*****

It was close to noon when he finally woke, alone in Buffy's bed. He was still sore, but it was getting a little better every day. Slowly, he got out of bed and stood in the doorway. "Buffy?" he yelled.

"Downstairs," came her reply.

Satisfied that she wasn't in any danger, Angel took a shower and changed into a wifebeater and sweats before heading downstairs. He was hungry and had been intending to find something to eat, but the scene that met him at the bottom of the stairs stopped him in his tracks.

Buffy.

Buffy doing aerobics.

Buffy doing aerobics in only a sports bra and a tiny little pair of bicycle shorts.

He couldn't have moved from that spot if his life depended on it. Sure, he'd seen her naked before. Yes, they'd had sex only a few hours ago. He loved her with all his heart. He was completely committed to her for the rest of his life.

But this was different. This wasn't the love of his life doing her best to maintain her health. This was Angel the loser getting to watch the prom queen stretching her hamstrings in hardly anything at all. There were males at school, student and teachers alike, who would kill for this view.

His jaw dropped. He stared and gaped with no shame whatsoever. He had no intention of moving himself from the spot where he stood unless someone forced him to do so. She jumped and bounced and twisted in the most wonderful ways and he, feeling like a voyeur, could do nothing but watch.

But he did that with enthusiasm.

It wasn’t easy to forget that he was engaged to and having a child with the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on. She was the wet dream of the male population of Sunnydale High. At that moment, she seemed untouchable again, set high upon some pedestal where someone like him could never reach her.

It was at that moment, as he stared over her sensuous curves not yet rounded with his child, that he realized that he was luckiest man alive. He settled in against the doorframe and ogled her goodies until she got irritated and chased him away. He went into the kitchen whistling a happy tune.

***

Saturday was a fun, relaxing day that made Angel wonder what it would be like when they were married. She showered when she was finished working out and convinced him to take her for a spin on his motorcycle around town. He suspected that his sweet little prom queen was becoming a bit of a thrill seeker. The knowledge didn’t bode well for someone who just found out she was pregnant.

Of course, he had a few ideas on how she could achieve those thrills in relative safety, so it was all good. The ride was short and quiet. Sunnydale on the whole seemed to be recovering from the holiday. When they pulled into the drive again, Giles' car was home.

Angel hung back as Buffy bounded into the house to welcome her father home. Giles looked tired from his trip and he carefully looked over Angel, Buffy and the house. It was apparent to Angel that Giles knew his rules hadn't been followed while he was gone, but since he had no direct evidence, he held his tongue.

***

Monday morning was interesting. Angel was woken by Giles yelling down the basement stairs. He was still blinking, looking between the barely pinkening sky and Giles in question. Why on earth would anybody be up two hours early for school?

Giles merely shook his head. "Seems that in some respect you are still quite naïve," he said.

Angel's brow furrowed.

Pointing up the stairs, Giles said, "Trust me, if you aren't in that shower in the next five minutes, you'll have to wait an hour and a half for Buffy to vacate the bathroom."

Angel laughed. This was indeed a novel situation. Mock saluting Giles, he headed up the stairs. He doubted that Giles would appreciate him suggesting that he and Buffy could simply shower together to save both time and water. Nope, best to just shower now.

Freshly showered and changed, Angel headed into the kitchen intending to scrounge some sort of food for breakfast. He stopped as he saw that Giles had set the small breakfast table with three bowls, a variety of cereal, milk, juice and coffee. Giles was sitting at the table reading the paper as he sipped his own coffee. Looking up, he motioned Angel to the table.

Wordlessly, Angel took a seat. Was this how normal people got ready for school? He sat down and poured himself a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice. He was still at the table, reading the sports section when Buffy finally entered the room. She looked at the table and rolled her eyes. "Did he already give you the 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' lecture?" she asked.

***

Angel followed behind Buffy’s car on his bike as they went to school on Monday morning. There was something surreal about getting up in the morning and having cereal and coffee with Buffy and Giles, then going to school together. He retrieved his book bag from her car and kissed her softly on the lips before taking her hand in his and walking toward the usual pre-school hang out area.

She turned and smiled at him as they strolled in comfortable silence. It was a dazzling smile, a I’m-going-to-marry-you-and-have-your-children smile. It was a I’ll-see-you-in-the-supply-closet-later smile. It made his cock jolt with desire. For a young male only in high school, it surprised him that the idea of spending his life with her was so appealing. The idea of making love to her thousands of times and knowing every inch of her body, every twist of her hips made his mouth go dry.

When the bell rang for them to head to their first class of the day, she kissed him so carnally every hair on the top of his spiked head singed. She strolled toward her class with Willow without so much as a glance behind her. He watched her until she turned around the corner and disappeared. He was so in love with her that the rest of the world just fell away.

“Is it just me,” Devon mused, blowing smoke out from his cigarette in the direction Buffy had gone, “or is your girl getting sexier?”

“It isn’t just you.” Angel groaned.

“You sure you’re gonna marry the prom queen, Angel?” he asked. Devon squinted up at the morning sun as if he had nowhere to go and nothing to do.

“Don’t make me kill you, Devon,” Angel growled. He was almost thankful for the break in mood. He couldn’t go into any class half crazy with hormones. Irritated was much better.

“Chill man,” Devon chuckled. “I was just asking.”

“And I’m just telling you,” Angel snarled.

Devon nodded casually, flicking his cigarette away to let it smolder in the grass. They fell in step together heading for their first class, metal shop. Devon seemed to be mulling something over pretty hard. Angel was surprised he couldn’t smell something burning from all the effort. "She's damn fine," Devon finally offered, "but are you sure? I mean, the band is really just starting to take off. Groupies, Angel. Groupies. How can you really think of tying yourself to one chick for forever?"

"I love her," Angel said tersely.

Devon sighed. "Yeah, but you should give it some time. I mean, that's gotta be a drag livin' with her and her old man. Sure, your pop is a jerk, but I bet Giles has rules and shit. Like, I bet he expects you to keep curfew. How can you live like that?"

Angel searched for a way to sufficiently explain the situation to Devon's little pea brain. He smiled as it came to him. "Cindy Crawford workout tapes," he said.

Devon came to complete stop, gaping at Angel. Cindy Crawford workout tapes were sacred things. Devon had already worn out three different copies. "Don't tease me, man," he threatened.

"She does them every morning," Angel said. "In the living room."

Devon looked away, clearly thinking hard. "Dammit," he cursed. "Maybe I should get married."

***

The day went by fast and the week faster. Angel, Buffy and Giles made up for the changes a newcomer brought into their lives and they fell into a mostly happy harmony together. Buffy and Angel were suffering by being forced to sleep separately but at the same time neither would ask Giles for permission to change the arrangements. And much to Buffy’s dismay, Angel wouldn’t sneak into her bed when Giles was in the house. All the pouting and flaunting of skin could not get him to go upstairs in the middle of the night.

Angel was all for fooling around in the living room and quickies in the supply closet at school, but she wanted to make love for half the night, not a wham bam thank you ma’am. After a week, Buffy was simply done with trying to persuade him. She decided to bring out the big guns.

It was dark, the house was quiet and she was tired. It stood to reason that she should be asleep by now, but she wasn’t. She tiptoed to her closet and took down the box hiding in the back. Inside, nestled in tissue paper was her weapon of choice.

She discarded her nightgown and panties and slipped on the crimson negligee gleefully. She shoved the box back in the closet before looking in the mirror. She turned around carefully in the dark to look at herself. The bottom was short, barely covering the tops of her thighs and the top dipped down leaving an embarrassing amount of chest in plain view.

With a wicked smile on her face, she put on the matching lipstick she bought the same day and made her way to the basement as quietly as she could. He awake and sitting at the desk she made her father buy him with only the desk lamp to illuminate the room. He was bent over the desk, wearing only boxers.

“Hey baby. What cha doin?” she asked, posing for effect before closing in on him with a hefty swing to her hips. She was glad now that her bare feet landed on the area rug that she had fought tooth and nail for it.

He swallowed audibly and stared at her for a moment before answering. “You should be…ah…” he mumbled as his eyes raked over her body. He licked his lips and struggled to stay in his chair.

“On your lap?” she finished, smiling innocently at him. “Okay.”

She straddled him in his chair and rubbed herself against him.

Part of him wanted to tell her to march back upstairs and go to bed before her father caught them. But frankly, for all Angel cared, that part of him could fuck right off. One arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her to his healing chest while the opposite hand threaded through her hair, holding the back of her head so he could kiss her breathless.

Buffy wasn't even aware that they were moving until her back hit the bed. She started to push herself up into a sitting position, but he pressed gently on her chest, pinning her back against the bed. "Baby," she whined, "you're still all broken."

"I'm feeling much better," he countered, the warning in his voice evident as he used one hand to shed his boxers. She grinned, loving the fact that he was indeed feeling better. His bruises were fading fast and the cast would come off his hand next week. She knew he was anxious to get back to work at the shop. But right now, she could think of so many more exciting uses for his healing body.

He didn’t bother to remove her lingerie. Instead, he moved inside her, anxious to be hugged by her snug channel. They both groaned in pleasure at the joining and began moving together in a deliberate and tender rhythm. Moans were engulfed by long, enticing kisses and they devoured each other with mutual desire.

Long after they had finished making love, they held each other and memorized their lover’s body in inching caresses that took them full circle into lust once again. When the sun was starting to peak over the horizon, Angel and Buffy were dozing.

“You have to go upstairs,” Angel whispered, kissing her brow. She whimpered at the thought of leaving his warm body for her own bigger bed. “Your father’s going to wake me up in less than an hour, baby,” he said, nudging her gently.

Muttering under her breath in complaint, she rose from his side and padded up the stairs. Yawning, she climbed in bed and glanced at the clock. She would be sleeping through her classes later that day, but her in opinion it was completely worth it. As she drifted off to sleep, she idly wondered if she could sneak a nap in the stacks without her father finding her.

***

Angel was just pulling on his jacket as he saw the headlights of Buffy's car. "Bud, I'm takin' off," he called.

Bud grunted from underneath a '93 Buick. Angel just smiled. In the two weeks since he'd had the cast off, he and Bud had made quick work of the backlog that accumulated while he couldn't work. It was nice to feel useful again, and to be pulling in money. Christmas was a week away and he had yet to buy anything for either Buffy or Giles. But no gift shopping was going to happen tonight. Tonight was for the Christmas tree.

By the time Angel got out to the car, Buffy had already switched over to the passenger's side. It amused him to no end that she hated driving in front of him. Surely, she had to know he'd never openly criticize. But it seemed to make her too self-conscious.

He slid behind the wheel, leaning over to give her passionate kiss before anything else. She beamed at him and snuggled into her seat. He knew all too well that she had been excited about buying their first Christmas tree together as a family. Since his mother died, he hadn’t really thought much of the holidays. They were for people who had a real family and affection for each other. He grinned when he realized that after all these years he finally had it again.

There were a lot of people milling around Sunnydale’s only tree lot. Buffy and Angel nodded at several people they knew, but there wasn’t time to stop and chat. Buffy wanted to get the perfect tree and Angel was perfectly amenable to letting her pick over the less desirable specimens before she got the perfect one.

When they got back home, the phone was ringing. Angel hauled the tree in himself despite the massive size of the thing. Even with Buffy’s complaints, there was no way he was going to let his pregnant fiancé struggle with the evergreen.

Just as he was leaning it against the wall, Giles appeared in the doorway. His expression was grim as he held out the portable phone. “Angel,” he said tersely, “it’s your father.”

Angel stared at Giles for a moment before crossing the room and taking the phone from him. It wouldn’t have surprised him more if Buffy’s father had punched him in the gut. He held the phone to his ear and turned toward the window. He was well aware that Buffy and Giles stood listening. Neither seemed to have the desire to walk away and leave him in privacy. He could have walked out the room, but he didn’t feel the need to hide anything from them. They were his family now, not the broken man on the phone.

“Hello?” Angel said in voice that belied his frustration.

“Angel, I need your help at the bar. Business has been picking up for the holidays. Can you work tomorrow night?” Angel snarled at the phone. He wanted to be shocked, but he wasn’t. His dad always acted as if nothing had happened after he beat him. The only difference this time was that he had somewhere to go.

“I’m busy,” Angel replied.

“Look, we had a fight. No need to make a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Angel growled. “I gave that ring to Buffy because I intend to marry her and raise our child together.”

“So, you knocked her up. Way to fuck things up, boy. Always knew you were a chip off the ole block.”

Angel was dead silent for a moment. "I'm busy," he repeated, clicking off the phone. He looked up to find Buffy and Giles staring at him with so much concern he wanted to scream. He swallowed thickly, wishing to gods he could crawl under a rock and hide. "I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know how he tracked me down here. I don't think he'll call again."

Angel participated in the rest of the evening, but only physically. With Buffy's directing, he and Giles managed to get the tree into the treestand in a vaguely level manner. The thing was enormous, but as always, Buffy was prepared for this contingency and she managed to produce box after box of ornaments and lights. Angel did his part, hanging ornaments where Buffy directed, stringing lights where she couldn't reach.

He laughed and talked, but it was all just a sham. Just like his father said, he was a chip off the ole block. If he truly loved Buffy, he'd let her cut her losses now by walking away. He belonged with his father on the bad side of town in their shitty little trailer fighting and fucking just to remind himself he was alive and then drinking himself into oblivion when life got to be too much. But above all, he didn't belong here and he definitely didn't deserve the love that shone in Buffy's eyes when she looked at him.

***

Hours later, her was still awake, staring blankly at the dark ceiling. Thoughts whirled through his mind, logic warring with emotion. He was so intent on his internal dialogue that he didn't even hear Buffy until she climbed into the little bed with him.

If she had spoken, it would have given him the perfect opportunity to set her straight, to unload all the self-loathing that threatened to choke him. He could have reminded her why they could never work, why all he could ever bring her was pain and shame. He could have pushed her away for her own good, spared their child the horror of knowing his or her father.

But Buffy didn't speak. She simply wrapped herself around him and kissed him with such pure, gentle love that he couldn't stop the tears that wet his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her, buried his face in her neck and clung to her. Tears that he had held in since he was a child, since he lost his mother, since he joined his father in no man’s land, came to the surface and he held her tighter. He held on to the one person who made all the difference and knew he should get up then and walk away.

“I love you so much,” she whispered, holding on to him even more tightly. “You’re everything to me, Angel.” Silence pressed around her. She smoothed her hands over his back and rubbed in wide, soothing circles.

“You’re not him,” she whispered.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. It was so easy to hold her in the dark, to feel her and smell her without having to look into those eyes that could see right through his soul. "I don't want my child to be ashamed of me," he admitted quietly.

"Angel," she said, sharply sucking in a breath. The depth of his pain never failed to wound her to the bone. "Our child will love you just as much as I do."

And for once, he pushed the pain away and let himself believe her.

***

Angel was breaking down his drum kit when he looked up at the young man sitting alone at one of the Bronze's tables. It was early Friday evening and Tommy, the manager at the Bronze, had given them the go-ahead to practice since they didn't have any bands scheduled. Normally Fridays would be prime real estate, but this close to Christmas, the schedule was dead. There were a few customers milling around, but not many. "Hey, man," he said to Oz, "isn't that Willow's friend?"

Oz looked up from re-stringing his guitar and nodded. "Xander," he said.

Twenty minutes later, they were done loading equipment and ready to leave. Oz and Angel stopped by Xander's table. "Busy?" Oz asked, nodding toward the comic book Xander was reading.

He smiled wryly. "Can't you tell?"

"Buffy and Willow are having some Christmas party tonight," Angel said. "I doubt there will be anything more exciting than the Island of Misfit Toys and some alcohol free eggnog, but you're welcome to join."

***

Angel was in hell. He didn’t mind Christmas or chaperoned Christmas parties. He was even willing to live with the fact that Buffy had chosen a teensy black skirt and a red silk camisole to wear that had his hormones raging on over time when he couldn’t touch her unless Giles wasn’t around. The sad part of the party was the mixing of two worlds. Buffy had graciously invited the Cordettes to attend the party as a sort of peace offering and unfortunately, they all had the nerve to show.

Cordelia Chase and her fashion police friends looked down their nose at him every chance they got and made snide remarks when Buffy wasn’t around. As much as Angel wanted to defend himself, he couldn’t very well kill one of her friends without her noticing their absence. He sighed into his eggnog. Pity.

Angel retreated to the kitchen where he was quickly joined by Oz, Xander and Spike. They were standing around bullshitting when Cordelia pranced into the kitchen in all her glory. Angel was steeling himself for some bitchy comment, but as soon as her eyes lighted on Xander, all the snobbishness vanished. Tight lipped, Cordy quickly grabbed a diet soda out of the refrigerator before turning on her heel and leaving. "Did I just miss something or did Cordelia Chase just forego an opportunity to insult me?" he asked.

"You're not wrong," Oz offered. "Plus, I think she was blushing."

Both Oz and Angel turned to look at Xander who was doing his best to memorize the titles of Giles cookbooks.

"Oh, this is too good," Angel nearly purred.

***

"What?" Buffy asked.

With a sigh, Angel lifted his head from her breasts enough to be intelligible. "I said," he repeated, "that Cordelia has something going on with Xander."

“Nuh uh,” Buffy snorted. “You had too much eggnog, sweetie.”

“If I were going to tease you,” he said huskily, inching her skirt up, “I wouldn’t waste the opportunity talking about Cordy and Xander.”

Buffy hummed in appreciation as Angel rubbed her through the silk of her red lace holiday panties. She ran her fingers through his spiky hair, smiling down on him. He didn’t benefit from it. He had his attentions elsewhere on her body. With a sigh, she looked at the festive tree they were laying under.

“Do you want your present tonight or tomorrow morning?" Angel asked.

She ground down against his denim-clad erection. "You can wait 'til tomorrow?" she teased.

"That present," he assured her, "you're getting tonight and tomorrow. I meant the one I wrapped."

"Well, in that case," she said, smiling, "now, of course."

"You have no patience."

"Neither do you. Now gimme."

Laughing, Angel reached out and dug through the presents under the tree until he found the one he was looking for. He handed it to her and she sat back, straddling his waist as she opened it intently.

As she lifted the lid off the small box, she gasped. "Angel," she said, her eyes shooting to his face. Very carefully, she pulled the delicate bracelet out of the box, avidly eyeing the way the tiny diamonds sparkled in the twinkling light from the Christmas tree. "How?" she flustered. "Why?"

"I hope you like it," he said. "I saw you looking at it in one of your magazines."

"It's beautiful," she said honestly.

"I want to see you in it," he told her seriously. She smiled down at him, dutifully threading it around her wrist. "I want to see you in only the bracelet," he amended wickedly.

Buffy looked down at him, scandalized but smiling. She glanced around the living room. "Angel, my dad could walk in at any time," she whispered.

"He won't," Angel said with a smirk. "Did you see how much eggnog he and Ms. Calendar put away tonight? He's out for the evening." Angel didn't add on that he'd seen his future father-in-law and the computer teacher doing some serious making out underneath the mistletoe. Right now, he was much more intent on his own sex life than Giles'.

“Good point,” she mused. “But first, I have to give you your present.”

“All I need is to see you in that bracelet,” he said, but watched her shapely backside as she rooted through the presents under the tree. Carefully, she balanced two boxes and set them in front of him. She twirled the bracelet around her wrist and watched him intently. It occurred to him to tell her she got him too much but he knew his little shopper would just be upset by the comment.

The first box was a bit on the larger side and he tore open the paper and lifted the lid. Inside were the black leather steel toed boots he had been eyeing for years. They had to have set her – correction Giles – back two hundred bucks. His jaw dropped.

Buffy clapped her hands with glee. “Open the other one!”

“Buffy,” he gaped. He was speechless. “How did you know?”

“Baby, all I had to do was follow the trail of drool to the store,” she said, giggling. “Come on, quit stalling. Open the other one.”

Angel pulled her into his lap with a huge grin on his face and kissed her breathlessly. Keeping her in his lap, he opened the second present. Inside was a sleek black picture frame holding a picture of the two of them he hadn’t seen before. Buffy was in jeans and one of those tank tops he loved so much and he, apparently unaware of the world around him, had his arms wrapped around her waist from behind. He hadn’t been aware until that moment how his face looked when he was with her. It was plainly obvious how much he loved her.

"You like?" she asked, biting down on her bottom lip anxiously.

He smiled at her. "I love," he told her, kissing the end of her nose.

She nearly purred, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling against the underside of his jaw. She kissed his neck wetly. "Now where were we?"

***

The sun was already up on a bright Christmas morn as Rupert Giles made his way very slowly down the hall. He had to go slowly otherwise his head might explode. Lord, what had those children spiked the eggnog with? He hadn't felt like this since his Oxford days.

He groaned, rubbing his temple as he steadied himself with one hand on the banister. He turned, glancing inside Buffy's room and stopped. He blinked and looked again. He sighed, slowly turning and making his way down the stairs in defeat. Yes, Angel was asleep in Buffy's bed, curled around her body. Yes, it was painfully apparent that both of them were nude under the covers. But honestly, what could Giles possibly say about it on Christmas morning? He wasn’t sure if he had honestly expected the two of them to be capable of behaving under his roof anyway.

***

Giles was sitting at the kitchen table an hour later when Buffy and Angel finally came downstairs. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a glass of Scotch in the other.

Buffy gaped at him. "Daddy?"

Angel just snickered. "Little hair of the dog, Rupert?"

Giles glared at the young man. "Considering that I know you slept in my daughter's room last night," he said darkly, "perhaps you best cut an old man some slack."

“Uh..I think I’ll make breakfast,” Angel said, turning quickly toward the refrigerator. Giles groaned pitifully behind him. “On second thought,” Angel said. He quirked a grin as he looked through the refrigerator and cabinets. Having an alcoholic loser for a dad might pay off after all.

“Baby, where’s the blender?” Angel asked, rummaging through the cabinets. She looked at him with amusement as she pulled it out of a lower cabinet.

“Are you trying to poison us?” She looked over the various ingredients sitting on the counter. Angel just laughed as he blended his concoction. Buffy sat down and looked from her father to her lover and back again and held in a laugh as her dad swayed on his chair. When Angel set a suspicious glass of thick fluid in front of him, Giles looked at him in horror.

“Trust me,” Angel said. “It’s a proven cure for hangovers. It tastes horrible though.”

Giles gasped and turned green after the first sip, but with Angel’s encouragement, he kept drinking. He resorted to holding his nose and trying not to gag. Angel was ten minutes into preparing breakfast for everyone when Giles gasped, “That gruel you gave me is a miracle cure!”

“Told you,” Angel said, winking at Buffy.

She gave him a heart-stopping smile and hugged him. “Can I help with breakfast?” she asked cheerfully.

He smiled at her. "You have many glorious talents, my love. But none of them are to be found in the kitchen."

Buffy mock growled, but Angel flicked the hand towel, snapping her on the backside before finish his task sans help.

***

"This is just … I, uh, wow," Angel said, looking at the new jacket Giles had bought him. It was a leather jacket and wouldn't look out of place in his closet, but it was much nicer, and warmer than his other jacket.

"I noticed Buffy seems to have commandeered your other one," Giles noted offhandedly. "I thought it best not to let you freeze to death." He sent his daughter a pointed look, "Regardless of how unlikely I find that scenario given we live in Southern California."

"Your present is in your office," Angel said self-consciously.

Giles' brow furrowed, but he rose to his feet and headed for the office. Angel followed him nervously. After buying Buffy's bracelet, he hadn't had enough money to purchase anything for Giles, so he'd been forced to make something. He only hoped it was appropriate.

"Good lord," Giles said in awe, looking at the office. While Giles had been occupied with Ms. Calendar the previous evening, Angel had snuck in the office and installed the new wall of bookcases. He'd made them in woodshop and personally thought they were better quality than you'd find in most stores. But he still knew that some people wouldn't appreciate that fact.

Giles walked over to the shelves and lovingly ran his hand along the woodwork. He turned, looking at Angel. "Did you make these yourself?" he asked quietly.

Angel merely nodded.

"I can't … " Giles trailed off. "Angel this is a very thoughtful present. I can't begin to thank you enough. It's perfect."

***