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Had Angel not hesitated in following, he might have caught up to Stefanie and her brother. But, in his reluctance to leave Buffy, Xander, and Willow open to an attack, he lost the chance in a matter of seconds.
Buffy swore in anger. "Great, what do we do now?" she said. "We have to help her!"
Angel looked away for a moment, his face returning to its normal appearance. "He won't leave town," Angel said confidently. Once a vampire hits a community with a Hellmouth at the center, they rarely do. I speak from experience."
Buffy nodded thoughtfully. "Hellmouths are to vampires as drugs are to normal people," she quipped. "That being the case, where would Stefanie's brother take her?"
Xander looked over. "Where else but the sewer systems?" he said. "Should we go after them tonight?"
Buffy thought a moment, then checked her watch. "I wouldn't risk it," she said. "Half the night's gone already. I just hope Stefanie will be okay until tomorrow evening."
Both Xander and Willow were confused by this. "What does that have to do with it? Besides preventing Angel from joining us," Willow asked. "You're capable enough without his help, Buffy. Besides, we can just use the car trick again to get Stefanie out of there."
Sighing, Buffy looked around for a few moments, then changed the subject. "Xander, why don't we go to your house to talk? There's something I need to tell you two. And, Angel, you just go home and wait for me. I won't be long."
He nodded slowly, understanding her decision. He and Buffy had done a good job of hiding her pregnancy the past few weeks, but they could no longer.
Angel offered her a sad smile, then turned and walked away. Buffy headed in the opposite direction with her friends, both dreading telling them the truth and simply wanting to get it over with...
"You're what?!?" Xander yelled after her news had sunk in.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "What are you trying to do? Wake the neighborhood?" she asked, hugging a pillow to her chest. "Anyway, I think I made myself perfectly clear, Xander."
Seated in a chair on the opposite side of the room, Willow appeared to be in a daze, simply staring into space. Xander, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth restlessly. Buffy couldn't decide which reaction made her more uneasy though.
After a few tense moments, Xander stopped and turned towards her. "When did this happen?" he asked.
Buffy rubbed at her eyes, feeling as if she were facing her parents (or a firing squad) and not her friends. "The night of my mom's funeral," she answered quietly. "I was really vulnerable that night, and when Angel came over..."
"Angel?!?" Xander questioned. "Buffy, are you out of your mind?"
Buffy paused, feeling a surge of anger rising up inside. Standing, she faced him bitterly. "Yes, Xander, I must be out of my mind! This is not fair, you know! I could really use your support on this, but do I get it? No!"
Buffy stared at him a second or two, waiting for a response, but receiving none. She looked briefly at Willow, but her friend had yet to move, let alone speak. Throwing her arms up in frustration, Buffy went for her jacket. "You guys let me know when you're in a kinder mood," she said on her way out. "Once you are, you know where I'll be."
Buffy had made it halfway home when the usual tears came. It hurt her deeply to know that her two dearest friends weren't happy for her, and she could only imagine what Giles' reaction was going to be in comparison.
Angel had to take only one look at her to know how it had gone. Without a word, he stepped forward and embraced her, holding her close to him until she felt better.
After a long while, she looked up at him, smiling as he wiped her tears away. "Thanks for being here," she said.
Angel smiled slightly. "Where else would I be?" he asked absurdly. "Let's face it. This is home now."
Buffy laughed, leading him to the couch in the living room to sit down. "Don't you dare repeat this to anyone, but at this point, I wish they were more like Cordelia. She wouldn't even flinch if I told her."
"No, I imagine she'd be too busy fixing her makeup," Angel replied. "You shouldn't worry so much though. Xander and Willow are your best friends. They'll come around."
"In this century?" Buffy cracked. "Come on, Angel. The way they were acting, you'd think it was the end of the world, part eight."
Angel sighed, then attempted to rationalize it for her. "Look at it this way. You're the slayer, the only one they know and trust, I might add. You've just told them you're on leave. The way I see it, their reaction is normal."
Buffy nodded thoughtfully, knowing he was right. "Well, they're bound to catch on that they still have Stefanie, once we find her, and you, the slayer-in-training."
Angel smiled again. "You know, for someone who was upset a minute ago, you sure do bounce back fast."
She shrugged. "I'm an emotional roller-coaster. What can I say?" Before he could respond, Angel perked up, certain he heard footsteps approaching the house from outside. "What is it? What's wrong?" Buffy asked him, knowing that look.
He looked back at her. "Xander and Willow are here," he said, five seconds before there was a knock at the door. "Should I get rid of them?"
Buffy moaned, getting to her feet. "There goes our quiet evening at home," she said, going to let her friends in.
She, Xander, and Willow spent an awkward moment in the foyer while she made it clear she was waiting for them to apologize. Then, Willow spoke, appearing particularly uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry I behaved badly back there," she said. "You just caught me off guard with..." Willow cut off suddenly here, looking to Xander for help.
He took that as his cue. "Willow came out of her coma not long after you left. We talked it over, and we're really sorry we... that I was so harsh," Xander added, wincing when Willow elbowed him in the side while he was speaking.
"You're forgiven," Buffy told him with a small smile, then grew serious again. "Oh, by the way... I didn't want to say anything in front of Stefanie earlier, but did you two find something to contradict her story? Can a slayer-turned-vampire still maintain their humanity?"
"We didn't find anything either way," Willow said. "According to Giles' books, there's been no record of such a thing happening."
Buffy glanced towards the living room where Angel was sitting. "In that case, I know not to put it to the test," she said. "I wish there's some way we could know, however. That we could have some idea what we're getting into."
Even from the next room, Angel could hear every word they were saying, and he was at Buffy's side in an instant to put in his own two cents. He gently turned her face towards his, staring deep into her emerald eyes. "Actually," Angel said. "There is one way to find out..."