Part 3

Buffy looked anxiously around her tiny prison; a small hotel room with minimal furnishings. She lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for something, anything. Escape was obviously not an option; that was almost too clear. She'd tried once before only to be grabbed by two vampires and thrown back inside. With no windows, she had no idea what level of the hotel she was on. She was, in all ways, trapped inside. She supposed it didn't matter, though. Even if she could get out, they had Angel and he was in no fighting condition. Besides, she didn't know where they'd taken him and they didn't seem willing to tell her.

The only contact she's had with anyone in the last twenty minutes was when a vampire had brought her a plate of food. She hadn't touched the food, but she'd downed the glass of water that had come with it.

Now, she lay there, feeling strangely light-headed. She turned over and soon fell asleep.

Only minutes later, she awoke to the sound of the door closing loudly. She looked up and saw three vampires standing in her room at the foot of her bed. She attempted to sit up only to find that her body wouldn't respond. Her arms and legs felt as though they were made of cement, restricting any movement.

"Damn' said the youngest looking of the three to the one in the middle, "How much of that stuff did you give her?"

"I put enough shit in that water to restrain three normal girls," the middle one said.

The one on the right, who had long, scraggly -looking hair said, "Yeah and the stupid bitch drank the whole thing."

Buffy's eyes widened with fear. The vampire in the middle walked to the bed and sat down next to her, "How you feeling, hmm?"

Buffy glared at him, "What do you want?"

"Oh, I don't know," he said, looking her over, his satisfaction, showing on his face. He placed one of his large hands on her thigh, right below the hem of her dress, then moved it to the inside of her leg, saying, "a little of this, a little of that."

Her face quickly went from rage to alarm and her breath deepened.Oh no, she thought as his hand began to move up.


Angel, although in pain, was slightly better off. He'd been taken to a room that looked rather bleak.
The walls were white and the dim light was giving him a headache almost bad enough to match the pain in his chest where the arrow had hit him, the arrow which he'd had the joy of removing himself. He lay on the bed with his hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling, bored out of his mind. The one thing that occupied his thoughts was his concern for Buffy. He hadn't seen exactly where they'd taken her and he worried about what they might do when they realized that she was pregnant. Memories of Kendra's gruesome fate filled his head and he had to push them away before he allowed himself to picture

Buffy's face on Kendra's mangled body. He prayed to God that would never happen to her.

All of a sudden, he heard a voice down the hall scream things like, "Stop it! No! Stop!"

At the first sound of it, he recognized this voice as Buffy's. Within moments, he was up from the bed and at the locked door, throwing himself against it to force it open. For a second she stopped yelling words to make room for a long pained scream.

Again and again, Angel rammed the door, determined to get to her and stop whatever was hurting her. He soon noticed that the doorframe was staring to give. With all his strength, he kicked it, throwing the door completely off its hinges and flying into the hall. It hit one of the guards at his door, knocking him against the wall. The other guard yelled down the hall, "Pete, Tony, get down here, now!"

Two vampires came running down the hall. Angel ignored them and ran in the opposite direction toward where he'd heard his girlfriend's screams.

"Buffy!" he yelled, "Buffy, where are you?!"

"Angel!" he heard her scream from one of the rooms near the end of the hall, "Angel, I'm in here! Help me!"

Two vampires came out of the third room from the end. From the same room, he could hear her, only more clearly now, "ANGEL!"

He was about to take on the two who were headed toward him, when he was grabbed from behind and thrown into the room next to hers.

"Someone shut her up!" yelled one of the vampires.

Angel looked around and found himself faced with three vampires. Despite his efforts, he simply was in no shape to take them all on his own. Less than a minute later, Angel was unconscious on the floor with pieces of a wooden chair strewn all around the room.


When Willow got home from the carnival at 11:30, her mom was waiting up for her.

"Did you have fun?" Casi asked her daughter, putting down the remote control and turning off the
television, so that she could give Willow her undivided attention.

"Yeah, we road on the Ferris wheel three times in a row, but then Xander got sick and had to get off. Did Buffy call?"

"No, I haven't heard from her. So, what else did you do?"

Willow gave her mom a quick recap of the night's events, then went to her room and hopped onto her bed.


She was a bit worried and considered calling up the mansion, but then decided against it; she didn't want to interrupt any heated conversations or anything that was heated for that matter. She sat back against her headboard and turned on her TV.

Not much on at 11:30, she thought.


He awoke to the smell of smoke. Angel opened his eyes and winced at the pain that was throbbing in the back of his head. When he got up from his place on the floor, he realized that his head was the least of his problems. He had fought hard against the vampires but to no avail and was now feeling pain in muscles he'd forgotten he had.

He sat on the bed and looked around the room; he wasn't alone. A vampire who looked to be about 17 sat on the dresser, watching Angel and smoking a cigarette.

"Morning sleeping beauty," said the vampire. Angel fell back on the bed and asked, "What do you
want?"

"Me?" said the vampire, "personally, I'd like a chair to sit in, this dresser is murder on my back, but
thanks to my buddy, Tony, breaking the only chair in here over your ugly mug, I'm stuck up here."

"I meant why are we here, nimrod."

"Hey, no need to get rude. How do you know we ain't just lookin' to kill you?"

"Because, you would have done it already." It suddenly occurred to Angel that it was quiet; no scream filled the air. In fact, there were very few sounds at all, only light murmurs coming from the next room.

"I want to see Buffy," he told the vampire.

"No, man, I don't think you do. She's not looking her best right now. I know because I've seen her at her best."

"Why not? Why did she stop screaming?"

"I'm not sure. A little while after we took care of you, she shut up all together. I think she conked out about an hour ago. By the way, the name's Dent."

"What did they do to her?" asked Angel, before it occurred to him that the name of the person before him was Dent. Had it been the right place or time, he would have definitely asked about it, but since it was not, he allowed it to remain a mystery.

Dent took a drag off his cigarette, "What do you think they did? They screwed her ass off. Someone's probably still in there, ridin' her now."

Angel, realizing the purpose of Dent's cigarette, said, "You were in there, too?"

"You bet your ass, I was. Your bitch is pretty good, I can see why you keep her around."

Inside, Angel felt as though he would explode. He clutched his fist tightly, feeling that if he didn't
hit this guy soon, he would definitely kill him later; perhaps both.

"You know," Dent continued, "it's a shame that you had to go and turn into a wus boy again. You could be having so much fun with us. C'mon, now, when was the last time got a good fuck from her?"

"That's none of your business," Angel answered in disgust.

"That long, huh?" Dent said, taking a flask from his jacket and unscrewing the cap, "you could be having your bitch every night, or day as the case may be."

He took a long swig, then said, "But no, for some strange reason, you're happier like this."

"There are better uses for her than sex."

"Oh, yeah…love," he took another swig, "you love her. Ain't that a bitch? It must've been a real kick in the ass to know that she's been cheating on you this whole time."

"What?" Angel said in confusion.

"You couldn't tell?" asked Dent, taking another drag from his cigarette, then holding it in his mouth,
while he closed up his bottle, saying, "Your bitch is pregnant," he put down the bottle and took the cigarette quickly from his mouth, "and I'm sorry to have to tell you that we vampires lack a little
something in the baby making department. So, unless she's some kinda freak who can breed asexually, she's been gettin' jiggy with a human. C'mon, man, you must've known."

"Of course, I know."

Dent laughed, "Damn, it sucks to be you. I'm telling you, you should really come back to us. Look around you, you just got your ass beat by a bunch of guys who could be your best friends. Aside from that, your bitch is getting beaten and fucked by another guy. In her present, sickly state, there's no way she can fight back."

"You're forgetting one thing," said Angel standing up.

"And what's that?"

"In a little while, my bitch is gonna wake up."

"Is that supposed to scare me?"

"No, what should scare you is that until she does," in a quick motion, he stepped on the end of one of the broken chair legs, causing it to flip up into his hand. He threw it at Dent and hit him dead in the heart. The last thing that Dent heard was, "I'll be fighting for her."

Angel picked up another chair leg and went out. The two vampires that sat outside his door attempted to hold him back, but he simply dragged them into the next room with him.

Two vampires were in the room. The sat in chairs, using a nightstand as a table for their card game and as a suitable place to put their beers. When Angel entered, they hopped up from their game and tried to help their friends bring Angel down. Angel paid no attention to them. He saw one thing in
this room and that was Buffy. Her hair, which had been nicely kept was now a jumbled mess, bruises covered her from head to toe and needless to say, her dress was no longer white. In fact there wasn't much of her dress left, there was just enough to cover where she needed to be covered.

Her eyes were closed and for a moment, he thought her dead. As he neared her, he could see the rise and fall of her chest, signaling to him that she was alive and merely unconscious.

By now, two more vampires had entered the room. They attacked Angel like a swarm, all coming at him at once, punching and pushing until he was on the ground, where they kicked him mercilessly. Still, he tried to get to the bed.

"Persistent little bugger, ain't he?" said one of the vampires, right before he kicked Angel hard in the
head, knocking him out.

While the other's continued to thrash Angel, the one who'd kicked him into senselessness, walked over to the bed. He slapped Buffy and yelled, "Wake up!" When she didn't move, he hit her again, "I said 'Wake up!'"

Her eyes fluttered and she looked at who was above her. She started to fall back asleep, but was awoken by another slap.

"I don't think so, bitch!" he said, "You're gonna stay awake for this."

Before he could touch her again he heard a whimper from behind him. He turned and saw Drusilla standing in the doorway. Her eyes were huge and like a child, she had one fist to her mouth, as though she were biting her nails.

"This is wrong," she said, "this is wrong like the day."

The vampires ceased their pummeling and turned to her. Her shaking became more violent as she said, "This was not permitted."

The vampire on the bed got away from Buffy quickly. He tried to walk past Drusilla, but she grabbed him and shoved him against the wall.

"This was not asked of you. Why did you hurt them like this?"

"You said they had to be alive and in one piece," he insisted, trying to push her away.

"Send the others out," she said calmly, "they aren't to be touched further, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," said the vampire, straightening his shirt.

"And if they are?"

He gulped, "You get another toy."

"Good," she said smiling, as she patted his head and kissed his cheek, "very good."

She then skipped from the room, as though she hadn't a care in the world and returned to her room, laughing all the way.

"Psycho-bitch," the vampire said after her, then turned to one of the vampires and said, "Hey Lou, get some new sheets for the bed, clean up this place. You don't want to be her next toy."

The vampire that he'd referred to left the room and returned with a new set of sheets.

"What happened to her last toy?" he asked as he grabbed Buffy by the rope that bound her hands and pulled her off the bed.

"Who? Billy?"

"Yeah," he tossed Buffy like a rag doll onto Angel, piling them against the wall.

"Careful with them, you heard what she said. I don't know exactly what happened to him, but what I hear is that she tossed him into a hall of mirrors at a carnival. You know, it was one of those fun houses. Well, he got lost in there; walked around all night and in the morning when the owner opened it up, the sunlight got in and reflected off all the mirrors. Burned him where he stood."

"Poor bastard," said Lou, pulling the new sheet over the mattress.

"That's good enough. Throw the bedspread on it, then take these dirty sheets down to laundry."

They returned Buffy to the bed and laid Angel next to her, then exited the room.


Willow was getting worried. It was 2:30 and she'd received no word from Buffy. She knew that they'd be awhile, due to the topic of their conversation, but she didn't think it'd be this long. She'd called Xander earlier and he suggested, "Why don't you go over there?"

She considered this, but said, "No, I'm too afraid of what I might be walking in on."

"Have you tried calling there?"

"Yeah, no one picked up."

"Try calling Kayla, she always seems to know what's going on, and if she doesn't, I suggest you go mausoleum-hopping."

"You're never gonna let that go, are you?" Willow asked with a laugh.

"Probably not, it's just that she said it so freely."

"You would too, if you'd drunk that much."

"I don't know, it didn't seem like too much."

"Stacy said that she'd been gulping it down before we got there. Look, I'll give it another hour, then I'll call Kayla."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

She'd had that conversation over two hours ago and still nothing. She leaned over, picked up the phone and dialed the numbers to Kayla and Amy's apartment.

"Hello?" she heard a groggy voice mutter quietly on the other line.

"Amy? Hi, it's Willow, is Kayla there? It's important."

Amy sighed deeply, "Hold on."

A minute later, Kayla was on the phone, "Willow, what's wrong? She said it was important."

"It is, Buffy was supposed to be here hours ago and she hasn't even called."

"Have you tried Angel, it's his birthday, she's probably there?"

"No one picked up and I'm starting to think that something happened to them."

Kayla was quiet for a few moments, then finally said, "Give me a few minutes, I'll be right over."

Part 4

When Buffy regained consciousness, she felt a pain like no other. Her body hurt when she tried to move it and her face felt like it had swelled to twice it's size. She looked at her hands and found that the ropes had been removed, leaving red indentations on her wrists. Looking around the room, she found that the only other person in the room, was Angel who was lying next to her, wide awake, watching her sleep. She looked at him for a second, then turned away on her side, to hide the black and blue that covered her face.

"Buffy," he said moving close to her. When he did, she only moved further away.

"C'mon, Buff, say something," he pleaded with her, but she only kept her silence.

He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Buffy-."

At the sensation of being touched, which she realized that she didn't like at all, she turned around and yelled, "Angel please! Just leave me alone!"

She saw the hurt in his face, but refused to let herself stare. She turned back over and clutched her pillow, tightly.

Angel hated seeing her like this, it made him feel completely helpless. Feeling defeated, he lay his head back down and soon found himself slipping back to sleep.

He woke up an hour later and found that now, Buffy was awake and watching him sleep.

They stared at each other in silence for a long time. The expression that she gave him, a mixture of fear and distress, was enough to break his heart. He soon found that he had to interrupt the painful silence, "How do you feel?"

Her voice came out in a raspy whisper, "I hurt…all over.

Again his heart ached as she continued, "I don't think that I've ever felt pain like this."

He ran a hand along her cheek. She quickly shied away from his touch, a gesture that he understood
completely.

"Don't worry," he said to himself, more than to her, "we're gonna get out of here and you're gonna heal."

She forced a half smile, "Always the optimist…but be realistic. If someone came in here right now and attacked us, we wouldn't stand a chance. We don't even know why we've been brought here and-" she stopped suddenly, her eyes getting briefly wide. She continued, pitifully, "I'm gonna be sick and I can't even get to the bathroom."

Angel closed his eyes with a half-smile coming gently to his lips. He got up, uneasily, from the bed. To him, his body was nothing more than one giant sore muscle, but despite his pains, he walked to Buffy and lifted her from the bed. She groaned in protest.

"I know you don't like this," he said, carrying her into the small bathroom that was attached to the room "but I don't want you throwing up in the bed."

He set her down next to the toilet. She pulled down her dress as far as she could to cover herself, then rubbed her arms, saying, "Can you turn up the heat in here, it's freezing."

As he walked to the thermostat on the wall, he could here her vomiting and he cringed at the thought of what she was going through. He played with the dial, only to find that it didn’t work.

Buffy heard him call from the room, "It's broken."

"Great," she said quietly to herself, leaning her head back over the toilet and very much regretting the strawberry pie.

She put a hand to her aching forehead thinking, You'd think I'd be used to this by now.

She flushed the toilet as Angel re-entered the room and asked, "Better?"

"A little," she said, grabbing the edge of the counter and pulling herself to her feet. He made a move to help her, but she lifted a hand to wave him away.

She was about to walk, or at least try to walk out of the bathroom, when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The bruises alone, although they had already started to go away, were enough to make her want to cry. Her black eye and the blood that surrounded her mouth were reminders of the many fists that had collided with her face. She pushed the memories away so that she wouldn't burst out crying.

She turned on the faucet and began to wash the blood from her face. The water quickly turned red as it went in a swirl down the drain. She looked back up at the mirror, glad that she looked cleaner, but wishing that the water could have taken the bruises along with the blood.

Her stomach suddenly jumped and Buffy would have fallen if Angel had not been there to catch her.

"You alright?" he asked, helping her straighten out.

"Yeah," she said, knowing that she wouldn't throw up again, since there was nothing left in her stomach. Her worst pain was that in her hear, because her body kept reminding her that she was pregnant.

Angel lifted her from the ground, again apologizing, for he knew that she didn't want to be touched, and carried her back to the bed. He set her down at the end and pulled away the covers. She crawled into the bed on the right side and turned over with her back to him. Hey lay above the covers on his stomach, his head facing away from her.

Buffy attempted to get back to sleep, but found herself tossing and turning, feeling completely unsettled and knowing that the only thing that would put her mind at ease was the one thing she'd been trying to avoid.

She lay on her back, and staring up at the ceiling, began, "I'm pregnant."

Angel's head shot around quickly, "What?"

She just nodded, giving him the same frightened look as before.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I took a test last night. I got sick at the bowling alley, like I did just now. That's why I left. I'm
gonna see a doctor in a couple of days, providing we get out of here, that is."

"Who else knows?"

"Pretty much everyone. I told Willow, and Xander and Cordelia were eavesdropping. Of course, Xander went straight to Giles."

"Your mother?"

Buffy put a hand to her forehead and groaned, "Don't remind me, she's gonna explode when I tell her."

"How far along are you?"

"Two month, I think…what do you want me to do?"

"It's not up to me, Buffy. This can't be my decision."

"You can at least tell me what you think of this."

He shifted his body so that he lay on his right side and said, "It doesn't matter what I think or what I
want. You hold all the power here. I can't ask you to do something you don't want to."

Buffy thought about this for a second, then asked, "If I do decide to have it, would you…what would you do?"

"I'm not gonna run out on you, if that's what you're asking," he wiped away the single tear that was
running down her cheek and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't try to stop him. He continued, "I love you, Buff. I'm in this with you, no matter what."

Tears now flowed freely from her face. She wiped them away and said, "You want me to have it, don't you?"

"I didn't say that."

"You do," she insisted, "when I asked you about Catherine, earlier, I saw something flash in your
eyes. You were thinking, 'God, I miss that.' You miss her and you miss being a father." Realizing that she was right, he admitted, "Yeah, I do."

Buffy, feeling that she would lose her self-control, shook her head and said, "Angel, I can't have this baby. As much as I'd love to give you what you want, I can't, not now. I'm 17, I don't have the mental, not to mention, financial stability to handle this. Maybe one day in the FAR future, but right now, it's just too much for me."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Buffy turned away from him for a second. When she faced him again, she looked him dead in the eye and said, "Remember the picture of Kayla that we saw in that closet, you know, where she's on the floor and she's crying? Well, that's how I feel. I'm not ready to be a mother, yet. I see what my mom goes through, or more what I put her through. I can't imagine what will happen when I tell her about this."

"What will she say?"

"She'll try to make me have it. I'll tell her what I'm telling you and she'll say, 'You should have
thought about that before you had sex.'"

"We were careful."

"I know, we were, but obviously not careful enough. I have to do the right thing here. If I keep it, I'll be putting my own life on the line. Aside from that, you know how they say 'Whatever happens to you, happens to your baby'? Well, what happened to me tonight is something that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. I can't put a baby through that."

He took a few moments to absorb this, then nodded his head, saying, "I understand, but you never answered me. Is this what you want?"

"No," she whispered, "if there was another way, I'd do it, you know that I would."

A voice at the foot of the bed caught their attention, "I'm sorry to interrupt this, but I think it's time
that you got out of here."

They turned to find Kayla standing there with folded arms, looking at them expectantly.

"Oh, God, Kayla!" Buffy exclaimed, sitting up.

"How did you find us?" asked Angel.

"Willow said that you were missing. I used this," she lifted her hand to display the Claddagh ring on her finger, "as a sort of homing device. It's a good thing you still have yours or I may never have found you. Now, how do I get you out of here?"

"You can't teleport us?" asked Buffy.

"No, I haven't learned to teleport others yet. I'm working on it. Hmm…what floor are we on?"

"I'm pretty sure the ground floor," said Angel.

She smiled, "Good."

She pointed to the ground and exerted a force from her finger strong enough to blast a gaping hole in the floor.

"Ta-da!" she said, "this will lead you into the sewer. You should be able to find your way from
there."

"Kayla that blast was loud enough to get the attention of every vampire in the place. They'll be on our tails any second," said Buffy.

Kayla grabbed Buffy by the arm and pulled her from the bed saying, "Then I suggest you run."

As soon as she caught a glimpse of the blood that stained Buffy's tattered dress, she exclaimed, "Good God, what happened?"

Before she got her answer, the door flung open and in walked Drusilla. She cocked her head at Kayla and asked, "Are you their witch?"

"In a manner of speaking," Kayla answered, folding her arms, "What's it to you?"

Drusilla stepped up her and said, "I need your help."

"You've got to be joking," she began to list on her fingers, "You kidnap my friend, you kidnap my husband, you let your men beat the hell out of him and rape her, and you still ask me to help you? I should set you ablaze where you stand."

"How many voices are in this building? Twenty? Thirty? There's more that you can't see. If you kill me, they," Drusilla gestured to Buffy and Angel, "won't get out alive."

"She's right, Kayla," said Angel, getting up from the bed.

Kayla turned back to Drusilla, as two vampires entered the room, and said, "Fine, what do you need me for?"

Drusilla crossed her arms, covering the pattern that was embroidered on her crimson dress, "I want Spike back."

"That's crazy," said Buffy.

Angel leaned over to Buffy and said quietly, "Need I remind you who you're talking to? She IS crazy, remember?"

"Can you do it?" asked Drusilla.

"It can be done," said Kayla, but first, you have to let them go. They're to have a clean getaway, no one follows. If anyone does, you can forget it, if I come back and you've sent someone, I won't hesitate in killing your beloved. Are we agreed?"

"How will you do it?"

"I can open the portal to hell, but it will only stay open for a few minutes. I'll have to go in and get
him, unless you want to send one of your henchmen."

"You go."

Kayla turned to her friends and said, "Go, I'll take care of things here, just get out and I'll meet you on the street."

"Kayla, don't do this," said Buffy.

"Don't worry about me, just go."

Angel dropped into the hole and helped Buffy as she climbed down the side. After setting her down, he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the dark.

Back in the room, Kayla was preparing. She removed her gray sweatshirt that matched her pants to reveal a white, ribbed tank top, and pulled her hair back into a knot on her head.

Facing a wall, she held out her hands in front of her and shut her eyes. The wall soon turned into a black pool. When she reached her hand out to touch it, her hand went through it, as though it was water. She opened her eyes and when she did, the black disappeared and the wall became a spinning swirl of red and orange.

Kayla looked at it for a moment as if she was terrified to go in. After some hesitation, she walked
into the vortex before her.

Drusilla and her vampires stepped up to the vortex carefully. A minute passed by, then another.
Suddenly, from inside the vortex came a huge flame. It hit one of the vampires, setting him on fire. He fell upon the bed, catching it on fire, then disappeared to a pile of ash. Drusilla began to lose
her patience. She was about to send the other vampire with her into the hole, when Kayla came running through, dragging the unconscious Spike behind her.

Part 5

"Do you know where you're going?" asked Buffy as she was being pulled through the sewer.

"I think so," Angel replied, "there should be a way out around here, somewhere."

"I hope we find it soon, because I can't see a thing down here."

"Wait, I think I see a light up ahead."

In the distance, at the far end of the tunnel, he could see the faintest bit of light. As they neared
it, it became clearer and clearer.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I think it's our way out."

When they reached the light, they saw that it was coming from a grate that led up to the street. Angel
climbed the ladder and lifted the heavy grate, creating for them a way out. When he was up and out, he reached down and pulled Buffy from the sewer. They found the hotel to their left and saw smoke coming from the back of it.

"It's on fire!" exclaimed Buffy. She looked around and asked, "Where's Kayla? She's supposed to be out here."

"She must still be inside," Angel answered, "I'm going in after her, stay here."

"What! You'll be killed in there!"

"I'll be fine," he insisted.

"Are you crazy? You have a low tolerance for fire, remember? I'd have a better chance in there right
now, and I can barely walk!"

"Well, thanks for that vote of confidence, Buffy, but I'll be alright. I don't want Kayla dead!"

"I don't want YOU dead! Kayla can take care of herself. She can zap herself out of there, lickety
split if she has too. Sorry to remind you, but she didn't just get the crap beaten out of her!"

Despite all of this, he began walking toward the burning hotel to retrieve his friend.

"You need a better reason," Buffy yelled after him, "then how about this; I don't need her, right
now. She doesn't have the responsibilities that you do. She's not gonna be a father in seven months. You are!"

Angel stopped dead in his tracks, "What? I thought you were gonna give it up."

"I did some thinking when we were in the sewer and I changed my mind."

He began to walk back towards her when Kayla appeared at Buffy's side.

"C'mon," she said to them, "let's get out of here."

"What happened in there?" asked Buffy, as they walked along the street.

"I brought the strange woman her boyfriend, then got the hell out."

"You didn't see what happened to them?"

"No, but if we're lucky, they're already dead."

"We've never been that lucky," Buffy answered, shaking her head.

"God, look at you two," said Kayla, "They really took it out of you, didn't they? Well, c'mon, let's get you home."

"Home? I can't go home looking like this, my mom will lose it. Besides, I'm supposed to be staying at Willow's tonight."

It wasn't until now that Angel noticed Buffy was limping. In the sewer, he'd been in such a rush to
get her out that he'd pulled her along, not taking note of how she was walking. Now that he did, he felt awful and he wasn't about to let her walk all the way to Willow's like that. Before she could protest, Buffy found herself scooped up in Angel's arms and being carried along the street.

"Look," said Kayla, "I'd like to go home, Will you two be alright on your own?"

"Don't worry about it, Kayla," said Angel.

She looked at Buffy, "You'll be okay?"

Buffy nodded, trying to be reassuring, "Yeah. You saved our lives tonight, Kayla, thanks."

Kayla removed her sweatshirt from her waist, where it had been tied and put it on over her head, while saying, "Well, that's what friends are for, am I right? You'd do the same for me. Look, I suggest you see a doctor. Lord knows what they could have done and you being pregnant and all."

"How did you know about that?"

Kayla pulled her red locks out of the back of the sweatshirt and was about to answer, when Angel began mouthing the words, "shut up!"

"W-well…" said Kayla.

"Did Xander tell you, too?"

"Uh…no, Willow told me when she called me. She's really worried about you."

Yeah, that's it.

"Oh."

"Anyway," Kayla continued, "You two be careful getting home. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

The next second, she was gone, leaving Buffy with a slight feeling of discomfort.

Angel took her to Willow's house, silent most of the way except in one instance when he asked how she was feeling.

"I'm alright," she answered quickly, then fell back into silence.

When they reached Willow's house, they went around to the back where her room was and knocked on her sliding glass door. Willow took her attention from the cartoon that was playing on her TV and focused it on the door.

"Oh, my God!" she said, jumping up from her bed and rushing to unlock the door.

"What happened?" she asked as Angel carried Buffy into the room.

"It's a long story," said Buffy, gesturing for Angel to put her down, "I need a shower, first."

Willow ran from the room and returned a second later with a towel.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" asked Angel.

"Like you said, I'll heal."

Willow handed her the towel and said, "Go ahead."

Buffy walked uneasily to the bathroom that connected to Willow's room and shut the door.

As soon as they heard the sound of running water, Willow asked again, "What happened?" She gently touched the bruise on his right cheek, "What did they do to you guys?"

"Apparently, a Day of Reckoning isn't what is used to be."

"You were attacked?"

"It was Drusilla. She took us to an old hotel out on Jarin St."

Willow's eyes grew wide, "The big abandoned one, used to be a Best Western?"

"Yeah, it was still furnished and everything, it was so weird. Why? You know it?"

"That was where I was taken when I was- when Justin took me. Anyway, go on, what happened to you there?"

"They drugged her…a bunch of Dru's men. Somehow they got a sort of tranquilizer or something into her system, she couldn't move and……… they raped her."

"Oh my God, were you there?"

"I was down the hall. I could hear her screaming and calling for help. When I tried to get to her, they all came at me, I couldn't stop them…when I came to, I tried again. This time, I made it to her room and saw her lying there, beaten unconscious with blood everywhere and I lost it. I think if I'd be up my full strength, I could've taken a few more out than I did, instead, they knocked me out again. When I woke up, I was lying next to Buffy on the bed. We were alone until Kayla came."

"Why were you taken there?"

"Dru wanted to get Spike back and she needed Kayla to do it."

"She didn't."

"She did, but first she got me and Buffy out. Then somehow, the hotel caught on fire. I don't know
whether Spike and Dru made it out."

"Knowing them, they probably got out. Did Buffy talk to you about the baby?"

"Yeah, we talked. I'm gonna be honest with you, Will. After what happened to Buffy tonight, that baby is really weak. I don't know if it's gonna survive and if it does, Buffy's not gonna have it."

"Why not?"

"I think you should let her talk to you about that. Look, I'm really tired, I'm gonna head home. Take care of her okay?"

"I will, but you get home safely. Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday."

Angel smiled, "G'night Will."

With that, he walked out the door and disappeared into the darkness.

Willow returned to her place on the bed and sat in silence as she thought sadly about what her friends had been through that night.


Running water had never felt so good to Buffy. It was warm against her skin and she felt that it was
cleansing, not just her body, but her soul, as well. It was clearing her cluttered and stressed mind, and helping her to relax.

She looked down at her feet and saw that the water was tinted a slight shade of pink.

I sure hope that doesn't stain, she thought, watching it go down the drain.

She yawned, glad that the night was finally over. She couldn't wait to get into a warm bed and fall asleep.

Before that, she knew, she'd have to explain everything to Willow, not something she was looking
forward to, but it was inevitable.

Just as she was reaching for the shampoo, a sudden pain hit her. It felt as though knives were ripping her abdomen apart. She looked down and saw blood running in large quantities down the insides of her legs. A panic rose in her as she lost her balance and fell to the shower floor. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her aching stomach as she yelled, "WILLOW!"


Ugh! Not again, thought Xander, listening to his phone ring. His clock read 3:48 as he picked up the receiver and said, "Buffy, if this is you, go back to sleep, I'm not picking you up."

"Xander!" Willow's voice came through the phone in a panic.

"Will? What's wrong?"

"Xander, you have to come get us!"

"Willow-"

"It's Buffy, she collapsed in the shower! She's bleeding a lot. You have to get here, we need to get
her to a doctor!"

"Have you called her mom or an ambulance?"

"She said not to, she wanted me to call you."

"Alright, put some clothes on her and try to stop the bleeding. I'll be right there."

He hung up the phone and ran to his closet. Still clad in his sleeping clothes, an old T-shirt and a
pair of shorts, he slipped on a pair of flip-flops, grabbed his car keys and ran out the door.

When he arrived at Willow's a few minutes later, he ran around the back and went through the sliding glass door. Buffy lay on the bed, on her side, clutching her stomach, tightly. Willow was in the bathroom, attempting to clean up some of the blood, but she came out as soon as she heard the door open.

"Let's go," she said, shutting off the lights.

Xander lifted Buffy from the bed, saying, "C'mon, Buff, we're gonna get you out of here."

She slipped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder as he carried her out of the room. Willow locked her door, then met them out on the street, where Xander was putting Buffy in the back seat so she could lay down. He got in the driver's seat, waited for Willow to get strapped in beside him, then drove quickly to the hospital.


"So you understand?" asked the doctor, "it wasn't anything you did, or anything that happened to you. Sometimes, these things just happen."

Buffy nodded, "Yeah, I know."

"Now, since you'll be eighteen in a couple days, we haven't called your mother. We're gonna let you be an adult and handle it yourself."

"Thanks."

"You're gonna feel icky for a couple of days and you may experience some pain, but that'll pass, just take some Tylenol, extra strength."

"What about this other feeling?"

"The one that makes you feel like the worst person in the world?" asked the doctor as she wrote a prescription.

"That's the one."

"Well, that's different for everyone. For some, it takes only a few days, others never get over it."

"I don't think I ever will," Buffy said, sadly.

"That feeling will pass, too. Listen to me, Buffy, it's not your fault, and you don't have to believe me, just yet, but you will. C'mon, go find your friends, go home, get some sleep."

Buffy left the small office and found Willow and Xander in the waiting room.

"So," asked Xander, "what happened?"

Buffy hesitated, "Look, Xander, I really don't feel like talking right now, can you just take me home?"

"Are you okay?" asked Willow.

"I will be, I just- I've had a really long night. I need to sleep."

"Alright," said Xander, "lets go."

He put his arm around Buffy and led her out of the hospital.


It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Sunnydale; the sky was rich blue, the birds sang and the sun shone brightly. Unfortunately, due to the night she'd had, Buffy paid no attention to any of it. She sat in the Rosenberg's kitchen with Willow's mother, telling her a tall tale about why she had a black eye. She was secretly thanking her lucky stars that the black eye was the only mark left on her face.

Casi Rosenberg poured two cups of coffee and sat down at the table, handing one cup to Buffy. She said, "So, he elbowed you in the face?"

"Yeah, it was completely an accident. He turned around to grab something, didn't see me, and bam!" she clapped her hands on the word "bam" to symbolize impact.

"Buffy, honey, has this ever happened before? Is this 'accidental' hitting a normal thing with him?"

"Mom!" said Willow, entering the kitchen.

"He doesn't beat me, Mrs. R," said Buffy.

"I just want you girls to stay safe," said Casi, getting up from the table," but if anything does happen, you know you can always talk to me."

"Thanks," Buffy said, as Casi left the room.

Willow sat down across from her friend and asked, "How do you feel?"

"About as good as can be expected," said Buffy, "Did Angel tell you what happened to us?"

Willow nodded, "He told me everything."

"So, I guess you wanna know what happened at the hospital, huh?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Buffy looked down at her coffee cup, then took a drink, and said, "I miscarried…I lost it."

"Oh, God, Buffy, I'm so sorry. Is it because of…"

"Not according to the doctor. She said, 'sometimes these things just happen.'"

"I'm really sorry, Buffy."

Buffy shook her head, "It's not your fault. I'm just so- I don't know what to do. I didn't want to be
pregnant when I was, but now that I'm not…it's like a part of me is gone. Something feels seriously wrong and I don't know how to fix it. I'm scared."

"What are you gonna tell Angel?"

"Oh, God," said Buffy putting down her cup and looking up towards the ceiling. She looked back up at Willow, "Don't get me started. I told him last night that I was pregnant and he seemed pretty gung ho about the idea. At first, I said I wasn't gonna have it, then I changed my mind at the last second. I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"You're gonna have to tell him, sooner or later, Buffy."

"I know," Buffy answered, looking back down at her cup.


For nearly two days, Buffy stayed inside her house. She got a call on Sunday night from Willow, asking her to meet the gang at The Bronze. Sick of feeling so low, she left that evening, hoping to find herself in a better mood at the end of the night.

However, she wasn't halfway there when she stumbled upon something that made her feel worse. On the corner of the empty street, a vampire stood with a young girl between his teeth. When he saw Buffy, he dropped the girl and smiled, saying, "Back for more, eh?"

Buffy gasped as she recognized his large frame and thin, long, tangled hair.

"You know, girl, I think, I'll just kill you, this time. Sorry, but you were the worst fuck I've ever
had."

"Likewise," said Buffy, folding her arms.

He threw a punch. She dodged it, grabbed his arm, straightened it at her side and hit the elbow, hard, breaking his arm.

"Ah!" he yelled.

She kicked his feet out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Buffy picked him up by the shirt collar and punched him over and over again. Finally, she pulled his bloodied face close to hers and said, "I may have been your worst," she threw him to the ground, pulled out a stake and shoved it through him, "but I'm also your last."

She stood up from the dust and said, "One down."

"Two," said a voice from behind her.

She turned quickly to find Angel standing in the street with her.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Long enough."

"What do you mean, 'two'?"

"I killed one that as in my room. He said his name was Dent. I can't imagine why and frankly, I don't want to know."

"Dent?" she sighed, "Christopher Denton, he was a kid from school. I envy you, he was the worst of all of them."

"How are you doing?"

Buffy shrugged, "I'm fine, just sick of people asking that. And you?"

"A little sore, but better."

"Oh," she said, nonchalantly, "well, if that's all, I need to go."

"Look, Buff," he said, deciding to level with her, "don't do this to yourself."

She shrugged again, "Do what?"

"The vengeance thing, don't do it."

"Excuse me?"

"I know a lot's happened to you, but-"

"You don't know half of what's happened to me."

"Trust me, Buffy," he said, "you don't want this."

"How do you know what I want?"

"You want to kill every vampire on this planet to get to the ones that hurt you. You're probably even
considering killing me, especially right now. I'll tell you what, you'll be doing Giles a huge favor, but it won't help you at all."

"I need to go," said, walking away. He grabbed her hand to stop her. She turned back and saw him with a look of utter confusion. He shook it away and stared her in the eye, saying, "Do your job; kill vampires because they need killing, not for personal reasons. I know this from experience. You do, and the vengeance becomes you."

Buffy looked at him for another second, then took back her hand and ran away from him.

On to Part 6