ties2

Suddenly, she stops, looking deeply in my eyes. �I love you.� We stare at each other, not moving. �I am in love with you.� Still joined together, she rolls on her back, pulling me on top of her. She unwraps her arms from mine, grabs both my hands, twining my fingers with hers.

I brace myself on my elbows as she stares up at me, holding my hands. �I love you,� she says again, �and I never want to lose you again.�

�Never happen,� I tell her.

�Swear it,� she whispers, her eyes filled with need.

�I will never leave you, Buffy, I will be with you until the very end.� I kiss her, and we both feel the truth in it.

I move within her. Slowly, gently, we make love. I close my eyes and see fleeting visions that I can�t grasp onto and don�t understand. As we move, I hear her whisper in my ear, words of love repeated over and over. Words of devotion, of secrets revealed, of paradise gained.

I hear her scream and I scream along with her. The pleasure that I find with her scalds me, burns me through and through. I feel the sun, the bright rays burning down on me. Warm, glowing, I rest upon her chest.

We must have fallen asleep, because when I awaken, the room is black, the only illumination the small pool of light from the lamp. Buffy sits in my chair, chatting quietly on her phone. I sit up, and she turns to me.

She covers the phone with her hand. �Are you up for going home and having pizza with Dawn?�

�Sure, sounds good.� �We�ll be there in half an hour, Dawnie. Be sure to find out what Cordy likes on her pizza. Can I pick up what? Sure, I can do that.� Hanging up, she jumps on my bed. �Up, up, lazybones. Get up, up, up.� I grab her leg, knocking her down. She kisses me, then slaps my ass. �Get a move on. We�ve got company waiting.�

I get up, pulling on my clothes. �Just the great bleeding poof and his prissy little sidekick. No great shakes there.� Buffy shakes her head. �There�s someone there you�re definitely going to want to meet.�

We walk together, hand in hand, through the cemetery. �We have to come back later and patrol,� says Buffy. �I�ve been pretty slack lately.� �I�m up for kicking some ass,� I say. She laughs. �Yeah, you always are.�

Walking through Sunnydale, Buffy stops off at a convenience store. She goes in, while I take the opportunity to grab a smoke. Leaning against the wall outside, blowing smoke in the air, I look up at the stars. I can�t remember ever feeling so good, so content.

Buffy comes out, handing me a paper sack holding bottles of soda. She carries a plastic bag of diapers. �Why are you buying nappies?� I ask her, grinning. �Something biologically impossible that you�re trying to tell me?�

�They�re for Connor,� she replies. �Angel�s son. The biologically impossible baby.�

I stop, staring at her. �What in the bloody hell do you mean?� She turns, looking at me. �Darla and Angel had a son. His name is Connor.� My mind reels. �But that�s-�

�Not possible,� she says, �I know that, you know that. But he�s here.�

�Darla too?� Is still can�t believe it.

She shakes her head. �Darla�s dead.�

�How?� Darla �dead?

�I don�t know, I just know she�s gone,� she tells me. �Angel�s not really into chatting about the whole situation.�

We continue on, carrying our bags. �This should be one hell of an interesting evening.�

Walking into the house on Revello Drive, we are hit with a cacophony of noise. A crying baby and a screaming match are right in front of us. Cordelia is patting the back of a sobbing baby, glaring at Willow, who is screaming at a crying Tara and a stony faced Angel.

�How could you be so stupid?� yells Willow. �I didn�t bring her back from the dead so that she could-�

Turning to look at us as we enter, Willow falls silent. Cordelia turns, stalking into the living room. I turn to look at Buffy. Her face is hard, her eyes cold as they bore into Willow. �Please do finish that sentence, Will. I�m sure you weren�t going to say anything you wouldn�t tell me to my face.�

Willow lifts her chin, meeting Buffy�s eyes. �I didn�t bring you back from the dead so that you could spend all your time screwing yet another vampire.�

Stalking over to Willow, Buffy raises her arm to strike her. Angel grabs her arm, holding it still. �Don�t do this, Buffy. Don�t do something you�ll regret.�

�Get your goddamn hand off my woman, Angelus.� My woman now, not his.

Angel smirks at me, not moving his hand. �Your woman? Don�t you mean to say your wife?�Buffy spins and stares at me, eyes open wide.

The jig is up.