Life's Scares
by Caela

Disclaimer- I own Jena, Feyrin, Danielle. The rest is Joss'.

Buffy stood up with Jena in her arms from the couch and walked to the kitchen table with Giles and Angel. Buffy was relaxing with Jena, her muscles hurt from all the running. But she knew that that would soon go away. She sat on the chair next to Angel and situated Jena so that she was, too, facing the conversation's leader, Giles. "You can't run, Angel. Its wouldn't be healthy for Jena." Angel took a deep breath as he studied the "younger" man's expression.

"What do you sugest we do?" Angel's voice grew frustrated. "I don't want to have to move Jena from Sunnydale, it wouldn't be right. But if that means that she will be in danger than I don't think we have a choice but to move." Jena could feel the tension building up in her father's face and body from just sitting next to him and crawled from one parent to the other so that she sat on his lap and hugged him as tight as she could.

"Its ok, Daddy. Its ok." She tried to best to reassure her father the way he had earlier that day.

Angel smiled at how their parts had switched, she the parent and he the child, taking comfort in her soothing arms. He hugged her back and stood up, beginning to rub her back with his free hand.

"We are going to figure something out, but for right now, I think we all need a little rest, especially Buffy," He recieved a nod from everyone in the room, aside from Jena and held out his hand to Buffy, taking it away from Jena's back. Buffy stood up and took his hand. He led her up stairs, passing their friends while they were heading up the stairs, They wished them good day and goodnight and promised to call tomarrow in the mid morning. Angel continued to pull Buffy into their master bedroom and gestured for her to sit and lay down on the bed. She did so and waited for further instructions.

Angel began to shut the door when he heard Buffy call his name out softly.

"Angel..." He turned to look at her in mid action. "You can put Jena in her own room. She'll be ok, we can hear her from in here. I want to talk to you alone." Angel smiled at her, giving a reassuring thought to himself.

Angel pulled Jena away from his body so that he could look at her face. He asked, "Are you ok with being in your own room and taking a nap?" She thought about this for a moment, taking in all the things that were positive and negative, weighing them out. Finally, she gave him a hard nod. "Thats my girl." Angel walked her to her room, tucked her in and shut the door. He wasn't sure what Buffy had planned for discussion but he wasn't sure he wanted her to hear what was going to be said. He returned to his waiting wife and sat with her on the bed, cupping her fetal position behind her and got himself situated. It was then that he was reminded as to how small her body and frame was to his.

"I don't want to move, Angel. But if we have to, thats fine." She turned in his arms and looked him in the eye. "I want her to be safe. I don't want anything to happen to her. I knew that it was too good to be true for her to be seen as a normal little girl. They will never leave us alone, will they, Angel?" Her eyes were brimming with tears as she was pleading with him to tell her the truth, knowing that that truth would hurt. He nodded and kissed her forhead, then her cheeks. He pulled back a little bit and took a peek at her expression and switched his gaze from her lips to her eyes. Finally, he leaned in and kissed her on her beautifully shaped lips. Their kiss deepened as Angel began to hover over her, holding his weight with his arms on either side of her shoulders. His hands would run through her hair and up her shirt to run his fingers against her tight belly and sides. Just as Buffy began to unbutton his shirt Buffy snapped her head towards the door, listening intently. Then she began to sit up and slowly rise, while Angel watched and followed her gaze and moved away from her. She stood up slowly and reached their door. She began to rush in a small jog down the hall and after only a second of that she shifted to a complete run as she opened the door to Jena's room. She was gone. Buffy peeked out the window and saw a man in a black jeep speeding off down the road.

"Oh, my gods" Buffy muttered to herself and rushed down the stairs. With Angel at her heels. They had spent the rest of the day searching for her. Everyone was involved this time, while Danielle went out to search the places that she used to take the kids when they were in groups, the park, museum and mall. The others checked on their sources. Feyrin was left with the confidence of all the Scoody-Gang parents that their kids would be safe with him there. The kids were not permited out of the house. The doors were to be locked at all times, not even for a pizza guy.

* * *

Riley held the little girls hand as he walked through an oversized house looking building. Finally, he came to a door in the main hallway and led her inside. There were men talking amongst one another, he had possibly interupted an important meeting. They all seemed to recognize who the girl was, but no one said anything until Riley spoke up. "I would like you to meet my..." he waited for everyone's attention, "niece." Their jaws dropped.

* * *

They had just had another round of searching and they had just now taken a ten minute break to regroup and discuss other areas of searching that could be done. Angel and Xander were just about to leave for the mall once again when there was a knock at the door. Angel opened it with a gust of wind blowing through him. There stood Riley, holing Jena's hand at his right. Angel bent down in a rush as she leaped into his arms once again. Angel glared at him, looking for a really good explanation. Xander's eyes were flickering with anger as well when Buffy came through the kitchen to the living room after hearing the knock. She rushed up to Jena, as soon as she had come close enough Angel handed her over to her mother and took an advancing step towards Riley, clenching his fists.

Riley held his hands in surender towards the two anger men that stood before him. "Let me explain. I didn't wan to do it, but it was the only way that they would have believed me."

"And what exactly did you do?" Angel hissed.

"I told them that she was my neice and that you and Buffy had moved here from Iowa. Surprizingly they bought it. It will at least buy you some time. A lot of it from what I witnessed. He smiled. I'm sorry to worry her, she's ok, just a little tired I think." He was about to turn away and head for his own home when Angel ran up and stood in fron of him, offering his hand. Riley smiled and took his hand, shaking it.

"Thank you." Angel smiled.

"You're welcome." Riley managed a smile, as apposed to the aching feeling of jumping for joy.

END

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