destructo-girl.com

Author: Pamela
Contact: destructo-girl@cox.net
Notes: Thanks to Andra for all her help with the medical stuff. She loves to share her knowledge. Sometimes too much.....

Riley frowned as someone knocked on the door of the hospital room he had just been moved to. Slowly turning his head in the direction of the door, he called, "Come in."

Buffy slowly came into the room, a worried look on her face, before she promptly broke down into tears, "I'm so sorry!"

"This is my fault," she explained as she continued to cry, "You were mad at me and that made you drive crazy and get in an accident."

Riley shook his head, "No, I was being an idiot and driving crazy and got in an accident. Don't blame yourself."

"I can't help it… you wouldn't have been driving like an idiot if not for me."

He sighed, not quite ready to tell her it wasn't all her fault that he was so in love that she made him crazy. Looking down, Riley replied, "Look, you didn't make me fight with you. It wasn't a one-sided thing. This accident wasn't your fault, it was mine."

"Hey… I'm the injured one here with a *killer* headache… can't you just go easy on me and not disagree?" he asked, giving her a small smile.

Buffy couldn't help but smile back and him before she slowly nodded and took a few tentative steps towards him, "Are you really going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine… just wanting to kill myself… I'm pretty sure the jeep is totaled."

"Nobody mentioned the condition of the jeep to me, and I was pretty busy being focused on *you*," she told him, "But the doctor told me you rolled it, so I am not counting on it being undamaged."

"Don't worry about it right now, I have my car and we can make do with one car for the time being," Buffy said, easing herself into the chair beside his bed.

"I don't want to put you out. You're eight months pregnant, I don't want you without a car."

She shook her head, "I work twice a week and go to the grocery store. I don't need anything, I have everything for the baby… I don't need my car that much. Besides, my mom would love to chauffeur me anywhere my heart desires."

Riley looked over at her, wishing more than ever that things could just be simple, that she could be his wife and they could raise this child as their own. He loved the both of them so much… losing them would break his heart.

"Well, I had to call your mom. I knew she would kill me if I didn't… and I felt she had a right to know," Buffy confessed.

"I know you're absolutely right about her killing you if you didn't call her… but I really wish you hadn't. Did she flip out?"

"Not really," she answered, "I mean, she had a… strong… reaction… but that's how your mother is. I didn't tell her that you had rolled your jeep, though."

"Yeah… she said that," Buffy bit her lip, "And she also is insisting on coming to town with your dad."

Buffy glanced at her watch and saw that she had twenty minutes before she needed to get to Sunnydale's small airport to meet Riley's parents. They'd been able to catch a flight on a small plane from LAX so at least she didn't have to drive two hours to get them.

She went and pulled the envelope with all her checking account information out of the drawer she had stuffed it in all those months earlier. After she'd gotten home the night before, she had put laundry away and had noticed it. It was strange, she saw it every day but never really thought about it. But then she had never needed money before.

Opening the envelope, she found a pamphlet inside with instructions on how to access her account on the internet. Buffy went to Riley's bedroom and turned on the computer. A few moments later, she was at the bank's website and logging in.

"Oh, there he is!" Claire exclaimed as she rushed into Riley's hospital room, "My poor baby! He looks so pale, doesn't he look pale, John?"

John Finn winked at his daughter-in-law as the two of them followed her in, "He looks fine, Darling."

"Oh, what do you know about it, anyway," she replied as she kissed her son on the cheek, "I don't know if I want to hug you or smack you more!"

"Please, don't do either… my entire body feels like one big bruise," Riley said.

"John, help Buffy sit down," Claire ordered, "She looks like she could be giving birth any time now. You know I can tell these things."

Buffy frowned as she and John complied. Giving birth had always been this foreign futuristic idea. It was never something she had to really do… it was something that would happen someday… but Claire was right, that day was rapidly approaching… and she was terrified.

"He's obviously doing okay," John sighed, sitting on the edge of Riley's bed, "Just needs time to recuperate."

"You don't know that," Claire protested before she opened the curtains and blinded the other three occupants of the room, "He could be internally bleeding or something."

"Mom, I wasn't internally bleeding yesterday, so I wouldn't just start doing it in the middle of the night."

"You know, you ought to calm down because I am injured and Buffy's pregnant and you're stressing us out," Riley smiled at the blonde slayer.

"Well, I'm sorry but when my son gets in a horrible car accident, I get a little wound up!" Claire retorted, "Buffy told me that they said your jeep was totaled, I made her."

"Claire, why don't we go try to find this doctor to see when we can take Riley home?" John suggested, standing up and holding his hand out to her.

Claire thought it over before nodding and smiling, "Okay, and then we can leave these two alone."

Riley rolled his eyes, but neither of them made any comment, knowing it was useless.

As soon as Claire and John left the room, a blonde woman approached them, "Are you Mr. and Mrs. Finn, Riley's parents?"

"Yes," Claire replied, then smiled she saw the woman's resemblance to Buffy, "And you must be Joyce Summers!"

"I am," Joyce returned the smile, "Oh, I have so much to thank you for. You were so wonderful to my daughter."

Claire was so excited, she wasn't able to resist checking to see if Joyce felt the same way as them, "In fact, we wish she was… we hate their little plan just because of the divorce part."

Joyce sighed, "I agree… it must be obvious to anyone who looks that they both love each other. I wish they'd just get it together and admit it to one another."

"Well, they are alone in there right now," Claire grinned, gesturing to the closed door, "Maybe Riley's accident will make them see that they ought to live for the day and be happy with each other!"

Once they were alone in the room, Buffy took a deep breath, "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Buffy nodded quickly, "It's nothing horrible... or even bad, really. It's just that I was thinking… once the insurance company puts the paperwork through, you'll get a check, but as you said yesterday, it won't be enough to pay for another new car."

"Yeah, but it'll make a good down payment and I'm sure I can afford to make car payments."

"Well, I think I have a way for you to not need to," she said, "I can give you ten thousand dollars. That, plus the insurance money should be enough."

"Ten thousand dollars?!" Riley exclaimed, "Where did you get that kind of money?"

"Yes, it does! Don't you even try telling me that you got this money working for Giles. You haven't made that much money, not even counting all you've spend on the baby. So unless you won the lotto, you have some other source of income, because I can't imagine anyone is just throwing ten grand at you..." Riley trailed off as he realized something, "Except for Angel."

She looked down, not wanting to have to look in his eyes, "It doesn't matter where I got it, Riley."

"Bullshit! You know very well how I would feel about this. What, you called Angel up and told him I got in a wreck and he was ever so happy to play your knight in shining armor the easiest way possible and give *me* money?"

"No," she shook her head, "He set up a checking account for me. The balance is ten thousand dollars."

Buffy felt her eyes well with tears as she shook her head more fervently this time, "You *would* say something like that. Look, I'm offering this to you because *I* don't want it and I wanted to repay you for-"

"I'm not trying to buy you! I'm trying to say thank you!" she began crying harder as she felt like her still-beating heart was being ripped from her chest, "Don't you get it? Are you really so blind that you don't see what's right in front of you?"

"Oh, I see it," Riley shouted, "And I'm beginning to regret ever laying eyes on it."

Buffy choked on a sob and pushed herself out of the chair so she could rush from the room.

The three parents outside had inadvertently heard the tail end of their children's argument and were taken aback when an obviously upset Buffy came rushing out of the room. Joyce immediately put her hands on her daughter's shoulders and tried to calm her down.

Claire took one look at the sobbing girl and stormed into Riley's room, her husband close on her heels, trying to stop her. John knew that as much as Riley would comply with his mother's wishes and allow her to interfere with his life, he obviously wasn't in the mood to deal with it right then.

Riley groaned, "Mom, listen, you know I love you and I respect you and everything… but this is *my* life and I can't listen to you telling me what I should and shouldn't do right now."

"Well, someone has to tell you what to do, since you obviously can't figure out what's right on your own!"

"Mom, what's between Buffy and I is none of your business! I'm sorry, but you need to accept that if I want to divorce her, I'm going to and you have no right to say anything!"

Claire was infuriated beyond words; her son could be positively stubborn at times! Turning to John, she said, "Try and talk some sense into him, would you?"

Without waiting for a response, she left the two of them in the room and walked back into the hallway to find that Joyce and Buffy were sitting on a couch about ten feet away. Slowly, she approached them and stood in front of the couch, not saying anything, no matter how much she wanted to. Joyce was Buffy's mother and she didn't want to step on any toes. Instead she just stood and watched on as Buffy slowly stopped crying.

"Honey, please don't let this upset you so much, it's not good for you or the baby," Joyce sighed, pushing Buffy's hair behind her ear.

"I know," Joyce sighed again, putting her arm around Buffy's shoulders and slowly rocked her. She hated seeing her daughter so distraught, not just because any mother would hate for their child to be in so much pain, but because when she looked at Buffy, she saw herself all those years ago. She and Hank had always had problems, but she'd always thought they could work through them. As time went by, though, things had gotten progressively worse. She recalled the pain she had been in every time Hank used a certain tone or gave her a certain look as clearly as if it had been the day before. If at all possible, she was going to spare Buffy that.

Pulling back a bit so that she could look at her daughter, Joyce asked, "Maybe you should come stay with me?"

"What?" Buffy asked, caught completely off guard. Even if she had told Riley she could move in with her mom… it was never something she has seriously considered.

"I was just thinking that you could come back home… I could take time off work so I could make sure you get enough rest and everything… I don't want you to have to pay for your own apartment when you get divorced… so maybe you should just move in now. We can have everything settled in before the baby comes… and then I don't have to worry about you getting upset."

Claire's heart began beating rapidly and she turned and once again rushed into Riley's room. She *had* to make him see reason.

"Dad, I am turning twenty-three in a matter of days, you two are going to have to start treating me like an adult," Riley told his father a few seconds after his mother had left the room.

John sighed and nodded, taking the seat beside Riley's bed, "I know that Riley… but haven't you ever watched someone you love do something that you really disagree with? You know that it really isn't your place to say anything, but it's unbearable to watch them do this thing that you know is a mistake?"

"Well, that's how your mother and I feel. You know we love you and want what is best for you. Buffy's a great girl… we love her too… and we think that she would make a great wife for you. We think she'll make you happy."

"I know that. I'm sure there is a whole lot that we don't know," John sighed, "But we know you love her… and she loves you. Maybe I'm naïve… but I thought that was all that matters. If you had those two things, you could make everything else work."

Riley was silent, and before he could come up with a response, Claire came back in the room, looking more angry than when she'd left, if that were possible.

"Buffy's mother is currently trying to talk her into coming home and I think she is close to doing it. You had *better* start fighting for what you want before what you want *disappears*!"

Even though every muscle in his body protested, Riley sat up in bed, "Please, go tell her I want to talk to her!"

Buffy slowly opened the door to Riley's room, taking one look back at the three people in the hallway. John and Claire had small encouraging smiles on their faces while Joyce looked worried. As much as she trusted the Finns, she didn't want Buffy getting upset yet again.

She entered the room and studiously avoided making eye contact with Riley, "Your mom said you wanted to talk to me."

"Are you moving out?" he asked, sitting up a little straighter as he tried to get Buffy to look at him. When she didn't respond, he held out his hand, "Come here."

She gingerly walked over to him and took his hand, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Mom said I could come home and-"

"You have a home… with me," he told her, gently squeezing her hand, "Buffy, I'm sorry… it's just that Angel makes me completely crazy. I think he is a fool and a jerk and a bunch of other bad things that make him unworthy of you. So… it just makes me insane that you let him back in. He doesn't deserve that kind of gift."

Riley's jaw dropped. After a few seconds, he pushed her hair back over her shoulder so that he could see her better, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You haven't really been willing to listen to me," Buffy replied, her eyes once again stinging with tears. She tried to stand, but Riley continued to grip her, "Riley-"

"Don't go," he pleaded softly, knowing that if she left the room, he couldn't follow… and if he couldn't convince her not to move out right away, she'd be gone by the time he was out of the hospital… and if she moved out… he'd have a hell of a time getting her to move back in.

"Give me one reason to stay," she said, meeting his eyes, hoping desperately that he would.

"I wish I could take you two out tonight, but your doctor says you must rest, Riley," Claire said as she walked alongside Riley's wheelchair as a nurse pushed him through the hospital to where Buffy and John were supposed to be waiting with the car, "Maybe I can fix a pot roast. Buffy and I can go to the store."

"I know that, Riley! *I* will make sure that Buffy's in the proper condition to do whatever I try to get her to do," she replied pointedly, making it clear that she hadn't forgiven him for the fight he'd had with Buffy a few hours earlier.

Riley sighed and looked up at the nurse, "This stress can't be good for me, maybe I'd better stay."

At last they went through the automatic doors and found Buffy and John standing in front of the Civic. Riley shrugged off help from the nurse and climbed in the passenger seat, grateful to finally be getting out of that hospital, but wishing he didn't have to deal with his mother. He knew that they needed her- he really wasn't back to full health and Buffy didn't need to be taking care of him- but she was going to drive him nuts.

"Buffy, this is such a nice little car! It's very cute," Claire commented, "It will be perfect when you have the baby. Isn't it nice, John?"

"You know what Noah told you, most of those American car engines are made by foreign car companies," Claire reminded him.

"Oh God, here we go again," Riley quietly told Buffy in the front seat, "I think I know this argument word for word now."

"I heard that!" Claire scolded, "He thinks he's hysterical, Buffy, but he's not!"

Riley could tell that Buffy was trying not to laugh and was pleased. After he'd asked her not to leave, she'd simply nodded before getting up and leaving the room. A few moments later Claire had come into the room and told him he'd managed to stop Buffy from moving… and he was very lucky. He hadn't disagreed. However, Buffy hadn't been overly friendly. She really didn't say anything or even look at him if she could help it. Even though she wasn't moving out, Riley knew he needed to fix some things with her.

He groaned, wishing she'd never gotten the idea to wake him up every hour. How was he ever supposed to get any rest this way? "Well, I'm awake and alive and all that, can I go back to sleep now?"

"Riley, do you want me to go get Buffy and make her come in here and give you water?" she threatened.

He moved his arm off his face and gave her a strange look, "Why would you do that? I don't want her having to take care of me."

"Good, because that would be wrong in her condition… but if I get her to do it, I think you'll feel so bad for making her get up and wait on you that you will drink the water like I want you to."

Riley sighed and pushed himself up in the bed before holding out his hand for the glass of water. Quickly, he put the glass to his lips and took several gulps. Holding up the half-empty glass, he asked, "Is that enough?"

"Yes," Claire smiled triumphantly, "Now, before you fall back asleep, we're eating at six-thirty, so when I wake you up at six, I want you to stay awake so you can wash up for dinner, okay?"

She left him alone in the room a few moments later, and since he wasn't as exhausted as a few moments earlier, Riley looked around Buffy's bedroom, smiling at how she had all the baby's furniture ready, just waiting for the baby to come. Buffy had insisted that he could sleep in her room and his parents in his room since most of the time she could only sleep comfortably out on the recliner in the living room anyway. Nobody had wanted to give her much argument, since they were all worried about her stress level, so she'd gotten her way.

His thoughts once again drifted to the fact that she'd come mighty close to leaving him. Joyce didn't appear to be mad at him when she'd come into his hospital room a while after Buffy had agreed to stay, but he didn't doubt that he screwed up again, she'd try to get Buffy to move in with her. He had to get Buffy on his good side… ass-kissing was definitely in order.

Riley heard the front door open through the window and frowned as he heard his mother's voice.

"Now, Buffy, don't you let Riley upset you. He's my son and I love him, but he is still male and… well, Sweetheart, men have a tendency to be complete dolts."

Riley frowned as he heard Buffy laugh. How was he supposed to get anything done with his mother around?

"Buffy, eat more," Claire insisted, pushing the bowl of mashed potatoes towards her daughter-in-law.

Buffy, feeling very uncomfortable and not in the mood to politely acquiesce to Claire's every desire, shook her head adamantly, "No, I don't want more."

Riley would have jumped to Buffy's defense, especially since he could see by the look on her face that she wasn't about to give in, but she really hadn't eaten much at all.

Riley's eyes bulged as his parents both shot him dirty looks, "What?! I never said that! Never!"

"He made fun of me for eating his chili cheese fries. He *offered* first, though!" she exclaimed, near tears.

He looked at her like she was insane, wondering what had possessed her to say that in front of his parents. Claire patted Buffy's hand and tried to sooth her as John gave his son a commiserating smile. As Buffy almost instantly calmed back down again, Riley realized it was just Buffy's wonderful hormones on overdrive. He remembered Rachel having some wild mood swings… he just hadn't seen them in Buffy before.

"Are you sure it's a good idea that Buffy works so close to her due date? It's a week from today! Besides, first babies tend to come early," Claire said, "And she's a teenager and teen mothers usually go into labor early!"

"Mom, if you want to try to get Buffy to sit home instead of working and wait around while we go shopping for a car, feel free. Just warn me first so I can put in my earplugs," Riley replied as he finished his breakfast.

"Very amusing, Riley," she commented as she sipped her coffee, "I can't believe Mr. Giles is letting her work."

"Mr. Giles just values his sanity. He knows that if he tells Buffy she can't work, he's going to get an earful, so it's easier to give her a few hours a week and make sure someone else is working at the same time… so if she gets tired she can rest. I'm sure he won't let her overdo it."

"You left the toilet seat up! I was stuck for twenty minutes," Buffy yelled at him.

"You're *sorry*?! Sorry, just… sorry," Buffy ranted, then looked at Claire, "Can you believe him?"

Riley swiftly shook his head. Buffy sighed and turned to go to her bedroom to finish getting ready.

"Why does she seem to hate me especially?" he asked his mother, "I mean, yeah, she gets a little… nutty… with you and Dad, but she really seems to zero in on me."

"Well… she knows you better. You're always a little more comfortable making people you know miserable. Plus… I like to think it's because you're her husband and she's forgetting that you aren't the man who put her in this position."

Riley rolled his eyes, "I'll stick with the idea that she knows me better… lucky me."

"Do you ever worry that you won't be able to look like you did before you got pregnant?" Anya asked Buffy as she arranged merchandise in the display case beneath the counter.

"Only always," Buffy sighed from her perch on a stool. She had absolutely nothing to do besides ring up customers. She wasn't able to get down on the floor to work on the display case, Giles didn't want her using the ladder or lifting most of the merchandise, and she'd already gone over everything with a feather duster.

She would have complained if she'd actually felt compelled to do anything besides sit on the stool and ring up the occasional customer. Her energy level had vastly diminished in the last few weeks. Lugging around all the extra weight of the baby in the summer heat was enough to make her want a nap. At least she wasn't sitting bored at home. Lord knows she couldn't have gone shopping with Riley and his parents for the new car they were buying him as an early birthday present/reward for marrying the poor pregnant girl.

Not that she wanted to, anyway. Buffy was quite fed up with Riley at the moment. When he'd talked her into coming home, she'd expected him to do *something*. After the conversation between Riley and Elle that she'd overheard, she knew he loved her… okay, she was pretty sure he loved her… so why didn't he say so? Why didn't he give her some sign that he didn't want a divorce? She was starting to get the impression that he'd only asked her to stay to get Claire off his back...

Realizing that Anya was looking at her, Buffy started paying attention again, "What?"

Buffy immediately started to cry, "God, Anya, I can't help it! I'm having a baby and my doctor says my weight is perfectly normal! My ankles are swollen, my back hurts and I can't spend too long on my hair, make-up or anything because I have to pee constantly and if I don't go as soon as the urge hits me, I'm in pain!"

"Oh yes, that's right! Xander told me that being pregnant, your hormones are abnormal and will make you act erratic and irrational. What did he say I should do about that?" Anya asked herself and bit her lip, "Hmm… well I was supposed to not comment on your appearance... oops. I'm sorry, I understand that you are pregnant and that is affecting your looks. Don't you worry, because you won't be pregnant forever! Even if you do have the baby and stay fat, we will still be your friends. We love you for who you are! Yes, Riley will leave you, but he was going to do that anyway."

Anya grinned, it was the first time anyone had told her that. She'd have to tell Xander… he would be very pleased and they could have good sex that night.

Buffy awakened from her nap when she heard the key in the lock. Drowsily, she opened her eyes in time to see Riley and his parents come in to the apartment.

"Poor baby, she needs her rest," Claire smiled, sitting down on the couch, "But you need to eat dinner soon, anyway. John and I want to take you two out in celebration."

"I'm once again a vehicle owner," Riley explained, sitting down beside his mother, "How was work?"

"Not nearly as long as it took me to negotiate the deal," John told her, "Those salesmen can try all they want, but I am a shrewd businessman!"

She pushed the foot rest down so she was in an upright position and began her struggle to stand up, "Let me just use the restroom and we can go."

Buffy went to the bathroom and washed her face. Deciding to at least make an effort, she ran a brush through her hair and applied some more make-up than her usual- as of late- lip gloss and mascara. Surprisingly, when she looked back at her reflection, Buffy felt a lot better. Almost… pretty… well, as pretty as one could get when they were as pregnant as she was.

Walking back out of the bathroom, Claire saw her and clapped her hands together, "You look gorgeous, Honey. Not that you're not always beautiful… but you look happier now."

"I'm sure you do. I should have tried to get us to a salon during this visit! You could really use a nice massage and a facial. If I make you an appointment for next week, will you go?"

"Riley your wife is positively frustrating at times," she sighed as she opened the door to the apartment and excitedly led Buffy to the garage, "We spoiled him a bit, but I'm in such a giving mood… we got every feature Riley wanted and then some."

Walking into the garage, Buffy found the hugest truck she had ever seen. There was no way she'd be able to climb into it… not before she gave birth. Riley walked past her and grinned, running his hand along the side of it proudly. She instantly saw him proudly picking up a date and driving all around with her in this… monstrosity. It wasn't a family car… and he didn't need a family car when he'd be divorcing her in a matter of months.

"Riley, you'd have to lift me into it so I could see *anything*… and I don't want you lifting me."

"No, I won't," he assured her, "See, there's a little thing for you to step on to get in."

Buffy looked where he was pointing, and sure enough, there was a little built-in step on the side of the truck. Riley opened the passenger door for her and she complied, climbing up and sitting on the edge of the seat.

Proudly, Riley stood beside her, "See, it's got air conditioning, CD player, a *killer* sound system and, as you can see, it's a four-door with a nice backseat too."

"Yeah," Buffy replied, gazing at the backseat, wondering if he was implying that the backseat would be good for when the baby came.

"Uh… because then I can bring my friends places too," Riley added. He'd wanted to say it was for the baby, but she was so wishy-washy lately that he feared her reaction.

"It's great, Riley," she told him, disappointed. It actually wasn't that bad. Even if she'd never want to drive something so huge, it was pretty nice on the inside and she could get used to climbing up into it. Elle, or a girl like her, would love it.

Buffy waddled into the living room and sat on the couch, "I'm tired. God, all I did was put my shoes on and I'm tired!"

"Well, it must be… nevermind," Riley replied, thinking better of telling her he understood it would be hard to put shoes on when you can't see your feet. From his spot in the recliner, though, he noticed something else, "Um, Buffy… why do you have one pink shoe and one white one?"

"I do?" she asked, trying unsuccessfully to look down at her feet. She had several pairs of canvas shoes in different colors that *felt* the same. Boy, did she feel like an idiot. Frowning at Riley, she said, "I really don't need any comments."

"I promise I have none," he assured her, standing, "Now, did you want to wear white or pink?"

Riley nodded and went into Buffy's room, only to emerge a moment later with the white sneaker's mate. He knelt in front of Buffy and removed the pink shoe before sliding her foot into the white one and tying the laces. Looking up at her and smiled, "Done."

Buffy rewarded him with a small smile, as she was touched by his gesture, "Thank you."

From the doorway, Claire and John stood with their arms around each other, sharing warm smiles, knowing they could leave on their flight that day with their minds at ease. Riley had made some mistakes, but everything would work out. They had faith in love. It would come through and their son would be happy with Buffy.

"What?" Riley asked groggily, finding an irate-looking Buffy standing next to his bed.

"My milk! You know I love my cereal, but now I can't have it because *you* drank all the milk!"

"I… I'm sorry," he stumbled over his words as he sat up in bed, glancing at the clock and seeing it was half past seven, "I'll go buy you more."

"Oh, you'll go buy me more? Like, after you get out of bed and shower and get dressed and probably have your own breakfast," Buffy shouted before breaking down into tears, "Well, I'm hungry now!"

"I'm sorry, Buffy, I really didn't mean to. Let me just go put some clothes on… and maybe brush my teeth… I'll have your milk for you in… twenty minutes!"

"No, I don't hate you at all," Riley assured her, getting out of bed and trying to comfort the distraught girl with a hug.

As the door slammed behind her, Riley sighed, wondering how he was supposed to make it through these mood swings until Buffy gave birth... just six more days until her due date… not that it meant she'd give birth on that day.

"Poor Riley," Xander laughed, "I can't believe you went off on him because of *milk*."

Buffy rubbed her face with her hands, "I know… I feel like an idiot, but it seemed like such a big deal at the time."

She shrugged, "A part of me can't wait. I want to get to see her and hold her and put her in all those cute little dresses… but on the other hand… I'm dreading it. I'm scared of giving birth. I'm scared something bad will happen. And… I'm also depressed because I've always been able to say Riley and I won't get divorced until a few months after I have the baby… but once I have the baby… all that comes next is divorce."

"You definitely do not want a divorce," Xander concluded, seeing the way her eyes filled with tears.

Buffy shook her head, "Not even a little… despite all that Riley's said that hurt me and the fact that I could throttle him half the time… I don't want him to leave too."

"No, I'm not going to do that," she insisted, "I can't, Xander… if I tell him how I feel, he has so much power over me. He can hurt me so much."

"And he hasn't hurt you already, even though he has no idea you love him? Your heart isn't going to be broken come January when it's time to get divorced?" Xander reasoned, "You can't help falling in love, Buffy... and pretending you aren't won't stop the pain."

Buffy looked down, "I don't want to fall in love anymore. I'm tired of getting hurt."

"I know you are, Buff, but don't you see that the only way you can possibly not get hurt is to tell Riley how you feel and give him a chance to make you happy?"

Buffy hummed cheerfully as she poured the cheese and mushrooms over the eggs and flipped one side over. Riley would be coming out of his room at any moment and she had prepared his favorite breakfast for him on his special day. She was in a great mood after deciding to take Xander's words to heart. What did she have to lose by telling Riley the truth? He already had her heart and she knew he loved her too. So… she was going to tell him over dinner that night. She had the day off work and planned to spend it preparing a delicious dinner so that everything would be perfect.

As if on cue, Riley's bedroom door opened and he gingerly exited his haven of peace in a now chaotic household, courtesy of Buffy's hormones. He knew never what to expect from her, she went from happy to depressed to furious so often.

A smile spread on Riley's face as he was pleased that she'd remembered. Then again, it would have been impossible for her not to, the way Claire lamented that she had to leave just before his birthday and Buffy's due date because Rachel and Brian were going on a cruise and needed someone to watch the kids.

"Thank you," he said quietly, then noticed the aroma in the air, "You didn't make me breakfast, did you?"

Buffy nodded as she scooped the omelette out and put it on a plate before piling two slices of toast next to it as well, "Of course I did. Go sit at the table and I will bring it to you."

He complied, not wishing to push her into getting angry or crying or anything and sat down at the dining room table. She'd already set out silverware and a glass as well as a pitcher of orange juice and the butter. He poured himself a glass of juice and sipped it until Buffy brought his food out a moment later.

Riley shook his head and smiled up at her, "Thank you so much, this was very sweet of you."

"It's no big deal," she assured him as she moved over to the ironing board where she had Riley's camoflauge suits hanging, "I hope you don't mind, but I ironed these uniforms. You just had them folded in your laundry basket, so I figured you would have had to do them anyway."

She shook her head, "I wasn't tired… I just have this need to clean. I wanted to vacuum, but I figured it would wake you up, so I did a bunch of ironing and cleaned the kitchen and my bedroom before it was time to make you breakfast."

Riley frowned, wondering what was up with her. Still… she seemed to be feeling better than normal, certainly more energetic… so he probably needn't be concerned.

"Hey there Birthday Boy," Forrest greeted his friend as he walked up to him in the hallway of the Initiative.

Riley looked at his friend in surprise, since Forrest had been pretty irked at him since he'd found out what had happened on the second date with Elle. "Hey, how's it going?"

He wanted to say no, since he'd really wanted to take Buffy out to dinner, just the two of them, but he supposed he really needed to get on with his life. Slowly, he nodded his head, "What did you have in mind?"

"All right," Forrest grinned, "How about a bunch of us go to a bar? We can have a nutritious barbeque wing dinner, beer and play pool all night."

"Who is we?" Riley asked. Just because he was going out didn't mean he wanted to spend the evening with Elle.

"Seven sounds better," Riley answered, "I don't get off until five-thirty and I will need to go home to shower and get a change of clothes.

"I'm off at two, how about I go pick up your clothes for you so you can get ready up in Lowell House?" Forrest offered.

Buffy put the finishing touches of icing on Riley's birthday cake, satisfied that the night would be a success... food-wise, anyway. The cake looked perfect and in a few hours the lasagna would be done baking in the oven. All she really had left to do was try and pull herself together.

She'd covered the cake and was heading to her bedroom to decide on an outfit when there was a knock at the door. Buffy frowned and wondered who it could be as she went to answer it. When she found Forrest on the other side of the threshold, she was surprised to say the least.

"Hi Forrest… um… Riley's not here, he's working. I figured you'd know that," she told him, then her eyes widened, "Oh no, nothing happened, right?"

Forrest shook his head and faked a smile, "Riley's fine, I'm just picking up some clothes for him."

"Oh, okay," she replied, stepping out of the way so he could enter the apartment.

As soon as he walked in, Forrest couldn't help but comment, "Something smells really good."

"It's Riley's lasagna and birthday cake," Buffy smiled, "I wanted him to have a special dinner tonight. Why do you have to pick up clothes for him?"

"We're going out… to celebrate his birthday. That's weird, did he forget you guys had made plans?" Forrest asked innocently.

Buffy shook her head quickly, "No… I was going to surprise him. He hadn't mentioned he was going out."

"Well, we just decided today… I mean it's not like you're really his wife. He probably didn't expect you to want to spend his birthday with him."

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed, trying to hide her disappointment, "He can just have the food… tomorrow or something. It's no big deal."

He left her alone so that he could go grab Riley's clothes. Buffy bit her lip and focused on not crying. So much for all her plans...

It was six o'clock when Buffy felt the pain for the first time. It was strange, not unlike the cramps she used to get during her period, but she felt it more in her back. Still, it passed relatively quickly and she dismissed it as one of those lovely pregnancy 'perks'.

Around six-thirty, Buffy felt the pain again, but since it was a fleeting discomfort, she wrote it off as nothing and continued scrubbing the kitchen floor. She had already cleaned it at five that morning, but she felt a compulsion to do it again.

When Willow called twenty minutes later when she felt it again and mentioned it to her friend, the witch was immediately concerned.

"I don't know… like a cramp. It hurts but not for that long," Buffy explained.

"No, I'm not, it must just be Braxton-Hicks," she replied confidently, "If it was labor… I'd know. It would be different."

"I would just know. I'd be like 'whoa, labor', but I'm not… it would just be… bigger."

Buffy would have protested, but company sounded nice so she agreed. Willow set a record and made it in ten minutes with a stopwatch and pad of paper in hand, insisting she would time Buffy's not-contractions.

By eight o'clock, the pains were getting a lot stronger and occurring less than ten minutes apart. Willow was growing more and more worried and even Buffy started to take them seriously.

Buffy shook her head, "Even if it is labor, we shouldn't go until they are five minutes apart. That's what they told us in Lamaze class."

"Do you want some ice cream?" she asked her friend, "I'd offer you cake too, but I figure Riley should get the first piece since it's his."

"Oh, forget him, he doesn't deserve it," Willow retorted, having heard about what had happened with Forrest and was not very pleased with Riley at the moment. She immediately remembered the situation and asked, "How about we call your mom? I'd just feel better if she came over or at least talked to you so I'd know everything is okay."

Buffy shook her head, "Mom is in New York. We *could* call her, but then she'd worry and it would be hard for her… being so far away."

"No, Riley is your coach. Even if you aren't ready to leave, he should get home because your contractions are getting closer together and you will be five minutes apart before you know it," Willow explained, "Oh no, did you pack a bag? You need a bag!"

Buffy nodded calmly, "I packed one a long time ago. It's on the floor of my closet in my bedroom."

She complied, picking up the phone and dialing Riley's cell number, since she hadn't thought to ask Forrest where they were going. She'd been a little worried that girls were involved and then she didn't want to know.

There was no answer, which Buffy found strange, but didn't worry too much about it. Riley couldn't be far from his phone so he'd soon see on his caller ID that he'd missed her call. Besides, she was overcome with yet another pain, this one stronger than the others.

Forrest quickly deleted the call from Buffy on Riley's phone. Thank God Riley had gone to the bathroom just then and had left the phone on the table… all alone with him. It figured that girl would try to ruin Riley's night! As his best friend, Forrest decided not to let her and turned off the phone, tucking it into his pocket. Hopefully his friend wouldn't notice it's absence… at least for a few hours.

"We're here Buffy, don't worry," Xander announced as he and Anya walked through the door into Buffy's hospital room.

It was half past nine and Willow had insisted on taking her friend to the hospital despite their inability to contact Riley. Buffy's contractions had gotten down to six minutes apart forty-five minutes earlier, and it seemed to risky to wait any longer. The both of them had called him numerous times and left messages on his voice mail, but had yet to get a response.

"Oh good, you're covered up," Anya said, upon seeing Buffy, "I don't want Xander seeing your private parts."

"How's my favorite slayer doing?" Xander asked his friend, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"I don't believe this, how could he be so irresponsible?" Giles ranted as he paced alongside the bed. Willow had insisted on calling him an hour earlier to give him a heads up so he'd ended up meeting them at the hospital... And he hadn't taken the news of Riley's absence well.

"Riley is nowhere to be found," Willow explained, "He went out with his friends, but we don't know where and he's not answering his cell phone."

"You've got to be kidding, that doesn't sound like Riley," Xander commented, picking up the phone next to Buffy's bed, "Let me try, what's the number?"

"555-7265," Buffy told him as another contraction hit her, "Although, I don't know why you think you can dial a phone better than us!"

Xander made a face at her agitation and listened to the ringing on the other end, praying Riley would pick up. Instead, he got the voice mail. Hanging the phone up, he announced, "Don't worry, Buffy, I'll find him."

Xander lucked out and found Riley at the third bar he tried. Despite Sunnydale being small and having a relatively low number of bars, time was of the essence. It was ten o'clock before he walked into a bar and saw Riley laughing with his friends at a table.

Riley looked up, surprised to see the boy and smiled, "Hey Xander, how's it going?"

"What?" Riley exclaimed, sitting up straighter as everyone else at the table looked at Xander in shock, "Why didn't she call me?"

"She did! Many times! In fact, we all called you, but all we got was your voice mail," Xander said.

Confused, Riley searched his pockets for his phone, trying to find it. Forrest sheepishly pulled the phone out of his own pocket and handed it to his friend.

Riley glared at him as he took the phone, but knew he couldn't get into it right then. He had more important things to do.

Together, Xander and Riley rushed out of the bar to Xander's car. There was a tense silence in the car for a few moments until Xander just had to vent a bit.

Riley gave him an incredulous look, "You don't mean I was supposed to sit home twenty-four hours a day just in case Buffy went into labor."

Xander sighed, "I don't know, I'm just really pissed right now. You're the one who agreed to be Buffy's coach and she's at the hospital, scared and alone. Okay, not alone… Giles, Will and Anya are there… but you're the one she needs."

"I know," Riley said, "I'm far from happy about this, but you gotta know that I didn't know you guys were calling. How far apart are her contractions?"

Xander shrugged, "I have no idea… I just know they called me before nine when they were on the way to the hospital."

"You're doing great, Buffy, I'm so proud of you," Giles smiled as he squeezed the girl's hand. Tara had arrived a few minutes earlier and the two girls had set off on a mission to get Buffy ice chips. Anya had gone for coffee a little before then, so the two of them were left alone.

"I'm scared," she confessed, "It's already pretty painful and it will only get worse."

"You'll do fine, and they can give you drugs to help you deal with the pain when you're ready."

"It won't," Giles assured her, "You're in perfect health and you have been for this entire pregnancy."

"Look who I have," Xander announced, walking in the room with a panicked Riley in tow.

Riley was at her side in an instant, "God, Buffy, I am so sorry... it's not something we should get into right now, but I didn't get your calls."

Giles looked to Xander for confirmation and received a nod from the boy. Still… he wasn't ready to completely forgive Riley. Especially the way Buffy was looking at him. Like any father, Giles worried about Buffy getting hurt.

Buffy's labor seemed to slow down. She wasn't dilating very much, and her contractions seemed to stick to being three minutes apart. However, her water had broken not too long after Riley had arrived, so there was no doubt that her daughter was coming soon.

"How you doing?" Riley asked, then smiled at the dirty look Buffy shot him, "Sorry, stupid question."

"I half want to get this over with, but then I also just want to go home now. You'd think being a slayer would prepare me for this," Buffy sighed, "But I really hate the pain."

"Oh, I think childbirth is tough, even for slayers," he assured her, "And if it helps, I think you're doing better than Rachel did."

Buffy shook her head and tried to relax. At least Riley was by her side. Even if Joyce was in New York- trying to get the first flight home- she had him and that was a comfort. Her friends had all gone to the waiting room- where several of the guys from Lowell House were also milling about- after their constant worrying had begun to agitate Buffy.

All of a sudden, Buffy felt a sharp pain in her side and moaned loudly. Riley immediately gripped her hand, "Another contraction?"

Buffy slowly shook her head and choked out, "No, this feels different… much worse."

"Are you sure it's just not stronger than the others?" he asked, growing worried.

"I won't, I'm just going to grab a doctor really fast," Riley promised and rushed out of the room. Luckily he spotted a doctor right away and dragged them into the room by the arm, "Something's wrong with my wife."

The man stuck his head out the door and said something to someone in the hallway before walking back over to examine Buffy. Abruptly, she began hemorrhaging and the doctor grew alarmed, "Nurse, I need help in here now, she's bleeding!"

"Just stay back, please, sir, so we can take care of your wife," the doctor ordered as he grabbed an electronic device and positioned it next to Buffy's bed.

"She was having strong pains in her side and she's started bleeding. I'm going to do an ultrasound," the doctor explained as he lifted Buffy's hospital gown to bare her abdomen.

Buffy and Riley were both petrified and wishing they could be next to one another, but he couldn't do anything besides stand back and watch as several doctors and nurses began working on Buffy. It was the scariest, most frustrating thing that he'd ever gone through.

"Just as I thought," the doctor announced after what felt like years but had probably been closer to a few moments, "Her placenta is detached."

"No, you'd better wait outside," one of the nurses said, taking his arm and pulling him out of the room.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you can't," the woman said, smiling compassionately at him, "The doctors will take good care of her and your baby. We're going to give her some medication right now and she'll be unconscious. Then we'll take her into the OR just down the hall. Now you just wait right here and we'll let you know as soon as we're done, okay?"

Slowly, Riley nodded, not knowing what else he could do. A few moments later, they pushed Buffy out of her room on a gurney. He moved beside the gurney to see if he could talk with Buffy, but found she was unconscious, so he silently followed as they pushed Buffy down the hallway to a set of double doors.

Once they started pushing her into the room, Riley was forced to stop and stare despairingly at the doors. The nurse that had talked to him earlier walked up to the doors with various medical supplies in her hands and gave him a sympathetic look.

Riley numbly nodded, vaguely remembering that their friends were all in the waiting room.

Intending to give him something to do, since it would take some time to perform the operation, she suggested, "Why don't you go explain to them what's going on… then you will be able to spend all your time with your wife and daughter when this is over."

"All right," Riley said quietly, deciding it was a good idea. If he didn't bring the gang up to speed, they'd probably be pretty mad.

The walk back to the waiting room was the longest of his life as Riley tried to figure out how to explain what was happening when his mind was so muddled. Silently, he found everyone relaxing as best they could in the waiting room

However, they immediately noticed the solemn look on his face and knew that probably wasn't the case.

"Uh… Buffy's… her… placenta detached and… she started bleeding," Riley explained, "They… they have to give her a c-section… and they won't le me come in with her."

"Does this mean she's going to die?" Anya asked, oblivious to the fact that it probably wasn't the best question to ask right then.

"I don't know… why won't they let me go in with her? I don't understand, they usually let the husband be there for a c-section," Riley replied.

"W-w-well, this is an emergency a-and they p-p-p-probably don't want any extra p-people in t-t-there," Tara suggested nervously.

"Yes, you're probably right," Giles said quietly, trying to remain calm as he found himself facing his greatest fear... losing Buffy.

Riley shrugged, "I really have no idea. I'm, uh… gonna go back now so that I can find out as soon as possible. I just wanted to let you guys know."

Everyone nodded slowly, lost in their own thoughts and worries as Riley turned and headed back to wait outside the operating room. A few moments later, Xander decided he couldn't just sit and wait any longer. He'd already forgiven Riley for not being the one to take Buffy to the hospital… and it was clear to anyone who glanced at him that the soldier needed some company during this torturous wait.

He quickly excused himself and followed the way Riley had gone. He found the other man sitting on a couch in the hallway near a set of double doors that Xander assumed led to the room Buffy was in. Awkwardly, he stood a few feet away as Riley rocked slightly back and forth.

"God, please, let her live, let her survive this... I love her too much to lose her... and she doesn't even know... give me the chance to show her how much she means to me!" Riley pleaded.

Riley looked up, surprised to see him and asked, "What are you doing here? Did something happen? I've been right here since I told you guys so I don't see why they wouldn't tell me if-"

"Will she?" the dark haired man asked, "I mean… even if she comes through this surgery just fine, I don't think she's truly going to be okay until you decide what you want."

"Xander-" Riley began, but trailed off, shaking his head and staring at the double doors, willing them to open with someone bearing good news.

"I know you love her. Anybody with eyes can see that, but are you willing to be there for her? To love her every day, no matter how hard it gets? Because she deserves that, Riley. She deserves *something*!"

"Loving Buffy is the easiest, most natural thing in the world, to me... but the scariest too."

"I know," Xander sighed and leaned back, stretching his tense muscles, "Trust me, after what Buffy's been through, it's ten times harder for her... but I think she'll do it for you.... so you need to decide right now if you'll do it for her... because I'd hate for you to break your promise to God."

"I never would." Riley glanced at the dark haired man. "Y-you think she'll do that for me?"

Xander shook his head and couldn't help but laugh, "I swear, you two are so damn perfect for each other… both oblivious to the feelings of the other."

Riley was quiet, absorbing that bit of information, as well as continuing to pray that Buffy be okay, until the double doors did open some ten more minutes later. Both men stood as a couple nurses came out, pushing an isolette.

He nodded quickly, before realizing there was a baby in the isolette, "The baby?"

"She's fine, by all indications," the other nurse said, giving him a smile, "We have to run the standard tests, but she appears to be perfectly healthy."

Averting his eyes, the first nurse shook her head, "They still have to work on her… sew her up and stuff."

"Oh, okay," he said, disappointed. He could tell be their body language that just because the baby was out and fine, it didn't mean Buffy was out of the woods yet.

"Why don't you come with us to the nursery?" the second nurse asked, "We'll have her all ready in no time and then you can hold your daughter."

The second nurse exchanged a look with the first and the woman nodded her head, "Come with us, it'll take a while to get her cleaned up and everything. Don't worry, they'll come give you the news as soon as they have her out of the OR."

"Absolutely," the second nurse said, relieved that he agreed to come. It was standard in situations like this to get the father to the nursery so he could bond with a child. Not only did it get his mind off things... but when they had to deliver bad news, it was always best if the father had their child in his arms. It would calm him… and he'd look down and see the baby and know that no matter how distraught he was, he needed to keep it together for the sake of the child.

And from what they had seen in the operating room… it seemed like a wise plan.

As soon as Xander walked back into the waiting room, he was bombarded by questions from everyone. Hushing them all, he announced, "They've got the baby out. They just took her down to the nursery… Riley went with her. They say she looks like she's in perfect health, though."

"They're still working on her," Xander answered quietly, not being able to hide his own fear. He'd seen the look on those nurses faces. They seemed far from sure that Buffy would be fine.

Everyone was quiet again, but most were a bit more optimistic since the baby was okay… it was unfathomable that Buffy could really *die*. After twenty minutes, though, Giles couldn't take it any longer.

"I'm going to go wait outside the operating room. I'll let you all know when there is news."

He nodded his assent, since she had been on her best behavior. Well, she actually just hadn't said much… but that was a vast improvement from saying really outrageous things. It was definitely not the time or place and nobody had the patience to deal with her tactless remarks.

The three nervously walked back to the operating room and sat on the couch. They were all silent for a while, until Giles shook his head and said, "I cannot believe this is happening. All the times Buffy faced demons and monsters and she was fine… I never would have thought something like childbirth could..."

"Hey, she'll be fine, Giles," Anya comforted the older man, surprising Xander, "Buffy is far too excited about this baby to never even meet her. Besides, she swore to me that she was going to do whatever it took to make sure her daughter didn't grow up motherless."

The watcher gave her a small grateful smile, "I'm trying to believe that... but if she doesn't, so help me I will kill Angel. I know it takes two, but Buffy's the one who has suffered…"

A few moments later, a group of doctors and nurses emerged from the OR with a gurney in tow. The three of them were on their feet in an instant, moving to stand beside the gurney to see Buffy. She was extremely pale and unconscious… but alive.

Since he appeared to be about the right age and certainly had a 'worried father' look, the doctor said, "So far, so good. We're taking her to ICU for at least the night, but I'm optimistic that she'll be fine."

The three of them sighed in relief and continued to follow. Once they reached an elevator, a doctor put his hand on Giles' arm, "This is where you all get off. We'll take her up to ICU and get her all settled… then she can have visitors. Oh, but family only. Sorry, hospital policy."

Giles nodded quickly, just happy to know Buffy had indeed made it through childbirth.

"Here we go, are you ready to meet your daughter?" yet another nurse asked as she walked into the room with a little bundle in a pink blanket in her arms.

Riley nodded eagerly from the rocking chair they'd had him sit in after he'd 'suited up' in a paper gown over his street clothes.

The nurse gently put the baby in his arms, "Here's Daddy, Precious... Have you picked a name yet, Mr. Finn?"

Riley shook his head, gazing down in amazement at the baby in his arms, "Her mother wanted to wait until she got to see her before she decided for sure."

"Okay," the nurse said, patting Riley's shoulder, "I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

After she left them alone, Riley smiled down at the baby. She was absolutely beautiful. Her head had soft black hair, which he assumed she must have gotten from Angel, but otherwise… she was Buffy. She was gazing up at him drowsily and he could see she had her mother's hazel eyes… as well as all her other features... And Riley instantly knew he loved this baby as if it were his own.

"Hi there, Sweetheart. I'm Riley… and I certainly hope I get to be your daddy. You see, things aren't exactly simple between your mommy and I. But I do love her more than anything… and she just might love me too. So hopefully I can grovel enough that I'll get to be your daddy for good. Won't that be wonderful? I think so... do you suppose maybe you could help me get your mom to give me a second chance? Unfortunately, I wasn't very nice to your mommy lately… but I think if I have you on my side, she'll forgive me. I honestly don't know how anyone could look at you and say no."

He spent the next twenty minutes adoring Buffy's daughter, as well as praying with all his might that God wouldn't take her from him, and even more importantly, from this tiny baby in his arms. Buffy had done so much for her child already… it wouldn't be fair that she never got to hold her… and despite his mistakes, hadn't he done enough good things to earn a chance to make things right?

"Mr. Finn," a doctor softly said, entering the room and pulling a stool out so he could face Riley.

Riley recognized him as the doctor he'd pulled out of the hallway when Buffy had first started having pains. It had felt like ages ago, but a glance at the clock on the wall proved it had actually only been about an hour. Gulping, he asked, "Do you have news about Buffy?"

The doctor nodded, "Uh, first let me tell you my name is Dr. Hill. If you have any questions later, don't hesitate to have me paged… now, about your wife. Buffy bled quite a bit during the procedure. We had to give her a unit of blood, but we did stabilize her. She's going to spend tonight in the ICU, but like I said, she's stable. We mostly want her there for observation, to make sure she doesn't start bleeding again or anything. I have no reason to believe that we won't be able to move her to a private room tomorrow. It's just a guess, but I think we'll be able to release her after three days or so."

The doctor smiled and nodded, "Of course, this is barring any complications… but your wife is a fighter, I can tell. I have faith that she'll be just fine."

"They're settling her in the room right now. Give them a little while… a nurse will come get you," Dr. Hill replied as he stood up and put the stool back.

Riley carefully reached an arm up to shake the man's hand, extremely cautious of the baby in his arms, "Thank you again, doctor."

Buffy grogglily opened her eyes and tried to figure out where she was. It didn't look like any of the rooms in her apartment, the ceiling was tiled and she could hear a repetitious beeping sound. Her vision was a bit blurred, but as she looked around, it started to clear. She felt a slight pain in her hand and lifted it, realizing she was hooked up to an IV.

She turned her head to the other side and saw Riley was sitting in a chair beside her, a big smile on his face.

"Riley, what's going on?" she asked, her voice gruff since her throat was so dry.

"Want some water?" he asked. When she nodded, he picked up a cup and a pitcher from a table next to her hospital bed and poured her a cup and slipped a straw into it. Gently, he helped lift her head slightly so that she could have a few sips. When she was satisfied, he set the cup back down.

"Something happened with the baby, didn't it? I remember… lots of pain… they made you leave," Buffy recalled, her eyes filling with tears.

"Yes, but don't worry, Buffy," he said quickly, "Your placenta was detached and they had to give you an emergency c-section. You lost a lot of blood and they had to give to a transfusion, but you're going to be fine. You're in the ICU, but they think you'll be able to go to a regular room tomorrow."

Buffy sighed, "That's so good… I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't. She was big enough and everything?"

"Yes… eight pounds, five ounces," he informed her, "And she is so beautiful. They let me hold her."

"I'm sorry," he shook his head, "They want you to rest. Once they move you, they'll let you see her."

"I know you do, Buffy, I know…" Riley comforted her, tenderly kissing her forehead.

Buffy closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of it and not allowing herself to wonder why he was acting so... husband-like.

Riley pulled back and looked at her face, trying to get a read on whether or not this was a good time to tell her how he felt. She didn't seem disgusted by his affection… and he had learned that he needed to tell her how he felt because you never knew if you'd have another chance.

"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked. She nodded her head slowly, so he continued, "Buffy… I'm hopelessly in love with you. I can't help myself... You can tell me you love Angel and talk to him every night on the phone… take his money… I can go out with other girls… but I love *you* and I can't bear the thought of spending a single day without you."

Buffy smiled, her eyes filling with tears once again, but these were tears of happiness, not fear. "I love you too. I have for… I don't know how long, but I was scared."

"I know you were… and I'm scared too… but I still want to risk it. I want you to be my wife… my real wife. I don't want to get divorced. I want to be the father of your baby… I know I can't biologically, and I don't care. But here," he said, putting his hand over his heart, "I can."

Buffy nodded, "I'm pretty sure that would make me the happiest woman in the world."

Riley knew she wasn't exactly in the best shape, health-wise. After all, she was hooked up to a heart monitor... But he still knew he *had* to kiss her.

So he did, languidly dipping his head down and softly pressing his lips against hers. Buffy reciprocated, feeling like she was in heaven as they shared an almost chaste kiss... Yet it was still one of the most passionate she had ever experienced.

Dimly, they heard someone clear their throat behind them. That's when Riley remembered that Giles had gone to the restroom… for just a moment.

"I see that," Giles replied, not being able to help but grin when he saw the girl he loved like a daughter was indeed awake, "How are you feeling?"

Giles sat down in a chair on the other side of her bed, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

She smiled, reaching her hand towards him. He took it and allowed her to give him an affectionate squeeze. "I love you."

Taken aback by her comment, Giles' eyes widened before he grinned once again, "I love you too, Buffy."

"Jeez, I thought I was something special… I didn't realize Buffy was going to start saying that to every guy," Riley teased.

"I'm not sure," Riley replied, "I didn't think to ask… but they took you in for the c-section just after eleven… and they brought her out around eleven-thirty… so sometime between then."

"Yeah," he said slowly, realizing she was right. He'd completely forgotten about his own birthday, "That's pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Very," Buffy agreed, "By the way, you'll find a lasagna in the refrigerator and a cake on the counter when you go home."

Riley raised an eyebrow, "Really? Boy, you were feeling super productive all day… and you made my favorite meal!"

"Well… I made it for your birthday," she admitted, knowing he'd be able to tell as soon as he saw the cake.

"You did? Oh jeez… and I never even came home. You went to all that trouble and I just went out with my friends. God, I'm sorry Buffy."

"Don't be, it's okay… it's not like I had told you I was doing it and you had flaked out on me. I don't mind. Now at least I know you have something to eat at home."

"I don't want you worrying about me. Worry about getting better so you can see your daughter," Riley insisted.

As the two of them continued to talk, Giles watched on happily. His slayer… daughter… Buffy was alive and she would be fine, he was sure of it. What's more… she may have finally found happiness with Riley.

Riley proudly held the baby up for all the guys from Lowell House that had arrived bright and early that morning so that they could see her. They were appropriately enthused, grinning and poking each other as they looked at the sleeping baby girl.

"Oh, she is so beautiful," Willow gushed after Riley had set the baby back in her crib and pulled off his paper hospital gown before walking back into the hallway.

Nathaniel patted him on the back, "She is… but what's up with the black hair? I was thinking between you and Buffy she'd be a blonde."

Really not feeling like thinking about the one feature of the baby that was like Angel, Riley decided to have a little fun, "She gets it from Buffy."

"All I can say is that I am glad she got her looks from Buffy, otherwise she'd be one *funk* looking baby!" Mike joked.

"Oh, shut up," Riley replied. They had *no* idea how happy he was that the baby looked like Buffy. He knew that he'd have to accept that Angel was the biological father and that he'd always hold a place in Buffy's heart… but the less the baby looked like him, the better.

"I don't think they'll move her out of the ICU for a few hours, and only family is allowed in there," Riley informed him, "You guys don't have to stick around… you can go home and I'll call when she's allowed to see people."

"Fine," Nathaniel sighed, then asked the other guys as Riley retreated, "Wanna take bets on how long it takes her to get pregnant again?"

"Why? I really didn't do anything. I didn't even get to start pushing… they took the baby out for me."

"Well, I doubt a cesarean is that easy. It's at the very least painful. But still… you brought this gorgeous little girl into the world… and you've got her clothes and a home and furniture… everything she could need."

Buffy shrugged, "To be fair, a lot of her clothes and toys and other stuff came from you and Riley's mom and my friends."

She laughed at her mother and nodded, "Fine… I don't feel like arguing… I feel like seeing my daughter! When are they going to let me out of here?!"

"The doctor said they'd move you this afternoon, remember? It's just a few hours… I know you're antsy, but you can wait."

"Easy for you to say, you got to see her… and hold her! It's not fair… you and Riley and Giles have all held the baby… but *I* am her mother and I haven't. Even Willow and everyone gets to go look at her right now… not me."

Both women turned and found a grinning Riley in the doorway, holding a poloroid picture in his hand. Willow had stopped him in the hallway after he'd walked away from his friends and handed him the picture that she'd taken of him holding the baby.

Riley walked over to her and handed over the picture, "It's me, holding the baby for everyone in the nursery."

Buffy's face brightened as she gaped at the sight of her daughter. Her own daughter… more adorable than she had even dreamed.

"Well… the credit really goes to Willow. She took the picture and gave it to me."

"So… now you've seen her, will you name the poor child? It's so sad seeing 'Baby Girl Finn' instead of a real name," Joyce lamented.

Buffy shook her head firmly, "I have to see her in person, hold her, smell her… then I'll know."