"Eat a cookie, ease my pain?"

Buffy shook her head. "You just don't get it, do you? Cookies can't always solve everything, Willow. You have no idea what you took from me."

Willow watched with a heavy heart as her best friend stormed out of Giles' apartment, wondering how she was going to fix this one.


* * * * *


It had been two months since she last saw him, since that spell had them thinking they were engaged. Buffy figured he probably skipped town, wanting to get as far away from her as possible. She wiped her eyes when she felt the wetness, knowing that she would have to stop patrolling soon, but right now, she really needed to kill something.


* * * * *


He kissed up her stomach, every inch of her body until he reached her lips, pulling away when she needed to breathe. Spike cupped her face in his hands, gazing deeply into her eyes. "You are so beautiful," he whispered. "I can't wait until we're married. I never thought I could love anyone this much."

Buffy felt tears in her eyes as he slowly slid inside of her, there was no way they could have waited for their wedding night to finally be joined together.


* * * * *


Buffy was slammed into a tombstone, really hating that she kept letting herself get distracted. She grabbed her stake, plunging it into her assailant with full force. She was breathing heavily as the dust fell.

"I always did love to watch you fight."

She turned at the voice, stunned to see Spike standing before her. "You're still here." It wasn't a question. "I thought you left town."

He shook his head. "I've been looking for a place to stay, something other than a crypt. Found an apartment not far from here, it's quite posh."

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I wasn't, I just figured I was the last person you wanted to see," he responded.

"Willow is responsible for what happened, I never blamed you."

He gave her a small smile. "That's good to know."

Buffy bit her bottom lip, thinking of how to bring up her next question. "Did you stay away because of me? Were you that disgusted with what happened between us?"

Spike lost his smile at her words. "Is that what you've been thinking? No, love, not at all. Trust me, there is nothing at all disgusting about you. I'm a bloody wanker to put it simply, I was just worried that you wouldn't want to see me."

"Well, I did, I thought about you every day. What happened was a revelation, I'm not the same person I was. I don't know how you feel..."

"I love you," he cut her off. "The spell didn't create that, everything I felt and said was real."

She wiped her eyes, laughing through her tears. "Glad I'm not the only one."

Spike stepped closer to her, taking her in his arms, then abruptly moving away. "How long have you known?"

Buffy was confused, so he decided to clarify.

"I can hear the baby, love."

She looked taken aback, but there was no point in lying to him. "I found out about a week ago. I don't even know how it's possible, but I didn't question it. I just knew that it was a part of you and that's all that mattered. I've been terrified thinking how I can handle this and I know vampires never expect kids in their future, you didn't sign on for this. I'm not asking you for anything, you're free to walk away and never look back..."

This time he cut her off with a kiss, pulling away when breathing became an issue. "We're in this together, you never have to doubt that."

Buffy grabbed him tighter, crying against his shoulder, so beyond relieved that he still wanted to be with her and didn't accuse her of the baby belonging to someone else. It was amazing how much trust he had in her.

Spike rubbed her back in comfort. "It's okay, sweetheart, you'll never be alone again."


* * * * *


"Okay, I love that you want to stay here, but it's been over a week. You need to tell your mates about what's going on."

Buffy pouted, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Can't we just go somewhere far away, raise the baby in the mountains or something where no one would ever find us?"

Spike smiled. "As tempting as that is, you'll miss them too much."

She let out a frustrated breath. "Who would have thought you'd be the voice of reason? I still don't think I can face them, though. I know it ended well, but I still can't help being mad at Willow. I don't think she even understands that she did anything wrong. I can't even think about how Giles and Xander will react. And my mother? She's going to freak."

"How about we do it together? I told you that you wouldn't be alone in this. I just hope your mum doesn't have an axe on hand."

She laughed. "You're safe. When it's all over, could we come back here? I want us to move in together officially, that is if you want to."

He kissed her softly on the lips. "There's nothing I want more."


* * * * *


Buffy knew they wouldn't take it well, but she was really getting tired of all the yelling and lectures. She shut her eyes as a migraine started to form. "That's enough!" she yelled to get their attention, when they finally stopped, she took in a deep breath to calm herself. "Nothing is going to change, I don't care what any of you say. If you were really my friends, you would be supporting me right now, not trying to tear me down. I love Spike, you're just going to have to accept it, but if you can't, that's really not my problem. I'm done caring about what everyone else thinks, for once I'm doing what I want."

Willow sat down with a glum look on her face. "This is all my fault."

Buffy glared at her. "You're right, it is your fault, but I'm done blaming you. I'm actually pretty grateful, but if it helps any, your spell didn't create this. It just opened up our eyes to what was already there."

"I can fix it, Buffy, I can make you forget..."

"Don't you dare," she spat. "If you use magic on me again, I will never forgive you. God, you just don't get it, there is nothing to fix. I'm the slayer; I don't even know how much time I might have left in this world. I would like to spend the time that I do have being happy with the man I love, is that too much to ask for? I think I deserve it after constantly saving this damn world, and all of you I might add."

Spike squeezed her hand, quiet up until that point. She would live a long life if he had anything to say about it. "Tell them the rest, love."

She nodded, cutting right to the chase. "By the way, I'm also pregnant." That caused a lot of gasps in the room, but they surprisingly remained silent. "Don't ask me how, I don't care. I just consider it to be a miracle. I'll patrol until the baby starts to show, but then I'm done. I'm done risking my life every night when I have so much to live for. You can go complain to the Council if you want, it won't make a difference. I don't work for them anymore, but if anyone touches Spike, there will be hell to pay. Now with that said, we're going to see my mom."

Spike started to pull her out of there, but stopped at Giles' voice.

"Buffy, please think about what you're doing. You're making a huge mistake."

This time Spike chose to speak up. "No, Watcher, there's no mistake in wanting to live your life the way you choose. She's earned that after everything she's done for you ungrateful wankers. You have no room to talk after putting her through that Cruciamentum. Yeah, I know all about that and it's taking all of my self control not to knock you out, the pain would be more than worth it. I'm warning you all once, if you do anything to jeopardize what we have, I'll take her so far away from here that you'll never see us again." He walked out then, Buffy's hand clutched tightly in his, and kissing the top of her head when he saw how upset she was. "If they're your real friends, they'll come around."

She shrugged, wiping her eyes. "My mom has to be easier after that."


* * * * *


"Mom, please don't cry."

Joyce shook her head. "I just can't believe my baby is having a baby, I'm too young to be a grandmother."

Buffy sat her down on the couch. "We didn't plan on this. I never even knew it was possible for me to ever have children, but I'm happy. I just don't want you to hate me."

"Oh, sweetie, I could never hate you. It's just a lot to take in, but I will support whatever you decide to do."

Buffy teared up, beyond relieved to hear that. "Thank you, Mom," she claimed, giving her a hug. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Joyce returned the embrace. "I think I have some idea." She let her daughter go a second later, glancing at Spike who was standing there in awkward silence. "You better take good care of her and my grandchild."

Spike smiled. "Until the end of the world. You have nothing to worry about, Mrs. Summers. I love your daughter more than anything, and I already adore this child."

She let out a relieved sigh, smiling as well. "That's all a mother could hope for."


* * * * *


Buffy giggled as Spike continued to spread kisses up and down her belly. She was glad to be back home, and that's what she considered Spike's apartment to be now. He actually signed it over in her name, that way they wouldn't have any unwanted guests who needed an invite. "Stop, that tickles."

He gazed up at her. "I love hearing you laugh, I have no intention of stopping." Spike did stop briefly to press his head against her stomach. "Hey, baby, it's your daddy. I can't wait to meet you."

Buffy felt tears in her eyes at his gesture, laying her head against his chest when he crawled up beside her. "What are you hoping for, a boy or girl?"

"It doesn't much matter to me, just as long as he or she is healthy."

She smiled, touching her lips to his in a tender caress. "Same here."


* * * * *


Buffy was five months along now and knew it was time to stop patrolling. Spike was doing most of the work and because of him, there were a lot less vampires terrorizing Sunnydale. She still hadn't really talked to her friends, but she was beyond worrying about it. She had Spike and her mom, that was more than enough. Buffy was lost in her thoughts and didn't hear the vamp behind her until she was shoved hard to the ground, all the wind knocking out of her. She looked up with blurry vision at the familiar figure standing before her.

"The bad girl will not take what's mine." She pulled out a knife, slicing Buffy down the arm and feeling delighted in the sounds of the slayer crying out in pain. The dark haired beauty kneeled down beside her. "I will cut it out of you," she whispered, raising the knife to do just that, but never got the chance as a loud growl sounded throughout the cemetery and she was suddenly tossed to the side.

"Stay the hell away from her, you crazy bitch!" Spike raised his stake and thrust it through her heart without a second thought, only feeling a slight twinge at killing his sire. He ran to Buffy's side to see that she was unconscious. "Hold on, sweetheart, I'll get you to the hospital." Spike gently picked her up, and then tore out of there as fast as he could.


* * * * *


Buffy awoke groggily, glancing next to her to see a concerned Spike sitting there. "What happened?"

He sighed in relief at the sound of her voice. "Drusilla attacked you in the cemetery, I brought you to the hospital."

Her eyes widened as she sat up. "Is the baby okay?"

Spike nodded. "The baby is fine, it's a good thing I got to her when I did. God, love, I don't think I've ever been that terrified. She's gone now."

"You staked her?" she wondered in astonishment.

"I didn't have a choice, no one hurts my girl and gets away with it."

Buffy felt tears in her eyes and was going to continue blaming the hormones, she'd never cried so much in her life. "I can't believe you did that, I know how much she meant to you."

He shook his head. "Nothing compared to you. You're my family now, you and this baby. That's all I could ever need."

She hugged him, wondering what she ever did to deserve this amazing man.

"You do know we'll probably have to deal with Angel now, right?"

Buffy groaned. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, he's the last person I want to see at the moment."

Spike couldn't agree more.


* * * * *


Buffy was on her way home two weeks later when she felt another familiar presence behind her, letting out an aggravated sigh. "You can come out now, I know you're there."

Angel stepped out from the shadows, brooding as usual. "I guess it is true."

She held a protective hand over her bulging belly. "Why are you here?"

"I felt Drusilla dust, I'm guessing that was your doing."

Buffy shook her head. "Actually, it was Spike's. She tried to kill me."

He nodded. "I have to admit, I never would have seen that coming."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "And why is that? Spike has changed, he loves me. If you're here to lecture me on how he's not capable of love..."

Angel held his hand up, effectively cutting her off. "I know exactly what he's capable of. He's always had the capacity to love, more than any other vampire I've known. Not even Angelus could break him of that. If he's given his love to you, I know it's real."

She dropped her arms back to her side. "Why?"

He smiled sadly. "Because I know what it's like to love you, there's no going back after that." With those words said, he faded back into the shadows and was quickly gone.

Buffy didn't know what to make of the exchange, but it went better than she expected. With a shrug, she turned and headed for home.


* * * * *


"God, I feel like a beached whale. This baby keeps doing a number on my bladder and I haven't felt my feet in weeks."

Spike smiled, massaging her feet. "You're eight months pregnant, if it helps, you're just as beautiful as ever."

Buffy returned his smile. "It does, oh, I totally forgot." She reached over to the dresser to grab her jewelry box, opening it and taking out a familiar skull ring. "I've been meaning to give this back to you."

He took it from her. "I can't even believe you kept this, I have something better." He went under the bed to pull out a box, putting the skull ring inside and taking out what looked to be an elegant diamond ring instead, placing it on her finger as she let out a surprised gasp. "This belonged to my mother, I wanted you to have it."

She felt tears in her eyes at the sweet gesture. "It's so beautiful, I'll treasure it always. I'm surprised it even fits with how bloated I am." She bit her bottom lip before continuing. "Just out of curiosity, is this a proposal?"

"It could be whatever you wish, a wedding like you wanted during the spell, or we could claim each other."

Her eyes widened. "I read about claims once, isn't that like a vampire marriage ceremony?"

He nodded. "One that doesn't end in divorce, we would be linked for all eternity. You would only die if I do, and I don't plan on that happening for a very long time."

She gave that some consideration. "I've always worried that I would die at a young age, but this means I might actually get to see our baby grow up."

"So, does that mean you'll do it?"

"Yes, we'll wait a little while after the baby is born, but there's something else that has been bothering me. Do you think he or she will end up being a vampire? It's not a huge issue, it's just something I've been wondering about."

He shrugged. "I can't tell you that, but since you haven't been craving blood, I think you're safe. Plus, he or she has a strong heartbeat."

She sighed in relief, hoping he was right. Not that she would love her child any less. "I wish we would have decided to find out the sex, this he or she thing is really annoying."

Spike laughed. "We'll know soon enough."

She gasped suddenly, feeling the wetness as she clutched her stomach. "Sooner than we thought, I think my water just broke. It's still like three weeks early, do you think something's wrong?"

He shook his head. "I'm sure it's fine, babies come early all the time with no difficulty. Come on, let's get you to the hospital." He gently helped her off the bed and outside, grabbing the bag they packed along the way. Once in the car, he took off to the nearest hospital.


* * * * *


Spike held her hand through the whole thing, no matter how hard she squeezed. He hated seeing his girl in pain.

"All right, Buffy, just give us one more big push," the doctor told her.

She shook her head. "I don't think I can."

Spike brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "You can do it, sweetheart. Just one more push, and you'll have a beautiful baby in your arms."

Buffy nodded, taking in a deep breath and pushing with all the energy she had left. She lay back in bed, feeling utterly exhausted, a cry suddenly filling the room.

The baby was taken and cleaned off, a pink blanket wrapped around her as she was placed in Buffy's arms.

"Congratulations, you have a girl."

Buffy cried at the sight of the infant, she was so perfect. "Hey, little one, I can't believe we made her," she said, gazing up at Spike.

He had tears in his eyes as well. "And look at that, completely human." He kissed her on the forehead, and then did the same to his daughter. "What are we going to name her?"

Buffy gave it some thought, they never really did discuss names. "How about Emily Anne Pratt?"

He was surprised that she knew his given name, and that she would name their daughter after his mother. Of course, Anne was also her middle name, but he had a feeling it was more for his benefit. "It's perfect, but I think we should stick to Summers."

She agreed. "I could live with that."


* * * * *


Spike sat up when he felt someone enter the hospital room, checking on the sleeping baby in the bassinet next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I promise I mean no harm, I just wanted to see her. She's very beautiful."

"She takes after her mother," Spike replied.

Buffy stirred in bed as she opened her eyes. "Giles?"

"Hello, Buffy, I was hoping we could talk."

Spike stood up. "I'll go for a walk, give you two some privacy." He glared at the watcher before exiting the room. "You will not upset her."

Giles watched him leave, moving over to Buffy's side. "I just came to apologize. I know it should have come sooner, but I had a lot of thinking to do. You've always been more than a charge to me, Buffy, you've been like a daughter and I'm appalled at my actions. I see how wonderful you're doing and I couldn't be prouder. I would hate to lose you."

She wiped her eyes. "I would hate to lose you, too. You've always been more of a father to me than Hank ever was. I want my baby to know you."

"I would like that very much, unless she starts calling me grandpa."

Buffy laughed, but it quickly faded. "What about Willow and Xander?"

"I have talked with them and they have agreed to accept this, they both realized that being your friend was more important. They will probably be visiting you soon. Willow has even agreed to get a mentor to help her control the magic."

Buffy was glad for that, she smiled when Spike came back and he looked relieved to see that everything was going well.

"I will take my leave now. Congratulations to the both of you."

Spike moved over to Buffy's side once he left, giving her a peck on the lips.

"You were right, they did come around."

He brushed the hair out of her face. "I never had any doubts. They love you too much to stay away." Spike lay down next to her on the bed, holding her close. "You've made me the happiest man in the world, you know that?"

She wrapped her arms around him. "Likewise, because you make me just as happy."

Spike smiled, drifting off to sleep with his lady love.


* * * * *


Buffy smiled when she found him in the nursery rocking their daughter to sleep, it always touched her heart. He was the first one to get her when she cried, Emily was definitely going to be a daddy's girl and she was very much okay with that.

He put the now slumbering infant back in her crib. "She loves to be held, I started humming a song to her that my mum used to sing to me when I was a boy."

Buffy stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him. "You're adorable." If he could have blushed, she knew he would have right then.

"Been called many things in my life."

"It's only been a month, but I can't believe how well things are going. Everything is good with my friends, my mother hasn't disowned me, thanks to you the demon population has gone way down. I guess I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, but as of this moment, everything is perfect. Although I think we should still hold off on telling them about the claim, at least for right now."

Spike nodded, he was just happy that she agreed to do it, but she wasn't finished.

"I was wondering if maybe we could also have an actual wedding, one my family and friends would be able to attend. I've been thinking about it a lot since that spell. I know it's probably not really your thing..."

He cut her off by pressing a finger to her mouth. "I told you, we'll do whatever your heart desires. I love you, Buffy, all I care about is making you happy."

She teared up at that, kissing him sweetly on the lips. "You do, every day."

And he continued to do so for the rest of her life, which happened to be a very long one.