Bonding
Angel and Max relaxed together in the afterglow of their lovemaking. They’d been careful, because of Max’s stomach and the baby, but it had been satisfying for both of them. For Angel, it was a freedom he hadn’t known before. Of all the restrictions on his life, the lack of this kind of connection was the largest. It wasn’t the sex, but the ability to bond with another person in the most physically intimate manner. His every sense had come alive while he made love to Max. And he realized more keenly how empty his life had been before. But for Max, it was a brand new experience. In all her life, sex had been an activity of little importance. She’d lost her virginity to a teenage boyfriend, just so she’d be rid of that annoyance. And once she’d done that, she didn’t tend to think of it as anything great. Eventually, she’d discovered a few boyfriends who had some skill. But the act had either been done for lack of anything better to do, or as the result of her estrus cycle.
The closest she’d ever come to feeling this way had been Logan. And while she’d certainly felt a certain feminine thrill when she was with him, it didn’t encapsulate this new feeling. With Angel, she felt loved, precious, tender, worshipped. Her every sense was filled by him. She’d watched him, listened to the words he’d whispered in her ears, tasted the combined salty tang of their skin as they came together. The heady scent was almost too much for her finely tuned body. And his touch, it seemed as if there was no part of her that he’d left untouched. Body and soul, it was now connected to him. She felt as if she could lay this way with him forever. If it weren’t for one small nagging detail.
She groaned softly. Angel levered himself up onto one elbow to stare down at her. "You okay?" he asked tenderly. His hand crept toward her stomach, worried that the trouble was centered there. With unexpected, on his part, speed, Max lightly knocked his hand away.
"Ooh, no touchy," she moaned. She glanced up at him, her face softening when she saw the hurt look on his face. "Sorry. Sudden bathroom urge," she explained. His face lightened into a grin. He climbed to his knees to help her up. They’d learned quickly that sitting up was excruciatingly tough and a painful chore for her still. So Angel grasped her shoulders and pulled her up, keeping her from straining her muscles.
Max, feeling suddenly shy, for reasons she didn’t want to explore, glanced around for something to cover herself with. Angel, in a moment of clear synchronicity with her, jumped from the bed and pulled a robe out of his closet. He brought it to her and was rewarded with a grateful smile. She hurried to the bathroom and Angel busied himself with straightening the bedsheets. They’d certainly made a tangle of them. When Max emerged, she crawled across the bed and molded herself along his length, the blankets and robe, all that was between them.
"Angel?" she whispered into his chest. He glanced down at her, lazily waiting. She looked up into his eyes, her brown eyes large and appealing. "I’m hungry." A leering grin broke out on his face. She rolled her eyes and smacked his stomach lightly. "Really! I need food!"
Angel chuckled. "Okay baby, what would you like?"
"Pizza!"
Angel eyed her with a wary gaze. "Do you really want something so spicy? Especially right now?"
Max shrugged. "If it’s destined to come back to haunt me, I might as well make it interesting." He didn’t seem convinced. "Please?" she added softly. Angel sighed. "I’ll even compromise. A Hawaiian with that mild sauce. No green peppers and onions. Ham’s not so spicy."
"All right," Angel finally agreed. He moved to find the phone and the phone book. But as he moved about the room, it hit him suddenly. He turned back to Max. "That felt good."
"What was that?" she asked, a teasing grin on her face.
"We just worked something out," he explained, "without a big struggle, no arguments, just a discussion."
"It’s just pizza," she teased. "You’ve got me in a good mood." He came back to the bed for a quick kiss.
"I like this mood," he whispered.
"I do too."
After their pizza-fest, they made love once more. Max fell asleep first. Angel enjoyed watching her and was finally able to give in to his urge to caress her stomach as he did. Just to feel the wonder and fantasize about the new life they’d created together. Finally, towards dawn, he drifted off as well, one arm draped protectively across Max’s still taut abdomen.
*****
"Why do I have to tell him?" Max demanded, ignoring the hand that held out her coat for her.
"Because he’s your father," came the gentle but unamused answer.
"Isn’t it your responsibility as the father-to-be to come with me and face up to your manly responsibilities?" she pouted. Angel glanced toward the clock on the wall.
"Baby," he sighed, his hand with her coat dropping to his side, "it’s ten o’clock in the morning. Do you hate me or something?"
"No," Max rolled her eyes. "But tell me again whose bright idea this was?"
"Yours."
"Ha!" she snorted. "Idiotic pregnancy hormones making me do crazy things."
Angel pulled her close for a gentle embrace. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Max, if you want me to go with you, I will. All you have to do is say the word." She leaned back to stare up into his eyes.
"I know," she grinned. "I just don’t know what he’s going to do. Last time he heard something unexpected about you, I had to yank a crossbow from his hands" Angel’s eyes widened.
"You didn’t tell me about that."
"Slipped my mind."
"Oh God," Angel gulped, going slightly paler than normal. "Giles is going to kill me."
"Yep," Max chirped a crooked grin on her face. "Better start running now." She glanced up at the clock as well. "Oops, looks like you’re out of luck buddy." She pulled her coat from Angel’s slack hand "I’ll see you later." With that, she slipped from their apartment and off to Giles’ hotel room.
*****
She knocked on Giles’ door and was surprised that it was answered so promptly. Giles gave her a huge grin and stepped back to allow her entry. She nervously stepped in and made her way to the sofa. Giles followed, taking a seat not far from her.
"Max, are you all right?" he could sense that things weren’t well. "Is your stomach troubling you?" She almost burst out with nervous laughter at his innocent question.
"No," she finally managed. "It’s okay. Um, I did need to talk to you though." She paused, really unsure how he was going to take this news. And on the heels of that thought, why she was even telling him? It wasn’t as if he were her real father. "About Angel and I." She glanced up at him then to see him looking at everything but her. His glasses had already been pulled off and the handkerchief would be next.
"You and Angel hmm?" Giles strove to keep his tone light. But in the past, those had never been good words. "I’m not sure I want to know," he sighed. Max smiled ruefully.
"Well," she chuckled, "it’ll be hard to keep secret a few months from now." She eyed him suggestively, trying to prompt him along without actually saying the words. But he remained determinedly unenlightened. "I’m pregnant."
The announcement had the desired effect. Giles gaped at her like a fish out of water. He was so stunned, his glasses slipped from his fingers, completely forgotten to fall on the plush carpet of his suite. Max waited for long minutes on end, but still nothing was forthcoming. She waved a hand in front of his face, but nothing. She snapped her fingers a couple of times and he finally came out of hi stupor.
"P-pregnant?" he stammered. "You a-and Angel?"
"Well, just me," she teased gently. "But yes, he had a part in it." She was mildly amused as the handkerchief finally came out, only to see her father flummoxed by his missing glasses. She pointed at the floor and with a bright blush, he bent over to retrieve them.
"Ah?" he still didn’t seem to be taking it all in. "Would you care for some tea? Highly relaxing beverage. Good for stressful times. Must see if I can find a decent Darjeeling blend in this blasted town. Of course I have Earl Grey. What kind of Englishman would I be without that? Do you care for Earl Grey? I could ring for some right now." Max had to smother a giggle. She’d never seen anyone this flustered.
"Tea would be nice," she agreed mildly. She realized that he definitely needed time to acclimate to this news. He moved to the telephone, but seemed to forget why the moment the receiver was in his hands. Max took pity on him and moved to take it away from him. She dialed down to the desk and asked to be transferred to room service. Once she’d ordered the tea and cookies, she hung up and guided Giles back to the chair he’d sat in before. "Are you going to say anything?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, tea. They make so many different types now," he babbled on. "They are black teas and green teas and oolongs. Mustn’t forget those."
"About the baby?" she interrupted softly. Giles sighed and rubbed distracted fingers over his now closed eyes.
"Honestly," Giles shook his head. "I don’t know what to say."
"Just tell me what you’re feeling right this very second," Max urged.
"Right this very second?" Giles demanded. Max nodded. "Right this very second, I want to track Angel down and beat him to a bloody pulp for doing this to my little girl." Despite herself, Max felt her insides melt a little at this show of fatherly devotion. "I also want to spin you around, until we’re both dizzy just from sheer pleasure. And then I want to find a shotgun and a minister." Max laughed sharply at that one.
"I think that would be kind of pointless," she giggled. "Angel and I don’t really exist. He’s over 200 years old and technically speaking, I’m four. Plus, no real papers."
"Oh, don’t tell me that Angel has no plans…" he trailed off, a disgusted look on his face. Max ducked her head and blushed.
"Actually, after that night, I already kind of feel that way with him," she muttered, unable to describe the feelings she’d experienced during their initial mating. She didn’t know enough about Vampires to say similarly about Angel. She looked up to see Giles studying her.
"Are you happy?" he asked seriously. And all she could do was nod. With gentle humor, he accepted that. "Then I’m happy for you." A slight pause. "Although I have no idea what to bloody expect. I had no idea that Vampires could father children." Max refrained from replying. It was another common theme she’d heard the past few days. She scooted to the edge of the sofa.
"Thank you," she spoke sincerely. His opinion and feelings were becoming more important to her every day. She ducked her head. "All of a sudden, when I found out, I really wanted, more than any other time in my life for my mom to be here with me. And I know now, I’m never going to have that. But I feel, that maybe, when we found each other… I got something even better." It was a tough admission for the loner, the one who never needed anybody. And Giles immediately recognized it as such.
"My life changed for the better when you came into it," he admitted, just as softly. "Even though I myself did absolutely nothing to warrant such a gift, I am humbled to receive it and cherish it as such." Max stared at him, as tears crept down her cheeks. She sniffled once and was offered his beloved handkerchief.
"Stupid darn pregnancy hormones," she sniffled. Then she laughed and her father laughed right along with her.
*****
Max had a jaunty bounce in her step as she returned home. She slipped into the hotel and was informed by a suddenly smiling Cordy that Angel was in his office. She knocked once on the door and then peeked in. "Hey!" she greeted him quietly. He glanced up from the paperwork on his desk and a broad grin replaced the previous scowl.
"Hey," he stood and skirted the desk to envelop her in a hug. "How did it go?"
"Good," she replied into his chest. She pulled back with a mischievous grin. "He only wants to kill you a little." She chuckled when he shuddered.
"Better a little than a lot, I guess," he sighed.
"Yeah," she agreed. "But it was nice. We had tea and bonded."
"That’s great." He let her slip loose to remove her coat.
"Oh hey," she threw the coat on one of his chairs and then turned to face him enthusiastically again. "Remember that friend of mine, Connor? I talked to him today and if you don’t mind, I invited him and his girlfriend over for dinner on… Angel, are you okay?" He’d taken a nervous step backwards. His eyes were almost wild.
"I’m okay," he hurriedly covered. Max just stared at him, her mind feverishly working.
"Oh my God," she breathed, suddenly understanding. All the times the boy’s name was mentioned. Angel’s reaction every time. "He’s the one. Connor’s your son."
Whistler's News
No comments:
Post a Comment