By Goddess Isa
SUMMARY: Super sweet holiday fic with the family - Buffy & Angel's family
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I own Kayla, Connelly (I just LOVE that name!), Collin, Callie,
Mike, Matt and Mejandra (which is pronounced Mee-handra for those of you who
don't know) and Joss owns everyone else.
"Um, Angel?" Buffy asked with a slight grin. She'd been watching him
struggle with the Christmas tree lights since that morning and it was now
lunchtime. "Is there a reason - a good reason - why you're fighting with
those old lights?"
"They're *our* Christmas tree lights, Buffy. We got them the year we got
married."
"Which was *sixteen* years ago." she pointed out. "Don't you think we're
overdue for a new set?"
"No."
"They could post a fire hazard you know."
He thought that over for a moment, then shook his head. "No."
"I'll be really nice and keep all the Barbie ornaments on the upstairs
tree." she offered.
"No."
"Angel, you will not put those damned lights on our tree. If you do not
go to Target and buy new ones, preferably the netted ones, I will never,
*ever* have sex with you again."
In the kitchen, four of their six children giggled, one of which because
her siblings were and not because it was actually funny. Buffy & Angel's
eldest child, thirteen year old Kayla was upstairs with her best friend (who
also happened to be Amy and Oz's daughter) Mejandra and their overly-loud
alternative music didn't allow them to hear what was going on downstairs.
Buffy only prayed that their infant son Collin was still asleep in his crib.
"Buffy, you don't really mean that."
"I've got six children. My life is complete."
Growling, the former vampire threw the tangled lights into a large
plastic bag one of the kids was using for garbage. "Good enough?"
She walked over and kissed him. "Yes."
"Wanna make love?" he whispered.
"EEEEEEW!" four voices from the kitchen chorused.
"Damn enhanced hearing," he commented under his breath.
Buffy laughed. "Go to the store. Now."
"You want anything?"
"Hang on." she went into the kitchen. "Mike, Matt, Callie, Connelly, you
guys want anything from the store?"
"What store?" ten year old Mike asked.
"Marshmallows." four year old Callie suggested.
"A new Hot Wheels." six year old Matt said with a huge toothless grin.
"Can I go with him?" Connelly asked. "I've not been to a store in at
least a day."
Buffy stared at her eight year old. She often wondered why she hadn't
just named her Cordelia as she was a total carbon copy of her Godmother when
it came to shopping. "Go on."
She hopped up from the table, washed the peanut butter off her hands at
the sink and dashed upstairs to get her shoes.
"Well?" Angel asked.
Buffy handed him a list with a few household items scrawled onto it.
"And Connelly's coming with you."
"Buffy." he said in a warning tone.
"Spoil her. She's the middle daughter."
He sighed and nodded. "Let me guess. Add a Hot Wheels and marshmallows?"
"Get Matt something to read that isn't in Latin, all right?"
He smirked and nodded. Three sets of jelly-clad feet came running down
the stairs.
"Kayla and Mejandra wanna come." Connelly explained.
"My mother already gave me my own credit card." Mejandra said. "She
thought it would be a good way to curb my spells."
Angel nodded and left.
When he returned with too many toys, magazines and lipsticks, he also had
four boxes of net lights that simply wrapped around your tree. In a matter of
minutes, he and Buffy were calling in the kids to hang on the ornaments.
"I wanna work on the upstairs tree." Connelly said. "If that's all
right."
"You spend too much time with Giles." Kayla commented.
"You guys can do whatever you want." Buffy said.
"Can I hang my Hot Wheels on the tree?" Matt asked hopefully.
"If you can find a way to do it, yes." Angel said. "Buffy, where's
Collin's ornament?"
Buffy looked through their newest Baby's First Christmas ornament and
finally found it in the midst of all the other decorations. They hung it
just in time for the baby to wake up, screaming for his dinner.
That night, they kids were all tucked into their beds except for Kayla,
who had gone home with Mejandra for the night. Buffy and Angel sat on the
couch in their living room, looking at the tree.
It was as mismatched as it was every year. The kids always helped, each
adding their own special touch. It always looked like the tree of a family,
which was exactly what Buffy had intended for it to be.
The angel on the top was something she and Angel had picked out together
the year they got engaged. It was an antique and quite beautiful, made of
lightly stained glass. With the lights positioned just right behind it, it
glowed.
"I'm tired," Buffy announced.
"Too tired to..."
"Oh, Angel," she gave him a playful punch in the chest. "If I get
pregnant again..."
"We'll love him or her as much as the other six."
"Maybe I'd like to enjoy my body for a summer."
"Buffy...." he moaned.
She sighed. "Oh, what the Hell." she began kissing him madly.
Just as she was unbuttoning his shirt, Collin woke up screaming.
"I swear to God, it's like they can sense what we're going to do." Buffy
commented as she stood up, straightened her clothes and went to tend to the
baby.