized she didn't need his help at all. She just wanted it. He felt his irritation rising as he thought about his beautiful, pregnant wife upstairs doing...whatever it was that she was doing when he should be up there in her arms.

He carefully gave Kate an explanation of how terribly busy he was and shooed her off before swiftly making his way upstairs and to his bedroom where he found what his wife was doing was sleeping. He smiled down at her thinking about how her moods changed so quickly. An hour ago she was knocking doors off their hinges and preparing to go out to fight the demons and darkness of the world and now she was napping peacefully in their big bed.

He peeled back the covers and delighted at the sight of her naked body, even though he already knew she wouldn't be wearing clothes. In the last couple of weeks, she had started shedding her clothes whenever she could, complaining that she couldn't stand for them to touch her skin. Angel shed his own, thankful she had yet to turn away or dislike him against her skin. He climbed in bed, wrapping himself around her body and she scooted back against his chest, murmuring in her sleep.

"Angel," she purred softly as one of his large hands moved over her body, caressing her legs and belly, gliding over her face, neck and breasts.

"Wake up, baby," he whispered, kissing her shoulder and then continuing a trail of wet kisses over her arm, before lifting her hand to his lips and kissing each little digit.

"‘m..wake..." she mumbled, sleepily, snuggling in against him, "Waiting for you."

"Sorry it took me so long," he said, moving back to her neck once more. He suckled on her scar happily, feeling at if just the taste of that patch of raised skin fed him.

"Done with beautiful and skinny down there?" Buffy asked snarkily, "How many times did she try to sleep with you?"

"It was a battle," he answered, laughing at her despite his attempts not to, "But somehow I made it back to you."

"Don't like her," Buffy huffed, "Little perfect waistline in here trying to steal my demon. She's a homewrecker!"

"Love," Angel said, keeping his slow, easy trail over her skin with his hands as he turned her over onto her back and crouched over her, kissing her thoroughly before he finished speaking, "the only way to be a homewrecker, is to actually wreck a home and since I'm not going anywhere..."

Instead of finishing the sentence, he kissed her again, dipping his tongue into the warmth of her mouth, lowering himself just enough from his crouched position to rub his flat, muscled stomach against her distended one.

"Did you really mean it when you said she wasn't beautiful?" Buffy asked in a tiny, childlike voice as he moved down her chest to suckle gently on her sensitive breasts.

"Mmmhmmm," he answered as he moved from one breast to the other, carefully laving them, knowing that if he was too rough with that delicate, swollen part of her body she would toss him across the room, literally. He learned quickly after the first time that happened.

"Angel look at me," she demanded, tugging on him until he raised his head to meet her eyes. His were flashing golden in desire for her and he moved forward enough to make sure she felt his throbbing arousal against her.

"When I dream about making love to someone," Angel said firmly, "I dream of you. I don't understand what this obsession is with other women for you."

The uncertainty on her face forced him to growl lightly and get off the bed. He held out his hand to her and helped her up as well. He hated the idea that his mate would ever feel inferior to any other woman for any reason.

Buffy wasn't sure what he had planned but stood up and held his hand as he guided her from their bedroom through the adjoining doors to the next room where she kept a full length mirror that he usually avoided at all costs. He hated not seeing his own reflection and being reminded of what he was, but this was much more important. He placed her in front of the mirror and stood behind her, knowing all she could see was herself and knowing his little, insecure Slayer, saw all of her imagined imperfections as well.

"What do you see?" he asked. She saw her hair stir from his unneeded breath and thought he did it on purpose to remind one of them of his presence, maybe both.

"Big, fat belly with stretch marks," she said, "Swollen breasts and swollen everything else."

"Look again," he said, sliding his hands over her belly. Tears formed in her eyes as she struggled to look closer for him.

"Blonde hair," she said, to which answered, "Yes, shining, soft blonde hair that feels like silk and smells like vanilla."

"Green eyes," she added, and he replied, "Windows to your beautiful soul, love. So bright and full of truth and emotion that they caught me the first time I saw them."

"Arms," she said, beginning to warm from his words. He whispered again, running his fingers down them, "Strong arms, with strong hands. Both so tiny that it used to be difficult for me to remember that they saved the world."

"And we're back to the big, fat belly," she moaned. Shushing her, he spoke again, "Which is an adorable, round womb, filled with my growing child, who will be a miracle. And these..." he said, tracing the barely visible stretch marks lining her waist, "...should be worn like a badge of courage."

Emphasizing his point, he circled her and lowered himself to his knees, kissing along those lines she found so abhorrent. He smiled as he kissed along them, "What's more beautiful than this?"

He glanced up at her, hoping his words had soothed her only to find tears running down her cheeks. She was looking in the mirror and then down at him and then at her reflection once more.

"I don't see it," she whispered, "I love being pregnant with our child, Angel, but I don't see it."

"I do," he said, rising back to his feet, "And-"

He groaned in frustration as the separate line in their bedroom began ringing. He didn't want to answer it, not when his cock was standing painfully erect and his perfect naked wife needed to made love to.

"He-" he started, before being interrupted again, this time by a voice.

"Learn how to return a phone call, mate," Spike growled, from his apartment, trying desperately to ignore the wandering hands of Faith who had just finished removing her clothes. He told her he might need to go, but she was determined to make sure he came instead. He was already brassed off that he had waited so long for her to get there while she was out staking his brethren in an alley somewhere.

"What are you talking about?" Angel answered tiredly, "I didn't get a message."

"Too busy climbing on your wife to ask her if she answered the phone?" Spike growled and then sighed, "Look, Peaches, been scrambling around in the dark and dank for you and the bint, the least you two could do was check in now and again."

"Got a point? Is something wrong?" Angel growled back, startling Buffy, whose face immediately changed to concern as Angel grabbed her hand protectively.

"Yes, dammit!" Spike shouted, mostly because Faith was nibbling on his neck and if he didn't get out the sentence he had prepared he was going to lose it - much like he was losing his pants as she tugged on his top button, "Look, that soddin' FBI wanker has been collecting information and looks like he found out a bit more about the power your little hell's spawn is gonna have when it pops out. He's been collecting demons for questioning and now it looks like he's going to try and collect the missus next."

"What?" Angel roared, flying into full game face. His roar echoed through the entire hotel and if he had been paying attention to anything accept for his own anger and the sound of Spike's voice, he would have heard the pounding of feet coming toward his bedroom. Buffy went to put on her robe and then retrieved Angel's before someone broke down the door in worry.

"He's sending troops out, not sure when, but their objective is to capture the Slayer and keep her until the nibblet arrives," Spike explained loudly over the sound of Faith's lips smacking against his skin and Angel's deafening roar over the phone line.

"You and Faith get over here," Angel ordered.

"Faith's not-"

"I can hear her fucking breathing," Angel countered, "Now it's work time. Tell her to get dressed and get home! And you had better be with her when she gets here!"

Gunn, Cordy, Willow and Tara all ran full steam into the bedroom after Buffy forced Angel to put on his robe and she opened the door to the troops. Angel had slammed down the phone and was growling loudly as he contemplated what he had just been informed.

"Angel, what is it?" Buffy said, and then repeated it until she gripped his arms in her tiny hands and shook him roughly.

"They're coming for you," Angel answered around his fangs, "That FBI fuck, Wilder, is sending them to capture you so they can take our baby!"

"Okay," she said, caressing his ridged face gently, "It's alright. No one is taking me. We'll just call everyone and tell them to come. We'll keep shifts and I'll teach everyone what they need to know about FBI tactics. It'll be okay."

"No," he said shaking his head angrily, and then taking a deep, unnecessary breath to calm himself down. With his game face still intact, he cupped her face, "You're not safe here. This is too big of a place and we can't see them coming. Spike and Faith are on their way back. When they get here, we're going to discuss a plan."

***

devils with halos
in beautiful capes
taking them into the flames

A half hour later, the group convened in the lobby. Spike and Faith had just made it in the door looking sated and flushed, Xander, Anya, Wesley and Giles at all arrived, as well as five members of Gunn's gang. Angel waited until he had everyone's attention before he started speaking, wishing he could pace as he spoke, but was unwilling to leave Buffy's side for a second, even if it meant moving a few feet away.

When everyone was silenced, he launched into a renewed explanation of Spike's call, with some colorful added in comments by his grande childe, explaining Agent Wilder's plans for taking Buffy.

"The hotel isn't secure," Angel said, "There's a thousand ways to get in and out of here, so we're moving until the baby is born. I need everyone on board here."

"Where do you think we're going to go?" Cordelia asked with images of sewers and dark, horrible places dancing in her head.

"We're going to Buffy's old house in Sunnydale." Angel answered, waiting for the onslaught of arguments.

"You think we're going to be safer on the Hellmouth?" Xander blurted, rolling his eyes, "Dead Boy has lost all of his marbles this time. And I can't go. I have an organization to run."

"You're coming," Angel demanded in unison with Cordelia's question, "What organization?"

"Way to go," Xander complained, shaking his head angrily at Angel.

"You're the one who put that out Mr. Covert," Angel growled and then turned to the blonde, quiet witch holding Willow's hand, "Tara, do you have any vacation time? We're really going to need you with us."

"Two weeks," Tara offered weakly, "Well, I had two weeks until I took off a bunch of days to help you guys out. I might have a week and a half left."

"Damn," Angel said, looking down at his hand clasped with Buffy's. "Will you please come with us? We can't do this without you and Willow both on board."

"Sure," Tara said, smiling, "It's not like I'll be out on the street if I can't work anyway."

"I didn't know you still owned that house, Buffy," Giles said, raising at eyebrow at his charge.

"Well, we need it from time to time when there's something going on, so we kept it," she answered and then turned to Angel, "Honey, I don't understand how you think the Hellmouth is good idea. It's evil there."

"Precisely," Giles said, smiling as the realization hit him, "Sunnydale is unknown territory for these men and it's filled with demons who would most likely be hireable to help."

"Ooh, and the magick there is so much more powerful!" Willow chipped in, "Our spells are always three times stronger when we're there."

"Yeah," Angel said, "We are leaving in three hours. Everyone pack and be back here at 3 AM. That should allow us to make it before dawn."


***

Part Eight

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: Nope. I still don't own them.

DISTRIBUTION: Please ask first. Thanks.

SPOILERS: Completely AU. Set 4 years after college graduation, Buffy & Willow have become the government's secret weapon. Doyle and Tara never died and Faith is not evil.

PAIRING: B/A, of course! Our favorite couple are married, with no fear of the losing of the soul. OK?

FEEDBACK: Please!

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Tori Amos

RATING: Definitely NC-17

AN: It's been awhile since I've added to this fic, but thank you to everyone who has asked about it lately!

Happy belated birthday, Ave!

***

we'll see how brave you are
we'll see how fast you'll be running
we'll see how brave you are

The gang had been living in the old house in Sunnydale on Revello Drive and rather peacefully for the last couple of months. It seemed that Angel's rampage in LA had been made known all the way to the Hellmouth. No demons had tried to break in the door, no one was lurking in the shadows and the patrols performed by odd members of the group, which excluded Buffy, were nearly fruitless. The quiet was almost eerie. The FBI hadn't yet found them or if they had, they hadn't been sighted and no one had been approached. It was, of course, the perfect time for all hell to break loose.

Xander was running his operation from the house, taking calls and having them patched via his stern covert secretary. Cordy couldn't seem to get over the fact that Xander could run a organization of Smith's size and strength. In the beginning, she insulted his abilities at every turn until Anya heard them. The two women nearly came to fisticuffs. Strangely, after a couple of days, they found they had quite a bit in common and had taken to spending much of their days together talking about fashion and money.

Buffy had been complaining so much of cabin fever and of a strange sense of restlessness that Angel had started taking her for walks at sundown and had given Willow, Xander & Tara permission to take her out during the day as well. His only stipulation was that she be accompanied at all times by a Slayer or witch if he could not be with her. The fact that she needed permission to leave the house in the first place was cause for several loud and growly conversations. In the end, Angel got his way, as seemed to be the rule when it came to the unborn Summers child.

After dinner on June 20th, seven months into Buffy's pregnancy, she and Angel were lounging in bed together happily spending some alone time away from the group before Angel left for patrol later in the evening. They had started a tradition lately of Angel reading to her in the evenings while she laid her head on his chest and listened to the vibration of his voice through his body. The soothing sound of his low voice helped her to relax and eased away her rather strange restlessness as of late.

Since Buffy's pregnancy began, her attraction to her mate had grown stronger and stronger, as had their connection to each other. They always had a bond to each other, a link where they felt only the strongest emotions, such as anger, pain and sorrow, and they could sense the closeness of their other half, but the more pregnant she became, the more these sense progressed to the point of an almost direct empathic connection.

"You're uncomfortable," he murmured, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back in slow circles as he put the book aside. "What can I do to make you feel better, love?"

"Trying to get brownie points?" she murmured, smiling. The truth was, she was incredibly uncomfortable. It seemed as if she couldn't get in any position whatsoever without moving seconds later. Angel did have the upper hand by being able to sense her emotions more and more as of late, but the fact that she wiggled around every few seconds definitely gave it away. She couldn't believe she was still only in her seventh month as it was and she was miserable.

"Yes," he said wryly, "I'm getting brownie points so I can have my wicked way with you."

"Mmmm..." she said snuggling closer, "Maybe you'll get-"

She stopped in mid-sentence and gasped. Her strong fingers tightened on Angel's arm and they both cried out in pain at the same time. Angel didn't seem to notice that he didn't actually need air as he gasped for pain in short, staccato breaths. For a vampire who had a very high threshold of pain, he didn't take well to the amplified sensations coming from his mate. Trying to keep from doubling over in agony, he stood and lifted her into her arms, where she promptly began to wiggle and writhe in an attempt to escape.

"No!" she shouted, pushing away from him, "I'm not ready and you can't take me. It's not time yet."

"The hell it isn't," Angel said, glowering down at her and holding her as tightly as he could without harming her. "We're going to the hospital, Buffy, right now."

"Braxton Hicks," she announced in a winced, matter of fact voice and pushed lamely at him again. "Now put me down."

"We're in labor," Angel growled, striding toward the door. She fumed at him and continued to struggle to escape, but the effort was useless. He held onto her tightly and continued out of their bedroom and down the stairs.

Unfortunately, Buffy couldn't fool Angel with the idea of false labor or any other excuse she could think of because he had spent the last seven months reading every book available on human pregnancy. He knew the procedures, the risks, what to expect and how things were done. He also knew that this child was not going to be an ordinary one and what he couldn't read about in any book ever published was what was making him panic.

***

oh i still love you, baby
everywhere i look i see your eyes
there's not another woman that would ever comes close to you
dry those tears from your eyes

Buffy couldn't help but notice that Angel's eyes were fully golden by the time they reached the hospital. The contractions, which she was certain were not Braxton Hicks, were six minutes apart. When her water broke on the drive to the hospital, soaking the car seats and floor boards in Angel's car, they knew this was no false labor.

"Premature," she murmured with her head pressed against the cool glass window of Angel's car. She glanced over at her demonic husband and shuddered. His eyes were not only golden but glowing with the force of his emotions, something not likely to be overlooked by the hospital staff. His hands clutched the steering wheel with such force that she was certain it would break any second.

"This is no ordinary baby," he answered back softly, prying one of his hands from the steering wheel to caress her fingers which were balled into tight fists. "Our child will be strong. You'll see."

Buffy nodded in agreement and blinked to keep from crying. She had to be strong of mind as well as strong of body. She was certain that having faith in her child and her doctor would make things better, but a nagging sense of fear was creeping into her. What if the baby wasn't okay? Surely all the prophecies on The Destroyer that Giles had gathered and had yet to share with her wouldn't exist if the baby was going to die, but prophecies were tricky things.

***

you don't want to lose her
she must be worth losing

"Explain premature births," Angel demanded of the doctor once they were in their room and forced to wait until he gifted them with his presence. Somehow the reasoning that there was a hospital full of people that needed his attention, not to mention four other births going on did not ease Angel's understanding of the physician's slow appearance.

Once he had examined her, Dr. Garrison shifted uneasily while trying to look at Buffy rather than her husband. The supernatural glow to his eyes and the inhuman, animalistic growl to his voice made the doctor wonder just what was going to come out of that woman. Fifteen years of caring for patients on the Hellmouth had given him an higher understanding of things that go bump in the night and things that were born from things that go bump in the night.

"Since you're only at 28 weeks, Mrs. Summers, your child will be premature. Most premies born after 24 weeks are strong enough to survive," he answered, clearing his throat, "Like most cases, the cause for the premature birth is unknown. Your amniotic fluid is at a safe level, there are no infections, you do not have diabetes, high blood pressure or preeclampsia. Maternal smoking or use of illicit drugs is sometimes the reas-"

"That's not the reason," Angel growled in warning. Buffy clamped her hand so tightly in his to quiet him that he had to keep himself from yelping in pain. Dr. Garrison, however, was relieved when Angel turned his gaze irritably to his wife.

"Be nice," she warned and turned back to the doctor, "We've had all positive exams while we were still in Los Angeles, as well as the ones we had with you. I was under the impression that everything was fine."

"You're correct, Mrs. Summers," Dr. Garrison admitted, "Although problems with the fetus can sometimes cause early delivery, such as infections, poor growth or certain birth defects, the examination looks fine, so frankly, I believe there is a great chance that your child will have few negative reactions to coming into the world early."

"Few," Angel growled, pulling his hand from Buffy's, standing and crossing the room to get to the doctor in a speed that was not at all human. "I know the current success stories of premature children and of women living through the birthing process these days," Angel growled out, "I know logically that my wife and child could both come out of this alive and healthy. If, for some reason they do not. I'll strangle you with your own intestines. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes sir."

***

i watch me be this other thing and never know
if i'm marooned or where the purple people go
then lily white matricides from vicious words
it doesn't leave a scratch so therefore no one's hurt

Preternatural strength did absolutely nothing for The Slayer during the birthing process. If you asked Angel, who felt empathically every twinge, push and throb, he would have told you that it felt like being impaled repeatedly with a rusty fence post, which he knew from experience. The unfortunate problem with both parents being supernatural was that the baby was supernatural as well and every movement of its strong little limbs felt like it was trying to fight its way free from the womb.

The nurses happily fawned over Angel who was obviously having sympathy pains for his wife. He had managed to turn his eyes back to their natural chocolate brown even after Buffy's steel grip snapped all four fingers on his right hand. Strangely, if she felt his pain, she didn't acknowledge it. Instead, she cursed him for getting her there to begin with.

"I love you, Buffy," Angel crooned, desperately trying to ignore his own pain while he saw to her comfort. "You're doing fine. Almost there, love."

"Well, I hate you!" Buffy panted as she pushed once more. "‘I can never give you children, Buffy,'" she mocked, "Whatfuckingever!"

"Come on, baby," he said through gritted teeth, kissing her brow, "Just a few more pushes and it'll be over. Just a little more."

"Get away from me!" she raged incoherently. She pulled her hand from his broken fingers and turned her head away. "This is all your fault, Angel!"

Angel, who had not been informed of women's reactions to the birthing process, stood on shaking legs and stepped away. He had no intentions of leaving the room, but was genuinely hurt by her harsh words. In his time, men weren't allowed in the same room during the labor and had no desire to be. Now he understood why. Never had she spoken such hurtful words to him and he wondered if she meant it when she told him how she wanted him by her side when she gave birth to their miracle child. Now he wasn't so sure.

As another contraction came on, Buffy looked wildly around the room. "Angel!" she shouted. He had moved out of her sight in the corner of the room and she mistakenly thought he left. Great sobs formed in her throat as she realized he had abandoned her.

"I'm here," he said, moving tentatively into her line of sight. She held out her arms to him and he moved closer.

"Don'tleaveme," she babbled, "IloveyouI'msosorry."

"The baby's crowning," the doctor announced, "Give me a big push, Mrs. Summers."

***

blood can be pretty

Alannah Angelus Summers was born at 1:35 AM on June 21, 2003. When asked if he would like to cut the umbilical cord, Angleus, the Scourge of Europe, who had seen more gore than most creatures would see in their whole unlives, after seeing his daughter for the first time, took one look at the after effects of the birthing process between his mate's thighs and fell into a dead faint.

As soon as Buffy and the new baby were cleaned up and Angel had risen from his place in the middle of the floor, the door was opened and the happy parents were surrounded by their friends, who made up their misfit sort of family. They beamed proudly as everyone praised them on the beauty of the newest addition to the Scooby core. Her head was already covered with dark brown fuzz the color of Angel's hair and although they didn't know what color her eyes were yet, Buffy was convinced they'd be his chocolate brown. Just like any parent, she knew her child was perfect.

The doctor, however, was baffled. At 28 weeks, little Alannah was not underweight, her lungs were healthy, so she had no need of being placed on a ventilator and her heartbeat was strong. In fact, she was by far the healthiest premature birth he had ever come across. If he hadn't treated the Summers child himself, he would not have guessed she was premature at all.

"Thank you," Angel said to the doctor graciously. He had left everyone to adore his child and sought out the doctor on his way to another birth. "You did an excellent job."

"You're welcome," the doctor answered, blinking in obvious shock. He never expected such grateful kindness to come out of the man who had been growling like a rapid beast not an hour before.

"And I was wondering," Angel said quietly, extending his right hand for the doctor's inspection, "If you would mind setting my fingers."

The doctor pivoted and motioned for Angel to follow him into a room down the hall. He was glad that Angel made no move to catch up with him but followed behind, because Dr. Garrison was struggling to keep himself from riotous laughter. As much as a bastard as he had been to him, Garrison thought it extremely funny that Angel's little blonde wife that crushed his hand. After the X-rays, he was pleased and surprised to find that each of Angel's fingers were fractured in two places. Only his thumb got out of the birth unscathed. As hard as Garrison tried to feel remorseful for his glee for Angel's injury, he couldn't seem to conjure up the emotion. He whistled his way around the hospital for the rest of his shift.

***

friend
it's time to tell the world

"Ooh, she's so little!" Willow fawned, lightly touching the hair on Alannah's head, "And oh! Teensy fingers!"

"She is all wrinkly," Anya said, cocking her head as she stared at the baby, "I think she resembles an old person. Do you think it's because she's part demon."

"An," Xander said, grabbing her hand and explaining carefully, "That's what new human babies look like."

"How unfortunate," Anya said, wrinkling her nose, "I don't think I'll be having any of your children, Xander. I mean, look how handsome Angel is and yet his child is-"

"Anya!" Willow admonished. "She's perfect."

"She is a beautiful child, Buffy," Giles agreed, proudly bearing the look of a new grandfather.

"Well, I'm with Anya," Cordelia agreed, "All babies do is cry, poop and sleep, but everyone acts like they're special if they smile or something. They all look like little prunes."

"Perhaps," Giles said, clearing his throat to hide his smile of amusement, "you two could go home and make sure the house is prepared for the baby's home coming."

"Like what?" Cordelia asked, crossing her arms over her chest and obviously not getting the hint, "The superbeings bought every diaper in Sunnydale and the witches brought home every damn little kid toy they have around here. What are we supposed to do?"

"They're trying to get rid of us," Anya announced to her new friend and then leaned in conspiratorially, "I'm glad I'm not the only one who does not understand these strange human customs."

***

K, so what'd ya think of this part? More soon when we find out if the new baby is fully human or not!

 

 

"I want it to be hot, disturbing. Yet gorgeous always." -Anne Rice

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