Giles nodded. "He apparently sought out this woman, Amanda, and convinced her to summon Clarice."

Slowly Liz turned to Nick. His face was drawn, his jaw clenched tightly as he listened to Giles.

"Why would Dan do this?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he said harshly, "but we're going to find out."

"But he's worked for your mom for years," she said. "This is unbelievable."

Nick nodded again. "It's too much of a coincidence. Dan had to have planned this from the start. He's been playing us this whole time."

With a muttered curse, he rose from his chair to pace. His hands were clenched tightly.

Giles and Liz's gaze met and the Watcher nodded to her before leaving the room to give them privacy.

"Nick?" she called softly.

He didn't respond, too lost in his own thoughts, his jaw muscles flexing with his barely contained fury.

Rising, Liz walked over to Nick and gently touched his elbow. He turned, clearly surprised to see her standing so close.

"It's not your fault," she said quietly.

He snorted derisively. "I *trusted* him," he said, his voice full of self-loathing. "How many nights did I leave mom there alone with him, assuming that she would be safe with him?"

"You couldn't have known," Liz pled. "Besides, your mom is a Slayer, she can take care of herself."

"*Used to be*," he said. "She used to be a Slayer. Now, she's just a woman. He could have hurt her, killed her at any time and I wouldn't have suspected a thing until it was too late."

At a loss for what to do, Liz hugged him tightly.

Hours later, the entire Scoobie extended family, plus Amanda, once again stood in Giles living room. Willow sat on the floor on a white sheet, a small brazier in front of her, burning with a mix of herbs and incense. Across from her sat Amanda, with a lock of Angel's hair gripped tightly between her fingers.

The woman was struggling to maintain composure. She'd come a long way from the scared little girl that Angel had hurt so badly, but being near him and all of his family members was still incredibly painful. Seeing Nicholas had been a particularly agonizing blow.

She steeled herself. No matter what Angel had done, she hadn't had the right to destroy his life, or the lives of his wife and son. She knew she had to forgive him or it would poison her life forever. Revoking her summons would be the first step in that direction.

She watched as Willow started chanting the words. The air felt heavy, oppressive, but she didn't falter. On cue from the witch, she spoke the words and threw the lock of Angel's hair into the fire.

There was a bright flash of light and the sensation of an enormous power moving through the air.

Moments later, everyone was coughing. Giles flicked on the lights and opened a window as Willow doused the brazier.

"Did it work?" Amanda asked, coughing loudly.

"I think so," Willow said placidly.

Amanda followed her gaze and jumped as the demoness formerly known as Clarice stood beside them, human facade gone, replaced by a veiny demonic countenance. Her power source, once again in medallion form, securely around her neck.

"It's about time," she grumbled at the witch.

Buffy arched an eye at Angel.

"What?" he asked in exasperation.

"She's *cute*," she snarked, trying to smother a laugh.

He scowled. "She didn't look like that at the time," he said. "Besides, if I remember correctly, I wasn't too pretty in game face and you still slept with me."

Buffy frowned, but remained silent.

The vengeance demon, whose real name was apparently Klarisara, was quite relieved to have been returned to the mortal plane. Death, it appeared, was not her forte and she was anxious to get back to D'Hoffryn as soon as possible.

"Don't worry," the demoness said, "I don't have any loyalty to that little shit. The jerk killed me!"

Buffy frowned. Odd, that someone in the vengeance business would be so outraged by a little double cross, she thought to herself.

"Who was he working for?" Willow asked again, her patience running thin.

"I don't know," the demoness replied. "Some demons that used to be hot shit around here, the Darths ... or Dorns or something like that."

"Drons?" Anya screeched, jumping out of her chair to glare at the demoness.

She shrugged. "Yeah, that sounds right."

"You should be ashamed," she admonished. "The Drons were a highly powerful race of demons and you don't even know who they were. Don't they teach you anything these days? I can't believe the D'Hoffryn's standards have fallen so low."

Klarisara rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed with the censure.

"What does this mean?" Buffy asked Giles nervously.

The aged Watcher sighed loudly. "The Drons were powerful, one of the foremost bringers of the apocalypse before the End of Days. After the battle ... I don't know. They disappeared when the Hellmouth was closed. Their power was dependent on energy flow between dimensions. I'm surprised that any of them are even alive."

"When the Hellmouth closed, a large portal of demonic energy flow was shut off, keeping out certain demons while at the same time stranding others, like the Drons, in this dimension. Some demons, however, are able to work around it entirely. Vengeance demons are largely unaffected; and vampires, while they can no longer create more of their kind, still exist here with little problem."

"So it doesn't take a lot to figure out what they want," Angel said ruefully. "If they re-open the Hellmouth, they can regain their power and reclaim their position at the top of the food chain."

Giles nodded in agreement.

"And Dan made a deal with them," Nick said. "He helps them regain power and he gets to be a big player after they take over."

There were murmurs of agreement throughout the room.

"Excuse me for being dense," Amanda said quietly, "but what does this have to do with Angel."

Giles frowned. "Honestly, I don't know," he said. "I can see no relation between any of this, and Buffy and Angel."

"Oh no," Xander groaned, sinking down in his chair. "I feel a research party coming on."

Giles smiled. "I do believe you are correct," he said, rising and heading towards one of the large bookcases that ringed his living room. "The Drons' targeting of Buffy and Angel has been too direct for any sort of coincidence. There has to be a specific reason they are after you."

Xander sighed, rising from his chair to grab books while Willow did the same. There were only a few texts in Giles library that could possibly shed any light on the situation. So while the Watcher, Willow, and Xander pored over the musty books, the other were sent home to try and get some sleep.

"I *really* don't want to inconvenience you," Amanda said nervously as she took the blankets Buffy offered.

Buffy swallowed and met her gaze. "I know this is awkward," she said, "but the bottom line is that it's too dangerous for you to go home. By now, Dan has to know that you helped us break the spell. There's no more police investigation, Angel is free and clear. Dan will go after you."

Amanda nodded. She knew that it was the truth, but staying in Angel's house, with his new wife, in his son's old room was hard to handle. Still, it had to be done. With a forced smile, she bid Buffy good night, deeply thankful that she was so exhausted she knew that she'd be asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Liz rolled over in bed and studied Nick's sleeping face. He was still angry and had hardly said two words to her all evening, but his arm was clamped tightly around her hips. She understood why he was the way he was. He'd had a hard life, growing up with just his mom, knowing how dangerous her life was. He was by nature, fiercely over-protective, especially of her and Buffy.

Today, he felt like he'd failed them, first by allowing Dan so near Buffy, and then by allowing Liz to venture into a particularly dangerous situation. It didn't matter to him that they were both completely able to take care of themselves. He took it upon himself to look after them, protect them.

Liz knew the only reason that they weren't spending the night at Buffy's, where he could keep an eye on both of them, was that Nick apparently trusted his father to be able to defend his mother. Liz had taken it as a good sign of the growing bond between Nick and Angel, knowing that Nick wouldn't have trusted anyone else with the responsibility.

Unable to help herself, she reached out, running her fingers through his dark hair that was so like his father's. His eyes opened immediately, focusing on her. Without a word, he pulled her against himself, capturing her lips in a possessive kiss.

Angel hung up the phone, staring at Buffy as she exited the bathroom, still damp from her shower. She was distracted, brushing out her hair and then moisturizing. Slowly, she became aware of his gaze, and her eyes met his.

"What?" she asked nervously, taking in his somber expression.

"That was Giles," he said quietly.

"And?" Buffy prompted, walking over to the bed and taking a seat next to him.

He pulled her onto his lap, hugging her tightly for several minutes. Buffy didn't know what Giles had told him, but she allowed the contact, sensing his desperation. It was a long time before he spoke again.

"Buffy ... " he began, and then trailed off, his emotions in turmoil.

"Just tell me," she said quietly, gently rubbing her fingers along his neck.

"Giles found a prophecy," he said. "He's certain that it's the reason the Drons have been trying to hurt us."

"Go on," Buffy said, her voice a bare whisper.

Angel took a deep breath, and said, "The Hellmouth is sealed, but not gone."

Buffy nodded.

"As long as it's still there, it can be re-opened. It needs to be wiped out of existence."

Frowning, Buffy asked, "We're supposed to destroy it?"

"No," Angel said. "The new Slayer will when she arrives."

The furrow in her brow grew even deeper as she looked at her husband. "New Slayer? I was the last Slayer. There haven't been anymore since the End of Days."

Slowly, Angel's hand moved from where he gripped her hip, around to her stomach and settled low on her belly. His expression was extremely sober as he said, "Our daughter."

Buffy's breath caught in her throat and tears pricked her eyes. "But we can't ..." she said, her voice trailing off sadly.

"We will," he said matter-of-factly. "A little girl, born with her mother's power. According to Giles, it doesn't sound like she'll actually have to do anything. Merely being born should balance some sort of mystical force enough to destroy the Hellmouth."

Buffy swallowed harshly and moved her trembling hand to cover Angel's. "But we stopped trying," she said quietly.

He smiled lopsidedly at her, kissing her gently. "Buffy," he said with amusement, "you stopped the fertility treatments, but it's not like we haven't been intimate, and we definitely haven't been doing anything to prevent a pregnancy."

She sighed, too afraid to actually believe what he was saying. She wanted another child so desperately, but had thought it a mere pipe dream.

"How long has it been since you've ..." he trailed off.

Buffy thought about it. It had been about five weeks since her last period. In most women, it wouldn't have exactly been reason for worry, but she had always been very regular. It was probably something to do with being a Slayer, but you could almost set a clock by the regularity of her cycles. Also, the symptoms that always accompanied them were conspicuously absent.

She'd been so discouraged, so distracted that she hadn't even considered the possibility.

Slowly, she met his gaze. "I'm late," she said quietly, hope creeping into her voice.

"The Drons will do anything to keep her from being born," Angel said soberly, his arms wrapping tightly around her once again.

Buffy twined her arms around his neck, hugging him fiercely. Now that they'd discussed it, she was almost certain that she was pregnant. *Nothing* was going to happen to this baby.

"We'll find them, Buffy," Angel said gruffly.

He'd just gotten her back, and now she was carrying their child, a helpless little girl. No one was going to hurt his family.

 

The End

 

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