Author's Note: relates to "Who Are You", only in my own evil version, hehehe. And guess what? Buffy has a secret.....(IWRY) oh yeah... Angel already knows about Spike in this fic. SEND FEEDBACK PLEASE!

"Cordelia, please!" She shouted, keeping her distance from the brunette that held the crossbow firmly within her grasp, aiming it at her chest.

"Stay back, Faith!"

"Cordelia please put down the crossbow so I can explain myself. I'm not going to hurt you, just please...."

Cordelia chuckled coldly. "Yeah right, like I'm going to believe that crap. Stay back!" her fingers were trembling with fear and hesitation as she fought for control of her emotions.... to shoot or not to shoot.....

"Cordy, you don't know what your doing," She hissed.

"Oh, I think I do."

"I really don't want to do this," Faith whispered.

"If your forgetting, Faith, I'm holding the weapon here."

"And I'm a Slayer, Cordy.... and don't call me that, I'm not Faith!"

"Well by looking at you.... hmmmm. Nope, not convincing."

"Cordelia!" Westley shouted before looking next to her, his eyes suddenly grew wide when he registered just who it was she was talking to. "Faith."

"Westley!" Cordelia yelled.

The distraction gave her enough time to kick the weapon from the Ex Prom Queen's hand.

"Let her go, Faith!" Westley ordered.

Faith grabbed Cordelia by the arm, her grasp wasn't brutal but enough to hold her in place.

"Put down the weapon, Westley, and I'll let her go. I didn't come here to fight."

"Fine." Reluctantly, Westley lowered the smaller version of Cordelia's crossbow in his hand.

Faith released the frantic brunette but right when Cordelia was at a safe distance away, Westley fired. The small wooden bolt penetrated through the front of her leg, causing her to cry out and she toppled onto the smooth cold floor. The room suddenly began to spin as the cloak of darkness within eveloped her into a dreamless state of unconsciousness.

Buffy tried to move her limbs but found them bound above her head, her eyes drifted downward to see her feet was also tied and it was then that she realized she was bound to a bed, definitely not her own bed.....

Where was she?

Calming herself down, she listened intently to what was being said outside of the room, the voices slightly muffled behind the barrier of the door but she was able to recognize the voices easily.

One was the most familiar to her and she hadn't needed to hear his voice to know he was present. She knew because she felt him, her soul recognized his instantly and their bond still existed, even if she was stuck in another body.....

"Angel."

Right when he entered the agency building, Angel felt her, or at least he thought he had.

His eyes searched the place but the only thing he saw was Westley holding a very shaken Cordelia in his arms.

Had something happened while he was gone?

"Westley, what happened?" he asked, his eyes looking over the other man, trying to get answers by his physical appearance.

He knew it couldn't have been a vampire attack because it was broad daylight outside and nightly creatures did tend to stick to the dark. It was common knowledge among the undead and sunlit places wasn't exactly a vampire's choice of a hangout.

Of course, sunlight was no longer much of a problem for him as it use to be.

"Faith," Westley hissed.

"What about her?"

"She's here. She attacked Cordelia and we used a tranquilizer to take her out. She's in your room, tied to the, uh, bed so she couldn't escape," he answered nervously, hoping that he didn't mind, it was only quick thinking and he couldn't have other clients seeing a girl tied up in the office....... it could get people thinking......

Angel didn't seemed to mind at the moment as he looked at Cordelia worriedly. "Cordelia, are you alright?" he asked.

The brunette nodded. "What are you going to do with her?"

"Talk with her, then I'll have to call Giles."

Westley nodded in agreement. "Follow me then."

The Slayer looked at him quietly, as if taking in his presence as her body remained perfectly still in her state of bondage.

The bruises that had once covered her face were no longer present, faded along with the other scars from the day of Graduation.

His eyes met hers briefly, something didn't feel right about this.....

Shaking it off, his gaze fell from hers as he said in a tight voice, "Hello, Faith."

"Why aren't you dust right now?" She asked softly, her eyes bulging as she stared at his muscular frame next to the window, bathed in sunlight.

Angel shrugged. "Part of my saving humanity deal with The Powers That Be. Each new life I save I get one step closer to humanity, Faith..... now would you mind telling me why your here?" he asked icily, pulling up a chair next to her.

She visibly winced at his tone, her gaze flying to his with a look of both sadness and confusion...... why was she looking at him like that?

"I came here because I need your help," she answered quietly, casting her eyes from his again.

"You needed my help..... so you came here and attacked one of my friends."

"I didn't attack her," Faith snapped defensively, "They attacked me. Look, I had a crossbow bolt impaled in my leg and I'm tied down to a bed so would you please cut me some slack here?"

Angel eyed her coolly. "After what you've done, I don't think I should."

"And please, Angel, what did I ever do to you?"

His short bark of laughter was hollow as he replied, "Well, let's see, where to start..... you've tried to kill friends of mine, you poisoned me, you hurt the woman I love most in this world.... do you need me to go on?"

Her eyes began to form tears, her face sobered but Angel could care less at that moment, his hatred against the turned Slayer was beginning to surface as his memory of Buffy began to rise out from the corner of his mind.

"Angel, please-"

"Come to think of it, when did you escape out of the hospital?..... did you do anything to her?" The last question came out as a growl, causing her to jump back slightly.

Good, she's afraid, he thought appreciatively, if she had done anything to Buffy he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from killing the little Bitch.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" he demanded.

"I don't know because I'm not Faith, Angel!"

"I don't believe you," he said coldly.

"Yes you do, Angel, you have to."

"Why? you've lied before. Or have you forgotten?.... head injuries do tend to black things out at times....."

"You're the only one who can help me, Angel..... don't you even recognize me?"

"Yeah, your a Slayer that murders innocent people and manipulates the lives of other's around her."

She shook her head, more tears forming, the look in her eyes filled with helplessness. "No. Can't you even feel me?"

He continued to stare at her, his expression blank and filled without any hint of emotion.

"Angel, it's me..... Buffy."

His eyes studied hers for long moments, as if considering it.

"We switched bodies, Angel. Faith switched our bodies, she's in mine, I'm in hers. I came here because your the only one I could turn to."

"How am I suppose to know that this isn't some kind of trick?"

"Can't you just trust me?.... God, Angel, your always so damn stubborn! I need to get back into my body before she does any damage to it, the bab-"

She stopped herself in mid-sentence, realizing what was about to come out of her mouth.

Her secret.

One that she had kept to herself for months and knew that she would soon have to reveal to everyone.

"Go on."

She couldn't tell him, it's not like he'd really believe her anyway, nobody would. Could she tell him? the dreams she had about him and herself? the strange timing of what she was carrying inside of her real body?

No, she couldn't.... come on, he hadn't even bothered telling her about his ability to walk in sunlight or anything.....

"Angel, please-"

"Finish whatever it was you were about to say."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I did tell you."

"Try me."

"I can't."

"Do you want my help or not?"

So she wasn't going to have a choice in this..... where was Giles when you needed him? or for that matter Willow, she was really good at coming up with quick and corny white lies......

Unfortunately, the Wiccan wasn't here to back her up now.

*Oh boy.....*

Angel watched her expectantly, awaiting for a reply.

She breathed in deeply and looked around uncomfortably, as if gathering her thoughts.

In his mind, Angel knew it was her. Deep down in himself he knew but he was curious and somewhat uncertain.

Was it the truth or was it some kind of trick that she had up her sleeve?

He knew Faith wasn't an idiot but if this was Buffy he knew she would be able to prove it. If it was Faith he knew she wouldn't be able to pull it off.

And after what she had just said, Angel was interested. It was about why it was so important to her to switch bodies, why she hadn't wanted "Buffy's body" to be damaged. He wanted to determine whether if it would be Buffy's sort of answer or if it was a fake version made up by Faith herself.

Her eyes were different though, seemingly lost and full of pain where the last time he remembered they were filled with hatred and coldness.

"What, are you worried your little plan will be foiled?" he taunted.

Her eyes went to his again, that same soulful look that mirrored that of another person he knew.....

"No," She answered softly, "I'm worried how this is going to affect you after this is out.... how it's going to affect everyone....."

"Tell me then."

"Okay. Some of this isn't going to make any sense to you because some of it doesn't even make sense to myself.....I have dreams."

Angel snickered, causing Buffy/Faith's eyes to narrow. It was an action that both of them would have done, maybe it was a slayer thing....

He kept quiet.

"They started two months ago," She continued, "They were dreams about us..... they seemed so vivid, so real to me but I didn't understand them, I still don't in fact but I just feel that there's a connection to all of it..... you were a human for one day."

Angel sat straight up uncomfortably in his chair, she had his full attention now. His expression, however, remained masked over and his emotions weren't visible but if she had looked hard enough, she would have seen the look of astonishment that flashed briefly in his eyes.

Buffy let out a light chuckle, unable to meet his eyes. "Your probably going to find this to be really humorous, especially since your hearing it from this particular body but I did have the dreams...... we were happy together, and sad. We um...... God this is weird..... I remember kissing you in the sunlight and other things but please don't ask me to go into graphic detail here..... I only remember part of the dreams but in the last one I remember standing in your apartment. I was crying and you were holding me, I kept on repeating something..... saying that I would never forget. Then I would wake up. It wouldn't go any further than that, I never could figure out why......"

"Shortly after visiting here in November I felt sick for some reason but I ignored it and within a few months when the dreams started to happen, I began to date Riley-"

She stopped and looked at Angel who was staring at her intently, a fascinated but serious expression on his face. Buffy was unsure if she should continue, it was kind of strange talking about her soon-to-be Ex-boyfriend to the love of her life.

"Go on."

Well, she didn't have much of a choice in what she was doing anyway so she would have to spill, no matter how awkward this was.

"After I had begun dating him about another month later, I discovered something that I hadn't realized for a while until after I had went to the doctor.

"It happened before I started to date Riley, after that deal with Parker. I kept it a secret from everyone and I don't know how to explain it to them if I don't understand it myself."

She stopped again, suddenly realizing that she was babbling and decided to get straight to the point., taking in a deep breath as she said, "I need to get my body back, Angel, because I'm pregnant..... and it's my child in that body. I don't know how it got there in the first place, who's the father, but I-I don't want anything to happen to it.

Nobody else knows about it..... I know it sounds crazy and you probably don't believe me but-"

"I believe you, Buffy."

Her gaze locked onto his at the mention of her actual name, not her nemesis.

The coldness and accusation that was once in his eyes before was gone, filled with the familiar warmth and love that she knew and remembered.

"I believe you because the dreams you had were real, they really happened," he explained, answering the unspoken questions within her eyes. "The Oracles said that you wouldn't remember, that they would erase the day, obviously they hadn't erased it enough."

Angel swallowed with difficulty as he said in a low voice, "The child your carrying, Buffy.....it's mine."

There was a long moment of silence as she tried to take it all in, she had known for a while but never knew if it was real or if it had just been her imagination.

"Oh, God, Angel-" Tears were beginning to trickle down the sides of her face as sobs began to shake her body, Faith's body.....

Angel was at her side immediately, quickly releasing the restraints around her wrists and ankles before pulling her into his arms, holding her against him as she continued to cry, her tears soaking through his shirt.

"Shhhh.....it'll be okay....."

For moments they sat in silence as Angel continued to soothe her before the tears finally subsided and she looked at him, her eyes red and puffy.

"What are we going to do?"

"First, try to switch your bodies back and then try to figure this out.....I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything. For not telling you about....our day, for not telling you all about this."

"Why didn't you?"

"I told you to move on and I wanted what I couldn't give. The things that had happened between us in past was another thing, I wanted you to forget the bad memories. I would have just been a reminder of it all and I didn't want to just jump right back into your life again."

"There were good memories too, Angel..... after this is over with, will you stay with me, with the baby? If you don't, you don't have to...... I mean, I don't want to be a burden to you so if you don't want your life to involve me then-"

He placed a finger to her lips to silence her as he said, "You could never be a burden to me, Buffy. And after knowing this, your not going to be able to get rid of me even if you tried."

Buffy smiled, one that actually reached to her eyes for the first time in a long while. "So we're going to be a family," she mused.

"What about the boyfriend?" Angel asked, his eyes flashing with what Buffy could only associate with a jealousy.

"He should be the least of our worries," Buffy assured, "It's more like what about Mom, Giles and everyone else."

"So you've kept this to yourself for four months?"

Buffy nodded. "I didn't find out until two months ago and at least I haven't gotten fat yet.....I wonder if Faith has noticed. What if she-"

"We'll get your body back, Love, I swear. We need to call Giles, see if there's some way of reversing this."

"I hope there is..... Angel?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is your curse still a problem?"

"I'm half vampire and the curse isn't an issue anymore. I just found out recently that the curse is no longer existent, my soul is completely bound to me."

"All that time we never knew...."

Releasing her, Angel smiled. "Maybe later we can make up for lost time....."

"Yeah, like after I get my body back....I love you."

"Love you too, I missed you."

"I know. I would kiss you right now but being in Faith's body is kind of an ick factor to me.......I mean come on, I look like a slut in this outfit."

"What is taking them so long?" Cordelia asked impatiently, leaning against the wall heavily as she waited for their "meeting" to end.

"Soon, I hope," Westley commented dryly.

"Maybe he's killing her."

"Angel, kill Faith? As tempting as that might seem to some people, I seriously doubt he would do such a thing."

"I'm going to check on him," she said before walking over in front of the bedroom, knocking loudly, "Angel, are you done yet?"

"Come on in, Cordelia," he answered.

"Well, it's about time," she mumbled, turning the knob of the door," you haven't murdered her yet, have you?"

She gasped right when she saw them sitting together on the bed, hands entwined. "Why did you untie her? she's a killing maniac! you know, an evil person?!"

Angel smirked at her comment while Faith let out a giggle.

"I don't get it," Cordelia huffed, "She tried to kill me and your making friendly banter with the luney, have you lost your mind?!"

"Yes," Westley replied from behind, "I'd like an explanation also."

"I didn't try to kill you, Cordelia, as tempting as it might be sometimes. You were aiming the crossbow at me. And you! you shot me and tied me to a bed!" she accused, glaring at Westley.

"He didn't know, Buffy, neither did Cordelia."

"Um, Angel, hate to break it to ya but, that's not Buffy!"

"Yes, I am Buffy, Cordy.....Faith switched our bodies and that's why I am here."

"So Angel could help you?"

Buffy nodded while Cordelia breathed in a sigh of relief. "You scared the living hell out of me!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to, but you guys did scare me to, not to mention that it could have been over for me if you would have fired that crossbow you had."

"Please! Did you really think I would shoot somebody with that?....as much as I hate to admit this, my aim with these things suck."

"So Faith is in your body," Westley thought aloud, "That's amazing. Did you know how she did it?"

"With a present I think she got from the mayor, some kind of amulet.... It got destroyed so I don't think you'll have much luck with that thing."

"There might be a spell for it," Angel said, his eyes drifting back to Buffy's. It wasn't *her* eyes but the soul could clearly be seen within the body.

"So do we call Giles?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah and head over to Sunnydale."

"Home sweet home," She mumbled.

Spike nodded in agreement. "I've got to admit it, she has changed, Mate and she's been really into leather lately, didn't you see the number she was wearing earlier?"

"I know she isn't herself," Giles replied seriously, "And we need to find her."

"Why, is she in trouble?" Xander asked.

"She's in a lot of trouble. I had just gotten a call from Angel. Buffy is with him, only not..... in her original form I guess you could say."

"Giles, just out with it," Anya snapped impatiently.

"The Buffy that's here is Faith. She switched bodies with Buffy."

"So that means Buffy is in Faith's body and Faith is in Buffy's body," Xander supplied.

Spike rolled his eyes. "That's what he just said, Peaches, are you really that dense?"

"Shut up, Spike."

"Why don't the both of you shut your mouths so we can figure this out. I'll call Willow, I need her to help me find a sufficient spell for this when Buffy and Angel arrive and Xander, I need you to find Faith."

"What am I suppose to do?"

"Since it appears to be daylight, I guess we're stuck with you."

"Oh great, a bloody research party. Do you got any of those twinkies left?"

"Anya, do you know where she might be?" Xander asked.

"Well, when I saw her at the dorm we were talking and......uh-oh."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"I think she went to see Riley."

"Fish Boy? Hell, this sure beats the bloody soaps on television. I just can't wait until the Wanker meets the Slayer's old Poof."

"You get excited over the most strangest things," Anya commented with a sigh.

"Well, what's your damn point? with this blasted chip in my head it's bloody hard to find anything exciting..... except maybe if the world was going to end."

Silence covered the small darkened room of the dorm, the only sounds were the labored breaths and the rapid heartbeats of the two people within the small enclosure.

Her vision was clouded by the thick, suffocating blackness surrounding them but the pair of intense blue eyes hovering over her was easily visible to her own hazel ones.

It was done and a wicked smile crept up her lips at the thought of her victory. She had the boy in her grasp, just as she had everyone else.

Now that she had the body of her choosing she could do whatever she wished, be the way she wanted to be, hurt the people she wanted to hurt. Buffy had done good while she was out in her coma and now that she was in control, Faith could destroy the life that she had spent years building as a goodie-too shoes Slayer.

This was all too simple and Buffy's new boytoy was far more easier to convince then the rest of her idiot gang. It was a shame for Buff that Angel wasn't here, she had thought with satisfaction. The vampire would have known that it wasn't his love, his soulful self could have easily seen right through her.

But Riley.....how pathetic.

The whimp thought she loved him and Faith could easily tell that the poor sap had deep feelings for her old self.... the "better" half that had once inhabited this body.

Riley looked at her lovingly, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ears before softly replying, "I love you."

*Oh boy.....*

She couldn't play this out like she herself would. Unfortunately, She had to think "Buffy".

What would her rival say to a man that loved her but she didn't feel the same exact way?

Faith knew who Buffy was in love with and it definitely wasn't this chump, some of the old Slayer's emotions could easily be felt..... well that and the weird feeling she kept having in her stomach.

Biting down the bubble of laughter that was growing, Faith forced her smile to disappear into an innocent and frightened expression..... she always was a good actor.

"Riley, I'm sorry, I-I....God, I can't. Get off of me!"

"Buffy, What's wrong?"

"Get off me!.....please."

The burden of his weight on top of her small and petite frame was lifted and Faith quickly scrambled out of bed, facing away from the boy across from her.

"Buffy?"

*What to do? Faith, think dammit!*

Enough was enough, this guy was beginning to get on her nerves. For a soldier he sure was dull, not to mention clingy....and he was a little too clingy for her tastes.

Slowly, Faith turned back to him, slipping a baggy sweater over her head as she said, "I have to go, Riley."

"Where? is it what I said?"

"No.... I mean, yes. I don't know....."

Even through the darkness, Faith could see that he was frustrated, maybe even a little hurt.

"Look, I know there was obviously some guys before me that you were attached to and they must have hurt you badly but I know how I feel and if you can't say it now or if you don't know how you feel about this then I can wait, Buffy. I know you probably need time-"

"Riley, I can't, I don't want to talk about this right now, I'll see you later," Faith said quietly as she finished dressing and gathered the rest of her belongings before walking out the door, leaving behind a very confused Riley.

It had been hours since she had last seen Buffy and Willow was somewhat confused to see her friend running from the bathroom in a rush and out of the campus grounds outside.

Shrugging, she went back to the room that her and Buffy shared together and plunked on the bed with a tired sigh.

This had been one weird day and even Buffy was acting strange.

While in thought, Willow's eyes unconsciously began to wander through the room, the feeling of boredom settling in as she looked around in search of *something* to do.

She had no homework, no tests to study up on, the room seemed to be in order and clean-

Except for the empty box lying on the bed.

Picking herself up, Willow crossed the bedroom, lifting up the small empty package.

Ever since Oz's disappearance Willow had found the desire to distract herself and regular daily activities was just the thing to keep her mind off of the certain werewolf she knew.

Buffy had done the same exact thing right after Angel had left and it was hard for her, just like this situation was with herself and Oz. The only difference was that a couple months later Buffy started dating Riley Finn, a college student by day and a demon hunter by night.

To tell the truth, Willow felt sorry for the poor guy. She knew he was in love with Buffy but her friend didn't love him the same way. This year she was kind of clingy with the guys in her life and Riley was just more of a companion and distraction to her, not the 'love of my life' type of relationship that Buffy had once had with a certain souled vampire in LA.

Eventually Willow knew Riley was just going to get his heart broken and that knowledge made her pity the guy even more.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Willow check over the box for a minute-

Her eyes widened before bolting out of the room and into the direction of the bathroom.

<Oh Gods, Oh Gods......>

She carefully looked through the small trash can by the door, her fingers trembling with anticipation and a small amount of fear.

Finally, she found what she was looking for..... a pregnancy test.

"Oh shit."

*Buffy would tell her if she was pregnant, wouldn't she? maybe Buffy was just to scared to tell anyone about it..... then again, she did just find out yesterday...... damnit, why now?!*

Willow knew Buffy was on the verge of breaking it up with Riley, she could see it in her eyes even if her actions didn't show it. And now she was pregnant.... and by Riley too!

"Breathe, Willow, breath," She muttered.

A loud knock suddenly came from the door, causing Willow to jump back in surprise.

Calming herself, she answered it, knowing if it was Buffy she would have just walked in rather than knocked.

Her eyes bulged as she saw just who the visitor was.

"R-Riley?!"

*Oh Gods, oh Gods.....no, no, no! not now!*

"Hi, Willow, is Buffy here?"

"Buffy? n-no, why would she be here?"

"Because... she lives here."

"Oh, yeah! she does a-and she isn't here now so. Bye!"

Riley blocked the door before she could close it as he said, "Actually, I need to talk to you too.... about her."

*Help!*

"Um.....okay?"

Willow stepped back as Riley entered, closing the door softly behind him as he said. "Buffy's been acting strange lately."

"No kidding," Willow muttered lamely, wishing for a way out.

"She's just been really distant lately.... kind of cold."

"Um..... maybe she's having a bad day?!"

Riley looked at her strangely, his eyes studying her for a few quiet moments before asking, "What's wrong?"

"W-what do you mean?!" She squeaked, inwardly wincing at how bad she really was with hiding things.

"It's just, something's going on that you obviously don't want to tell me about."

Willow sighed heavily, tired of this crap. "Yeah, it is but it's just not my place to tell you about it, it's Buffy's not mine. And I hate being in the middle of things so If you want to find out then your going to have to ask her yourself."

"She won't tell me."

"Then I guess she's not ready to tell you then."

The phone range, interrupting the conversation.

"I have to take this call, okay. I'll see you later."

Riley nodded in understanding before his eyes caught onto the box on the bed.

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

"Hello?" She asked, her eyes on the door that Riley had just walked out of.

"Willow?"

"Hi Giles, why are you calling here?"

"We have a problem."

"What kind?"

"It's Buffy."

"Bloody Hell...." Spike muttered as he spotted his grandsire from the shadows. "He's a damn human!"

"Half, actually," Angel informed.

"Bloody Hell indeed," Giles said in awe, "How did this happen?"

"It's part of my redemption for the Powers That Be."

"Who in the friggin hell is that?" Spike demanded as the door closed, shutting out the sunlight that had once covered the doorway were Angel and "Faith" had been standing in.

"The higher powers," Anya chipped in, "Buffy, isn't being in that body kind of awkward?..... I mean, you look like a hooker in that outfit."

"Anya, honey, we're not here to discuss fashion," Xander replied," I guess I'm stuck with calling Spike Deadboy now, huh?"

"You better not."

"And what are you going to do about it, bite me?!"

"Anya, Sweets, can you *please* hit him for me?" Spike asked, giving her his puppy dog look.

Anya glared at him. "Sorry, find someone else to give that sappy look to."

"Hi, Buffy," Willow said shyly as she came from downstairs, "It's you isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's me did you guys find anything?"

"Yes we, um, did but the spell does take a lot of powerful magic to perform."

"Is that a problem?" Angel asked.

"Well, Buffy will have to find Faith, which might be slightly difficult but they must be fully conscious and she will have to have contact with her upon switching their bodies back."

"Don't worry, we can handle it... I'm a couple of pounds heavier than I use to be," she said with a smile, looking at Angel lovingly.

"You're still beautiful."

"Bloody Hell, you've been together for a short time and already your flirting and making googily eyes at each other.... how disgusting. And what's Fish Boy going to think about this?"

"Fish Boy?"

"It's Spike and Xander's nickname for Riley. I'll tell you about it later," Buffy answered, grasping Angel's hand in her own.

Spike quirked an eyebrow. "I guess the GI Joe bloody wannabe of the group is soon going to be dumped......personally I'd prefer Angel over Nancy Boy any day,"

"I second that," Xander agreed, "So back to the situation at hand..... are we going to find Faith?"

"Yes," Giles said, "And we had better hurry. There might possibly be a time limit on this sort of thing, a possibility of you and Faith permanently remaining in each other's body."

Buffy shook her head. "I hope not."

"Then let's get started, shall we?"

"Giles, you guys didn't.....injure her badly, did you?" Buffy asked.

"Gee, Buffy, we didn't think you cared much for the girl," Xander remarked.

"I don't," she muttered softly, her worry wasn't for Faith but for her body.

Sensing it Angel assured, "She's fine, we were careful."

"I hope so."

They looked at "Buffy's" unconscious form lying on the bed, her hands bound much like they had been when the original was in LA with Angel

"What is it with me and being tied to beds?" Buffy asked aloud.

Angel just smirked at her.

"Not a word," she warned.

"I have no idea what's going on about that but shouldn't we be doing the spell already?" Xander asked.

"We have to wait until the shaggin' luney is awake, idiot."

"Quiet peroxide boy."

Buffy turned, annoyed," you guys, out! now!"

"B-but-"

"We don't need you for the spell and Willow is casting it, we only need myself and Willow...... and Angel."

"Why him?" Spike asked.

"Because I want him to be here..... if it's okay with you," Buffy said, her eyes searching his.

"I'll stay."

"Thank you. Giles?"

"I'll, um, go downstairs with Anya, come on," Giles ordered, staring at Xander and Spike expectantly.

"Fine. I never get to have any fun with you sods hangin' about," Spike muttered before leaving the room.

"About what?" Buffy asked.

"Buffy, um.... your pregnant. you know don't you?"

Buffy looked at Angel.

"I didn't tell her, Buffy."

"Y-you know too!"

"Yes I do. How did you find out?" Angel asked.

"Faith had taken a pregnancy test.... I found it in the bathroom and it read positive. Aren't you going to tell Riley about it..... I mean, I know your going to get back with Angel and everything but it's his baby, Riley should know."

"Willow, if Riley was the father I would tell him, but he's not. Angel is. I know I haven't been honest with everyone and I've been pregnant for the past four months.... since November."

"Really?!..... but you were a vampire then."

"I wasn't for a while," Angel admitted

"Oh.... I don't get it."

"We'll explain later, okay."

"Alright. Are you going to tell everyone else."

"Yeah."

"So does that mean your staying?" Willow asked hopefully to Angel.

"I'm not sure."

Buffy turned to look at him, "There's my business I have to consider but we're staying together.... I just don't know what our plans are going to be yet."

"Good answer," Willow said, "It's about time! no more gloomy Buffy."

"I'm not gloomy."

"You aren't anymore and we had better do this before she wakes up so stop arguing with me," Willow warned playfully.

Nodding Buffy replied, "If we're going to do this then you guys are going to have to tie me up next to her......Faith will try to escape after she has her normal body back."

"Good idea. Angel?"

"I'll take care of it."

"Sorry, I just.... don't want to hurt you."

"Okay, well, just think "Faith"...... we're going to have some bigger problems if she gets loose.....and she already knows about the baby....."

"It'll be fine Buffy. Besides, the spell will be complete right when she wakes up."

"That's good to know. Willow, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"She's waking up," Angel informed. "Buffy?"

"It's happening," she whispered.

Right on cue, Faith's eyes rolled back and her eyes shot open as a loud scream ripped through her body, a light forming at the small point of contact between both Faith and Buffy's original body.

Angel looked at Willow. "It's done," she answered quietly as the light seized and Buffy's body went limp.

Moments later, she awoke, a drowsy feeling surfacing through her body as she tried to focus with her eyes. "A-Angel?"

A warm hand touched her cheek and Buffy smiled as she saw that it was indeed her boyfriend. "Did it work?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, it worked."

"Can you please untie me?.... my wrists hurt."

Angel smirked. "Sure..... Faith is still out of it."

"Oh."

Obediently, Angel untied her wrists and helped her to sit up, hearing the small wince that escaped her lips as she clutched her stomach. "Buffy, what's wrong?"

"Just the baby, I don't think it found that spell to be very pleasant....."

Angel looked at her worriedly.

"It's okay," Willow assured. "The baby's fine. The spell just makes it a kind of a rough trip when the souls coming back to the body."

"I know how that feels," Angel muttered sadly.

"It wasn't you, Angel, so please stop the brooding. Will you help me stand up?"

Her balance wasn't very good at the moment. A strong wave of dizziness went through her body and Angel wrapped an arm around her small waist to help steady her as he said, "You might need to sit back down for a minute."

"I'll be fine, Angel. W-we just need to get this over with. What do we do with Faith?"

"Kill her and feed her Spike?"

Buffy gave her a strange look, causing Willow to shrug. "Just a suggestion."

"Probably take her in to the police."

"Well, while we're down there, I guess we had better tell the rest of the gang about our secret. Are you okay with that, Angel?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Riley walked into the room nervously and Buffy sighed heavily after telling him to sit down.

She felt really bad for doing this but even though he had been there for her when she needed him, Buffy wasn't in love with him.

"Riley, I'm really sorry to tell you this bu-"

"Your pregnant."

"Huh?"

"I saw the box on the bed. The pregnancy test. Is that why you've been acting like this lately?"

"Sort of...."

"Buffy, you could have told me. I would have been there for you and I still will be-"

"Riley, Just stop."

"Okay."

"I know you care about me and I'm sorry to have led you on but..... I don't love you."

"..... I kind of figured that...... but maybe with some time-"

Silently, she held up a hand to stop him from saying anything more. "Remember when I told you that I had dated someone before?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I had dated him for three years and we had some.... issues. We both worked them out and.... I've been in love with him since day one. It's just after he left I was really upset and you came along.... I just saw it as a way out, not that our time together wasn't fun but, I-I just don't care about you in the way that I should and it's not fair to you, I'm sorry."

Riley felt his heart breaking but he knew she was right and he did want her to be happy, no matter how hurt he was to hear this. "And the baby?"

"It's his."

"How long have you been along?" he asked, swallowing hard.

"Four months.... before we started dating. It was when I had went to visit him...."

"I understand. I do love you but if it's how you feel and if he does make you happy then it's not my place to interfere in that, he's a lucky guy to have you..... I'll see you around, okay?"

Buffy nodded. "Okay," she answered softly, noticing the look of hurt that crossed his face.

Slowly, he walked towards the door, opening it up before turning back to her. "And Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"It might be a good idea that you be careful. Your a slayer and everything..... something's beginning to happen with the initiative, bad things and I don't want anything to happen to you....... or your baby."

"I promise."

"Angel!" Buffy screeched happily as she spotted her boyfriend walking towards them on the campus of Sunnydale's local college.

It had been weeks since they had last seen each other and Willow smiled as she watched Buffy jump into Angel's arms, giggling as she pulled him in for a kiss.

She was glad that they were together and happy, it was something that they both deserved and things were beginning to get back to normal, with the exception of Oz and the Initiative but other than that...... things seemed to be looking up.

And even though everything seemed as it should be, Willow knew that the Higher Powers were giving them this for a reason and the power of Buffy and Angel's love would probably once again be tested in the future.

Only this time they had a new edition to add to their small family, a new warrior that would follow in their parent's footsteps and would always carry the strength and love that was passed down from the couple who fought on behalf of humanity and the world.

Oh, things were definitely going to change Soon.........

*Only in a good way,* Willow thought happily as she waved at the couple before heading off into the direction of Giles' apartment.

END.