Disclaimer: I don't own the show. I just borrow the characters for a little while, then I return them after they've had a happy ending. :)
Spoilers: My previous fanfic, "Worth Fighting For". (You don't necessarily have to read WFF to enjoy this, but you might understand this better if you do.)
A/N: So I was going to wait a while before I posted this, but it's finished, so why keep you all waiting? :) This is something I mostly wrote for fun, just a little "what if" piece I had been itching to write. I didn't necessarily want to do a major sequel to "Worth Fighting For" (yet), but I thought I'd at least give you a peek into Buffy and Angel's life. And who knows, maybe I'll write more for this series after all, if my muse is up for it, that is.
One more thing…I had planned for this to be a one-shot, but it turned out to be way too long for a one-shot, so I've broken it up into eleven parts. Thus, some chapters will be shorter than others. And also, this story is completely finished. Expect daily updates!
As always…enjoy!
The Honeymoon
It's been four months since the Hellmouth was permanently closed, and four months since Angel's Shanshu.
Things have been relativity quiet in the vampire world since then. That's a very a good thing, because I've had other things on my mind lately, all of which involve Angel and I in a bed in various stages of undress, or preferably, nothing at all.
I'm still trying to get used to the idea of human Angel, although he's not exactly normal. He's sort of like me. He still has his strength. He still has healing ability. He even says that his sense of smell and sound remain heightened. It was surprising the PTB would restore his humanity and give him abilities, but Angel refused their gift otherwise. I guess the Powers really wanted to thank him. Well, he did help save the world, or Sunnydale at least.
It's half past nine, and we're still in bed. We've been at this beach house somewhere in Mexico for three days now and have only gone to the ocean once. (Moonlight strolls don't really count.) Neither of us have wanted to leave the bedroom, but it's understandable. It is, after all, our honeymoon.
My head rests on his chest, and my hand lies over his heart. I love feeling his heartbeat. I never get tired of it. I can't get over how wonderful that little thump, thump, thump feels, knowing that he's alive. He's human.
Feeling Angel's heartbeat makes me think of other things too…like life in general, and how very precious it is.
And short.
I miss my mother some days more than most, and it reminds me that one day, I'll be gone too. So will Angel, maybe even before me. But I don't like to think of those things, especially during times like this. I want to be happy and live my life to the fullest. Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Angel and I finally have the chance to be together and we should make the most of every moment. Only the Powers know how long that time will last.
I think of what our life will be like as a married couple. What will it be like five years from now? What about ten? I even wonder if we'll have a house full of children someday.
And because Angel is human, we actually could now.
I never gave much thought to having children before. In fact, there were times when I didn't think it would be such a good idea at all. When Giga pets were all the rage, I killed mine by sitting on it. And poor Goldy, my goldfish, didn't even last a week. If anyone had asked me four months ago if I was ready to have children, I would have responded with a resounding "no". I always thought that I'd want children when I was older, maybe thirty, but an unsettling thought crosses my mind.
What if I'm not around in ten years? What if Angel isn't around in ten years? Angel and I face death nearly every day. What if this time, this precious time Angel and I have, is the only time we'll ever have together?
Having Angel be human for a change has made me rethink everything. Before, I never gave much thought to Angel dying. When Angel was immortal, I kind of figured I'd be the first one to go. But now that Angel is human, we're on even playing fields.
We're not going to live forever.
"Angel?"
He doesn't respond. At first I think he's fallen asleep, worn out from our early morning lovemaking, but finally he looks down at me and smiles. "Yeah?"
"Let's make a baby." The words are out of my mouth before I even know what I'm saying. But suddenly, all I can think about is Angel and I having a child.
I wasn't sure if I heard her right.
I'll admit, the thought of Buffy and I having children someday has crossed my mind more than a few times since I returned to, as Buffy would say, the land of the living. But I had always wanted it to be her decision. Whenever the subject of children came up in the past, Buffy was always resistant, claiming she wasn't even fit to take care of a goldfish. I wasn't expecting this decision to come so soon.
She's smiling at me, waiting for my response, and I finally find my voice. "Buffy…are you sure?"
She sits up and pulls the sheet with her. "I know it's sudden."
I move to sit up with her, wrapping my arms around her. "You really want to have a baby?"
Buffy nods. "Yeah, I do. Don't you?"
I smile at her. "Of course. There's nothing that I'd want more than for us to have a family. But having a baby…Buffy, it's a big responsibility. Are you sure you're ready for that? What about finishing college? And more importantly, what about slaying? Having a baby now would be a lot on your plate right now, don't you think?"
Buffy hates it when I do this, when I play devil's advocate. We argue about it sometimes. She says because I'm older, considerably older, that I often try to "impart wisdom" to her. I don't think she's not smart. In fact, she's one of the most intelligent women I have ever known. But I have lived a long life, and I know that making decisions on impulse isn't always the best thing to do.
"I'm not in a hurry to finish college. I still don't know what I want to major in. It's not like I can major in slayage, you know? When the baby comes, I could take a year off, or maybe get Willow to show me how to take classes online. She's already taking one of those online courses and she loves it. And as far as slaying goes…well I'd only be taking a short break from it. I'm sure you and everyone could handle things. I've been away before."
"But, Buffy, having a baby, being a parent…it changes things. You work so hard at keeping everyone else safe and sometimes you don't think about yourself. But that baby is going to depend on you, Buffy. Completely. He or she will be counting on you to come home at night. I'm not saying this to change your mind. I really would like for us to have children someday. But I want to make sure you really want this now. That you're really ready, because there's no rush."
"I am ready. And there is a rush, Angel. Life is short. My mother died this year. And I've already died once and almost again this past summer. We don't know how much time we have here. What if a year from now, god forbid, one of us is gone? Angel, what if we never get this chance again?"
I look at Buffy, and I feel amazed. She is serious about this. I don't like to think of the possibility that we don't have much time, but Buffy is right. How much time do we have in this lifetime? One year? Ten years? Even fifty years doesn't seem like enough time, for it's less time than I've even lived as an immortal. I think of how I would feel if Buffy were to leave me, and I was left behind with nothing but our memories. What if Buffy is right? What if this is our only chance to have a family?
"You know what my mother said to me before she died?" Buffy asks me.
"No, what's that?"
"She told me that being my mother was the greatest thing she had ever done in her life. Angel, I want that for us. I want us to experience that together."
She's looking at me, smiling, with hope in her eyes. She trying hard to convince me, but she doesn't really need to. I want the same thing too.
"Well?" she asks, and I realize she's waiting for my answer.
"Let's make a baby," I say, and Buffy squeals and jumps into my arms, making me fall back onto the bed.
"Can we get started now?" she asks, laughter in her voice.
But I don't have time to answer because she's already kissing me.