After that night, it seemed nearly everything in her life started to suddenly change. Morning eventually came and Angel had sat up in the bed beside her, shifting off to the edge as he prepared to stand but then he paused, slightly looking back over his shoulder. "I know with everything else going on that you see this as the worst possible time to want to be with me," he'd told her. "And I know you don't want to hear this either, but I want you to know that I do want to be with you. Not just last night, and not just in my bed... I want to be with you, Buffy Summers. I'm pretty sure that I started falling in love with you the second I even laid eyes on you."

It made her terrified, but she knew she couldn't keep pretending like she didn't feel the same toward him, either. As terrified as she was to be with him, losing out made her all the more scared to think about. Maybe how they came together wasn't the ideal version she had always imagined in her head, but many things in her life didn't exactly go according to plan and that didn't always mean something bad she had quickly thought.

Not for the first time.

Angel had quickly become the most important person in the world to her, save for the little one still growing inside of her. He was always there for, no matter what she needed. She'd never felt happier, more loved in her entire life. Angel made her feel safe. He came with her to every appointment after that, he had taken her home with him one week earlier on in the start of this new relationship to meet his family and a good number of his childhood friends. She had attempted to try and bridge the gap between her and her own mother but once she mentioned anything about Angel, Joyce had gone on a rampage all over again, telling her how stupid she must be to be with someone right now, calling her a whore and a dozen other things before Angel had all but ripped the phone away from her and went off on Joyce. They'd only spoke one time since then and it was very tense.

Angel's family had been he complete opposite, she had loved getting to know them, how they didn't bat a damn eyelash when it came to her. They treated her like family the entire time she was there with them and every single day since. Both of his parents checked in with her almost daily, they called, texted, video chatted, e-mailed... they asked how she was, how the baby was. They'd asked if it was okay if they got things for the baby and they had, a number of times she'd gotten boxes delivered from them. They had a few things set up at their own house for when they felt comfortable coming out to visit. Hell, they had even asked if it was okay if they called themselves grandparents.

It didn't take much to see where Angel got many of his own traits from.

Ninety nine percent of her was in love with all of it, but that one tiny bit had her sometimes thinking she was going to be too overwhelmed with everything. Her own family had turned their backs on her, and these people who didn't even know her very well, who weren't her blood were everything to her... first with her friends, then there was Angel, and on to his family. It was a lot to wrap her head around at times.

OoOoO

Not once did Angel ever correct anyone, if he was referred to as a husband or expecting father or anything along those lines he never missed a beat. Not with people at the doctor's office, with the slip of the tongue even their closest friends would make, random strangers in a store or at the movies, or when they were out to eat.

The only time it seemed to have ever given him any sort of pause was the night when she slipped her own self and referring to him as "daddy" when she was talking to her jumping stomach. She could picture it clearly even now weeks later, how he'd completely stilled, his eyes just a tiny bit wider than normal. She'd jumped into trying to apologize. "I didn't mean to say that, I'm sorry," she'd told him, blushing slightly, mortified that she'd done that.

"It's okay," he promised her softly. and went back to rubbing her stomach as it would rise up with random kicks and moving body parts.

But she found herself stuck on it, on how it made her heart jump to think of him like that without even really meaning to. Of course he'd made it clear he wanted to be with her despite the fact she was having a baby with another man, he had made it clear he wanted to be with her after the baby was born, that he wanted to be there for him... but it was something they didn't really have figured out entirely, either.

Buffy watched as he played with the dancing infant in there, telling a quick story to her stomach before she reached out for him.

"You look freaked out," he told her, pulling himself up higher on the bed so he could properly cuddle up to her.

Her eyes trailed down his arms, which were now wrapped around her, holding her to him. "I told him you were his dad."

Angel seemed to think about what exactly he should say. "I don't think he will remember."

"I know," she said rolling her eyes and relaxing a little. "It's just... that's not really something we've gone over."

"True," he said slowly. "I mean, I think some of what's going on goes without saying but I understand where you're coming from. And it's okay, Buffy. It doesn't have to be a big deal, I promise, not if you don't want it to be."

"B-but what if... what if... I do?" she nervously asked.

"What if you want it to be a big deal?"

Buffy nodded.

"Then that's more than okay, too. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

"But... I mean... you really want to be... dad? It's one thing us being together now but we don't know what's going to happen when he's actually here. And it's not your responsibility Angel."

"Pretty sure I long since made it part of my responsibility, Buffy."

"You know what I mean."

"I do, but what I said stands. I love you, I love him. I will be whatever you will let me be here. I can't promise you everything will be smooth sailing or we will always know what we are doing, but I want to be here through any and all of it."

"You want to seriously raise this kid with me?" she questioned.

"Pretty sure that goes without saying but I will say it anyway. I want to be a family with you, with him. The whole thing."

"Feeding, dirty diapers, lack of sleep..."

Angel chuckled a little. "Yep, all of that. And loving his mama, loving him, singing him to sleep, walking around town as a little perfect family with him in a stroller just taking in the world, going on little trips to places together... All the things. Eventually the truth is going to have to be out there of where he came from and that stinks but it's important, but that factor of Parker isn't the end of the world either. And I'd like to help prove that. Be what you need, what he needs, the best that I can..."

OoOoO

Angel had somehow convinced her to even move in with him just about a week before her due date. In a single days' time he ad their small team of friends had her completely out of the apartment and set up in his house. Hell, even the baby had his room set up by the end of the day as well as one of the corners in his-turned-their bedroom set up with a small bassinet and changing-slash-feeding station.

She had cleared it with him about the idea of using Connor as the name for the baby as she'd never been able to find anything else she was anywhere near drawn to as it. She felt guilty and let him know it was okay if he said no though, that she would find something else in case he wanted to save it for his "first" child and he'd told her that's exactly where it would be going.

As her due date came, all seemed to be going fine... other than she felt like a whale and was quite over the whole thing. Thankfully, her doctor had taken pity on her and agreed to induce her in the event the little one hadn't come on his own.

Angel made their last day as just the two of them perfect, lacking surprise there. He'd made sure she relaxed, that the house, the bags, the car was in order. A few hours before they had to actually make it to the hospital they stopped by her favorite little diner in town.

There was such a mixture of emotions floating inside of her, and between the two of them as they made their way from the parking lot of the diner to the one of the Sunnydale General Hospital. She was excited, scared... ready... and yet so far from it all at the same time.

After telling the nurses that Angel was staying through the night, they'd gotten a bed rolled in for him. She had to watch a birthing video - which in no way helped anything at all as far as she was concerned, fill out a million forms, go over her information about five times but finally, about two hours since even getting here, they started the medicine to get her labor moving along.

Through the night Buffy didn't progress much, she could feel faint contractions but they really felt like nothing more than cramps during her regular period. What bothered her most actually was being woken up every four hours for vitals to be taken, having enough trouble calming her nerves down to even attempt to sleep then add in as soon as she finally started to drift a nurse would come along was testing her patience.

Giles, Willow, Anya, Xander and the others came bristling through come morning to check on her. Her doctor swung by to check on her and to break her water, soon she had the epidural and then it was just a waiting game.

When the actual time came, Buffy's eyes widened as she watched the nurses set up around her and get her into proper position. Angel kissed her forehead and told her he loved her and everything was going to be okay, then he laughed with her as she was too numb to even feel whether she was even pushing or not. The nurse told her she was actually doing more when she laughed then when she tried, but either way she couldn't feel a thing going on down there.

Angel held her hand and coached her along despite the fact she couldn't feel anything, probably better than anyone else who was in the room with them. He cut the umbilical cord when prompted, took a million photos during labor and as they went to get the baby's statistics. She hated being away from him, from either of her boys, but she loved watching him interact with the tiny infant as he took a few more snaps before coming back to her. "You did perfect, mama," Angel whispered.

OoOoO

Two days into their stay at the hospital and Angel had rushed back with some take out containers from Olive Garden which she had insisted she needed, when before he could even set everything down, a nurse was trying to hand him a clipboard. "What's that?" he asked over his shoulder.

"It's for the birth certificate," the nurse told him then began to explain what all he needed to do, where to sign... and then he was looking over at her. "Let me get you a working pen though, I almost forgot," the older woman said and walked to the other side of the room.

He looked confused and whispered her name.

"You don't have to sign it if you don't want to," she told him quietly.

He paled a little and she couldn't blame him. They had established that he wanted to be the father figure in Connor's life but actually being made legal was another thing all together and that had not once really been fully been discussed. He'd mentioned maybe down the road he could adopt Connor if she was okay with it but had made sure to tread very lightly even on saying anything like that in passing, and not all that long ago...

The nurse came back with a pen and Angel slowly sat down on the edge of the bed she was laid down on with as she fed Connor. She could see his hand shaking slightly, and could tell the exact moment when he also noticed O'Roarke being listed letter by letter in the boxes for the last name.

"Are you sure?" he'd barely choked on, looking over his shoulder. "Because you know you don't have to... I mean, I'm here no matter what. You know that."

She nodded. "If it's okay with you anyway," she whispered. "I can change it if it's too much, Angel..." Nothing else hadn't felt right. Leaving the father blank, putting Parker's name anywhere on there, even naming him a Summers didn't feel right somehow.

"No," he breathed out. "I just wasn't expecting..." he trailed off, as he started to sign and date everything, put down the information the pages asked then handed it back over.

"You should get a social security card in the mail for him in the next couple of weeks, you'll have to go to your local health department or order a birth certificate online though," she started to tell them. Then she was gone again a few moments later and they were able to actual talk in private about what in the hell just happened.

OoOoO

On the third day, Buffy was so excited to finally be released and they would get to go home. In many ways she found that almost a bigger moment than many others that had happened the past few days. It made it seem a little more real somehow, that they would be out of the comfort of the hospital, no longer having a team of people around to try and guide them through all of this... no, just get in your car and go be parents basically.

Angel made what felt like a dozen trips back and forth to the car carrying out their bags, gifts they'd had been given from friends, the endless amount of bags of endless supplies the hospital had given them to take home... But finally it was just them, and she and Connor were placed in a wheelchair together for the trip to the front doors while Angel went to bring the car around.

He hopped out to help her into the backseat, not ready to be that far away from the little one yet, and the nurse got Connor safe and sound in the car seat and wished them luck. Then they were making their way back home... ready to start this new journey.

The End.