Part 6



Another two weeks went by and Buffy began feeling better. She was not throwing up every single morning, and her breasts weren't hurting as bad as they had been. On the other hand, there was the belly thing. The thing that was called "it was growing". Nobody would notice it for another set of weeks, but she did. It was already harder than it had been before. The doctor had told her that since she was so small, her belly would probably grow big in proportion. She knew it would be showing fairly soon, and she knew she had to tell her friends before they found out by themselves.

It was just hard. Sometimes, she felt like denying the whole thing, telling herself that she was not going to be a mother at all. It was scaring her. Spike was there for her, every time she needed him, at the same time as he gave her space when she needed that. If what she had had for him before had been need, then she was definitely falling in love with him now. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She stood in front of the mirror, pulling her shirt over her head, when there was a knock on the door, and Dawn entered. Buffy still had not told her little sister about her pregnancy.

"Hey," Dawn said as she sat down on the bed.

"Hey. What's up?"

"What are you doing?" Dawn asked instead of answering Buffy's question. Buffy was still standing in front of the mirror, checking herself out. She was pulling at the shirt and fingering at her stomach.

"Nothing," Buffy said, quickly turning around and dropping her hands to her sides.

"When are you going to tell me?" Dawn asked, looking up at her older sister.

"Tell you? About what?" Buffy asked. She hoped that Dawn was not talking about what she thought Dawn was talking about.

"Oh come on. Do you think I was born yesterday? You are pregnant. What's the big deal?"

Buffy looked at her little sister, slightly shocked. Her sister did not think that a baby was a big deal. That was just great.

As if Dawn could read her thoughts, Dawn sighed. "I don't mean it that way. Of course it's a big deal that you're having a baby, but what's the big deal about telling me? It's not like I'm gonna freak."

Buffy sat down beside her sister and began stroking her hair. It was a calming motion that she had done since Dawn was a baby. "I know you're not, Dawnie. It was just… I don't know. It's hard. I haven't told the others, not even Giles or Willow."

"Afraid they're gonna freak?"

Buffy nodded. They were much more likely to dislike it than her sister was.

"Because Spike's the father?"

"How much of this have you figured out, Dawn?"

"Only that much. I mean, look at you two… Wasn't likely to be Riley either, cause if that was the case, they you would have had this kid like a year ago. And you're not the one-night-stand kinda girl, you know."

"You know, those monks made you way too smart." Dawn grinned at her, and she smiled back.

"Can I feel?" Dawn asked.

"You can't really feel anything yet, I'm only like nine weeks pregnant. But if you want to…" She pulled her shirt up to reveal her tan belly and Dawn reached out to touch it. She smiled when she did.

"It is such a cool thought," she said, "That there is something living in there. Something so small, but still alive, something that is gonna turn out to be a little baby."

Buffy smiled at her sister's amazement. She felt quite a lot the same way. It was amazing to think that in there, in her own belly, laid a treasure as big as this one.

"I know," she said. "It's just awesome."



* * *



"Just do it."

"What are you, a friggin' Nike commercial?" Buffy shot at Dawn who was standing next to her. Spike stood behind her, arms around her waist so that his hands were resting on her belly. The belly that had swelled just a little bit underneath Buffy's big sweatshirt. A belly that was now showing her pregnancy.

"What are they gonna do, tell you that they don't want to be your friends just cause you're pregnant? I really don't think so," Dawn said, trying to make Buffy enter the Magic Shop.

"Right. I'm just gonna go in. Just in." She looked at Dawn. "No, I can't."

"Buffy, love, it's okay. You'll be fine. Just bloody get on with it."

"Buffy, I'm getting cold. We're going in." With that, Dawn opened the door and dragged the Slayer inside.

Anya was standing behind the counter as always, Willow and Tara were sitting by the books. Giles and Xander were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey guys," Dawn greeted the girls in the shop cheerily.

"Hey Dawn, hey Buffy, hey Spike."

The three new comers sat down by the table, Spike next to Buffy and Dawn by the two Wiccas. She was immediately engrossed in the spell-books that the witches were looking at. Buffy was too nervous to care about the fact that her sister should not be learning spells.

"Where is Xander?" she asked Anya.

"Oh, he's at work. He'll be here any second, said he'd swing by to pick me up. We're going home to have sex."

The doorbell rang just as Anya finished the sentence off and Xander came in. "An, hon, haven't we discussed the whole 'what's appropriate and what's not' thing several times?" he asked and bent over the counter to kiss his fiancée.

"Now we're only missing Giles," Buffy said to no one in particular.

"I'm here." Giles came out from one of the storage rooms.

"Oh goodie. Now I have to do this," Buffy muttered. Spike stood up and walked behind her. Buffy inhaled deeply.

"SpikeandIaretogetherandI'mpregnant."

"Huh?" Everyone in the room - with the exception of Dawn of course - looked like big question marks.

"Spike and I are together and I'm pregnant!" Buffy said again, only slightly slower. But, slow enough for the group to hear what she was saying.

"Congratulations!" Anya smiled to the two.

Buffy was shaking and Spike laid his arms around her to calm her. She leaned back on him, holding his hand in a tight grip.

"How… When…" was heard from the otherwise quiet room.

"I'm thirteen weeks pregnant. We've been to the doctor and everything is fine, as far as the doctor can tell."

"But… Thirteen weeks? Wasn't that about the time when Spike just turned human?" Willow asked.

"That's how I realized what had happened to him," Buffy said quietly. "I began throwing up in the morning and realized I must be pregnant."

"Okay, this is just wrong!" Xander exclaimed.

"What?" Buffy asked, her eyes filling with tears. She had known Xander would probably be the hardest one to convince here.

"Look, I know that he -" he pointed at Spike "- is human and everything now, but he's still… He was a vampire for a hundred years, he killed hundreds if not thousands of people! This, this is just wrong! You can't be pregnant, not with him."

"Xander, I am pregnant with him," Buffy continued quietly, her eyes on the floor. "I didn't choose this, but this is what happened and to be honest…" She met Xander's eyes, "I'm happy."

"But, it can't be. He's a demon. Well maybe not anymore, but he's still…"

"Still what, Xander?" It was Anya who broke into the exchange. "Is he still evil? Wouldn't that mean that I would still be evil? I mean, I was a demon ten times longer as he was, and he has been turned back to what he was before, just like I have. We're exactly the same."

"You're not the same at all!" Xander protested weakly, although he knew that Anya had already won the argument.

"Well if you don't think so, then you're just stupid!" Anya said. She took her engagement ring off her finger. "And I don't want to be with someone who is stupid and don't respect what I am. Because if you don't respect Spike and what he is now, then you don't respect me."

She put the ring on the counter and walked over to the door. On the way she stopped. She took Buffy's hand in hers and said, "I'm really happy for you," before leaving the shop.

Buffy stood there in shock, as did Xander. He walked over to the counter slowly and picked up the ring. Sadly, he put it in his pocket.

"I'm sorry," he said walking over to Buffy. "I am happy for you. You do deserve it, and if Spike here makes you happy, then I'm… okay with it."

"Thanks Xander," Buffy said, hugging him.

When Xander had left the shop in search of Anya, the remaining people sat and stood quiet.

"Congratulations," Tara said finally, looking at Buffy and Spike.

"Thanks," Buffy said to the Wicca. She walked back over to the table, no longer feeling the need to stand.

"So… Do you know what you're having? I mean, not like if it's a demon or human, I mean, a boy or a girl?" Willow rambled nervously.

"No, we don't, I think I want it as a surprise," Buffy said. Silence fell again.

"So, um, are you gonna start working or s-something?" Tara asked and looked at Spike. He looked startled at the question; he was not expecting them to ask him anything. Besides, this did not even have to do with the baby.

The baby. His baby. God, that was a bloody great thought.

"I don't know. I've looked into it a little, but since I don't really have a social security number or a birth certificate, it is a little hard."

"I, um, believe that would be fixable," Giles said, opening his mouth for the first time since Buffy had announced her pregnancy.

"How?" Buffy inquired.

"The Council. I'm quite sure they would be able to help you. They have connections. I'll talk to them."

"That would be great, Giles!" Buffy exclaimed happily.

"Now, about this baby," Giles said. "Are you sure it is all fine?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. The doctor said so, and that's the closest to a guarantee I can come."

"Well then," Giles said as he began polishing his glasses. "I guess all I can do is congratulate the two of you."

Buffy threw herself around her watcher, hugging him happily to the point where Giles had to gasp, "Buffy, I need to breathe."

"Oh sorry. But I'm just so happy. I was so afraid you would be angry with me…"

"She was scared to the point where she was refusing to go inside," Dawn told the group with a giggle. "We stood outside for like ten minutes trying to convince her to go inside."

"Hormones, you know," Spike added in a secretive whisper to the others. Buffy slapped his chest softly.

"Be nice, honey," she said, glaring at him. Her eyes betrayed her though; they glowered lovingly at him.



TBC…

Part 7





The next month went by quickly. Giles kept his promise to speak to the Council, and for one reason or another, they agreed to help Spike. He got a new alias, William Walthrop, a new birth certificate, new education, in short, a new life. He started looking at jobs offered in the newspaper and surprised Buffy several times by going to interviews. So far, he had not gotten any job, but he had not lost hope.

Buffy began attending school when the fall classes started. She knew that she would never get a job any place else than the Double Meat Palace if did not have more than a high school education and a year in college. She was aware that she would have to take time off once the baby was born, but that was something she was counting on. Willow and Tara were in a couple of her classes, and other than that, she was making new acquaintances. She was enjoying life.

Dawn was turning sixteen in just a month, and had started her sophomore year at the same time as Buffy began college. Buffy was having a hard time keeping up with her baby sister. There was a stream of teens always coming there, eating dinner and sleeping over.

"Buffy, can I Lisa come over tonight?" was a standard question, one to which Dawn knew the answer. "Buffy, Denver is having a party, can I go?" was another question, but one which Buffy was not as sure of what to tell her sister. She usually debated with herself for a couple of minutes, while Dawn stood and looked pleadingly at her, and finally, she would shrug and let her go. Then Dawn would jump in excitement and say a huge amount of thank you-s, before leaving and coming back at twelve at night. Always in a taxi. Buffy had forbidden her sister to walk home alone at night by herself.

Parenting was a hard thing. And Dawn was not even her daughter - she was just her sister. Soon, in only seven months, Buffy would have a baby that was her own to take care of.

Of course, Spike would be there. At night, when Dawn was out or in her room, Buffy would cuddle up in Spike's arms, and he would hold her. Or he would lay in her lap, listening to hers and the baby's heartbeat.

They had discovered after weeks of Spike being human that he still had most of his vampiric abilities in him. For several weeks right after he had turned human, he had had nothing; he had been even weaker than a normal human, and the lowest he had gotten was when he had gotten so sick. But once he had pulled through that, they discovered he had only gotten stronger, until now when he was back to his full vampire strength.

She still had not told him. She had not said to him that she loved him yet, although by now, she was sure of it. She was head over heels in love with this man. His sweet way of taking care of her, his gentleness, the way he would talk to Dawn, the way he would fight for her, the way he loved her. He surrounded her and she did not mind it one bit. She knew he was hurting because she refused to say the L-word, but she had promised herself that soon, soon she would tell him.

"What are you thinking love?"

They were sitting together on the couch, Buffy leaning on him, his arm around her, her head on his chest.

"I was thinking of how good this feels," Buffy replied. He placed his finger under her chin and turned her head towards him so that he could place a soft kiss on her lips.

"It does feel good, doesn't it," he said. "But you are getting heavy, you know."

"Hey, you should be nice. That wasn't nice." After a moment, she added, "Besides, it's your fault that soon, none of my clothes will fit me anymore."

"Oh, it is my fault now is it?" he asked playfully. "I thought it took two to tango…" He lost himself in her lips again. She moved her arms around him, placing herself on his lap. She began fiddling with his shirt, and soon it was off. He was kissing her neck and cupping her breasts in his hands, before getting rid of her shirt as well. Soon, her skirt followed and Buffy was lost in him.



* * *



They had made their way up the stairs so that they were now sleeping in their room. Buffy and Spike had moved into Joyce's old room, the master bedroom, soon after their announcement to the Scoobies that Buffy was pregnant and that the two were together.

Buffy was lying, watching her lover sleep. Dawn had come home a half an hour earlier, making her way quietly through the house. Now everything was quiet and Buffy assumed her sister was asleep. It was not late though, and Buffy was not tired. She had been lying there, watching Spike sleep for over an hour, she guessed. She loved to watch him sleep. His features became so peaceful, so soft.

But tonight, it was not enough.

Quietly, Buffy got out of bed. She collected some clothes - the few ones she now had to choose between since she got pregnant - and left the room. Patrolling was always good when she could not sleep, and the sweep she and Spike had done on the way back from dropping Dawn of at a friend's house had not been long. So, she made her way to one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries.

"Oho, nasties, where are you? Vampires? No vampires?" Her voice rang out in the quiet cemetery. Her senses were on as she walked through the dark.

Suddenly, a vampire charged her. He jumped at her from behind, but having sensed him, she got out of the way and he missed horribly, landing on the ground and hitting his head on a nearby tomb. The dizzy vampire got up, and charged again at the Slayer. He threw kicks and punches at her, all of which she blocked with ease.



* * *



Spike woke up with a startle. He was slightly confused when he could not feel Buffy's presence around him - a presence that he had gotten used to the past weeks, and immediately woke up when he realized she was not in the bed.

The pants and the shirt that had been hanging on one of the chairs were gone and he knew she was not in the house. If his senses told him the right thing, she had gotten the bright idea of going out on patrol by herself.

"Bloody Slayer," he growled to himself. He got himself dressed. Normally, he did not mind her going out on patrol. He was not going to be like Captain Cardboard and be all over protective, but something about tonight was off.

He checked on the Nibblet, and she was snoring in her room. He would not have to worry about her.

He ran outside and wondered which way she had gone. Finally, after realizing he had no clue, he closed his eyes and let his senses for her take over.



* * *



Buffy was breathing hard. After dusting the first vampire, there had come another, and another, and now there were six of them surrounding her. They had gotten in a few good kicks at her, and pain was searing through her body. She was beginning to realize that maybe, just maybe, going out on patrol alone had not been a very good idea.

"You'll be a feast, Slayer," one vampire snarled. "And that little baby inside of you…" He pointed at her swelling belly, which was hiding under a sweatshirt but still was showing, "We'll eat that too…"

They advanced, all at once, and began throwing kicks and blows at her. She blocked, ducked and dusted two vampires quickly, but the other four were getting to her. One punched the side of her face, and she could feel the blood taste in her mouth.

A vampire charged and kicked her in her stomach, figuring it was the most sensitive place to hit the Slayer at the moment. A searing pain went through Buffy's body, and she screamed as she fell to the ground. More kicks followed and tears fell down Buffy's cheeks, all the while she was screaming. A blow was directed to her head and then she knew no more.



TBC…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 8



He heard her scream and ran faster than he ever thought possible. She was on the ground, and vampires were surrounding her. He had two stakes with him, and one of them had penetrated a vamp before he knew what hit him. Then Spike threw the remaining three off of Buffy, who was lying motionless on the ground.

He charged furiously, kicking and punching and staking the vampires in just minutes.

"Never, ever touch her again," he screamed and kicked the last vampire with every word, before staking him.

Tears glistering in his eyes, he bent down to her.

"Buffy? Love, can you hear me?" he asked touching her bleeding face. As carefully as he could, he got an arm around her back and one underneath her legs, and he lifted her up. She moaned and opened her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, crying and clutching her stomach. "I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay, love, it's all right, everything is okay, you hear me?" He began walking as fast as he could without hurting her more.

"I'm sorry, Spike, I'm sorry…" She was slipping back into unconsciousness. "I love you…" she whispered finally, before quieting down.

He heard her words and almost stopped right then and there, but came to his senses and continued.

"You are not giving up on me Buffy, after all we've been through, you are not giving up on me…"

He reached the destination, and as he entered the hospital, he yelled to the personnel for help. Buffy was put on a stretcher and doctors surrounded her. A nurse gave Spike a bunch of papers to fill out, about insurance and information on Buffy. Spike filled in everything he knew before walking over to a telephone booth, where he put a few coins in and dialed Giles' number.

"Rupert Giles speaking," he heard the tired voice on the other end.

"Watcher, it's Spike," Spike hurried, not knowing how long the coins would give him.

"Spike, it's two in the morning!" Giles sighed.

"I know that, Watcher. But I'm at the hospital. Buffy's here, and she's hurt and they are checking her right now, and I don't have a bleeding clue of what is going on!" Spike could hear himself start rambling - something he under normal circumstances would never do, but these were not normal circumstances.

"I'm on my way," Giles said.

"Will you pick up Nibblet on your way over here? I don't want her to wake up to find us gone."

It surprised Giles how thoughtful Spike could be sometimes, and this was one of them. "I'll get her and come to the hospital as soon as possible," Giles said to Spike. The two hung up and Spike began pacing up and down the hospital waiting room.

It was half an hour later when Dawn came running into the waiting room with Giles close in tow. The younger of the Summers sisters threw herself around Spike and he hugged her.

"How is she?" Dawn asked. "Giles didn't know anything."

"I-I don't know," Spike said, walking over to the couches in the waiting area. At two thirty in the morning, there weren't that many people and the three could talk without disturbance. "They are not telling me anything. That sodden nurse over there refuses to say a thing."

Giles stood sat down in a chair facing Spike's, while Dawn had seated herself next to Spike, leaning on him. They sat in silence, Giles and Spike both deep in thoughts involving the Slayer, and Dawn who soon fell asleep in Spikes lap. Distractedly, Spike stroke Dawn's hair the way Buffy always did. It was something that neither Dawn or Spike really noticed, but Giles did. He had noticed everything the former vampire had done; every new habit he had acquired and the whole new lifestyle he had adapted.

It was not until the clock on the white wall hit six that a doctor came up to them, a tired look on his face.

"Mr. Walthrop?" she asked and Spike nodded.

"This is Buffy's sister, Dawn, and her friend Giles," Spike introduced the other two present after the doctor sent them a questioning look. "How is she?"

"She has a concussion, and the side of her face was beaten pretty badly, but she'll live."

"And the baby?"

Dawn had never seen Spike more serious or scared ever in her whole life. His teeth were pressed together, making his face's features hard, but his blue eyes seemed to plead with everything there was that his child was still alive. Dawn was not sure he was breathing.

"Through some miracle, the baby is still alive. But," she added at Spike's relieved look. "We don't know if it has been hurt. There is still a chance of loosing it."

Dawn squeezed Spikes hand, not knowing any other way to try to comfort him at the moment.

"Can I see her?" he asked, his teeth clenched. Dawn knew he was holding back tears.

The doctor nodded an agreement. "She has been asking for you, the few times she has been conscious. But please, if she wakes up, don't tire her out."

"I won't."

The doctor called on a nurse and she came up to them. "Will you take Mr. Walthrop to Ms. Summers' room, please?" she asked and the nurse nodded. "Follow me."



* * *



It was white bed, the walls were white, the sheets covering her was white and the bandage on the side of her head was white. Buffy's face was deadly pale and her eyes were closed as Spike slowly walked into the room.

"Buffy?" he whispered to her still form, and her eyelids fluttered. He sat down by her side, and held her hand in his. "Love?"

Her mouth parted and a raspy, "Spike?" came out. She opened her right eye, the left one being swollen shut.

"Shh, don't talk, you just rest," he shushed her, stroking her hair and the side of her face that was not swollen and bandaged.

She lifted her hand weakly, and placed it on her stomach. "Is it…?" she mumbled.

"Our baby's still alive, Buffy, don't worry," he whispered. "Everything will be okay."

Exhausted, Buffy shut her eyes, and with her hand gripping Spike's she fell back asleep. Spike just sat there, watching her.



* * *



"You guys really didn't have to come here," Buffy said the next day, when all of the Scoobies were gathered around the Slayer's bed. "The nurses will throw a fit when they see how many people there are in here." She giggled a little, but then laid back down, too tired really to be talking and active.

"How could we not come?" Willow asked. "I mean, check this place out. All white and, uh, cool to be in."

"Yeah, the lovely interior and we thought we'd come over and make you feel all better," Xander said. He was hand in hand with Anya, with whom he had gotten back after several weeks of persuading in form of flowers, chocolate and cards. He had told her he had accepted Spike, just as he had accepted Anya since they began getting to know each other.

"It's really sweet of you guys. Thank you."

Spike sat on the side of the bed, content and quiet with one arm around Buffy. Giles sat in the corner of the room in a chair, watching the two on the bed and everyone around, just as content. Dawn, Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya were either sitting on various sorts of furniture or just plain standing. On the table by the bed were a big teddy bear and a card, signed by all of the Scooby Gang.

A nurse entered the room just moments later and just as Buffy had thought, she threw a fit.

"There is not supposed to be ten people in this room!" she screeched. "One! Or two, if they are family, at the time!" And with that, she promptly threw everyone but Spike and Dawn out.



* * *



Later in the afternoon, Spike was the only one left in the room. The others had left after a while since the mean nurse was not about to let them in. Giles had taken Dawn home after Spike had promised he had be home before dark.

"How are you feeling?" he asked Buffy, as she made herself comfortable on his by-now asleep arm.

"Better. Still only about fifty percent, but that's better than yesterday's minus ten… And you know who I look like?"

"No, love, I don't."

"I look like you after your run-in with Glory. Your face was all swelled up and purple and red like this too."

"But then you left me on a cold slab of cement. No one took me to the hospital."

"No, it's kinda hard to have a vampire in the hospital since the nurses have this tendency to check your pulse and vampires kinda don't have one."

"You're so funny, Slayer."

"Actually, we were horrible to you back then. I should have taken you home, or at least given you some first aid. Instead, I just kissed you…"

"And I didn't really object as I remember."

"Nah, you didn't. On the other hand, you thought I was the robot." He looked ashamed at the mention of the BuffyBot. He hated the thing with passion, and when they had had to revive it to fight Glory, he had felt like throwing up. Red had not been able to un-program the loving-Spike- deal, and the robot had come onto him several times. And, being a programmed robot, it had not understood what it meant to be rejected.

"I'm sorry about the robot, Buffy."

"I know you are. Don't worry about it, it's in the past now. Just like I hope my stupidity is."

"You know it is," he said and then decided to change the subject slightly. "Buffy, yesterday, when I was carrying you here… You told me…"

"I told you I love you," Buffy said, first looking down at her hands, then meeting his gaze. She saw the worried look, and behind that the saddened look and she knew he was expecting her to tell him that she had not meant it. She looked down at her hands.

"I meant it."

She heard him grasp in surprise. "Spike," she continued, this time looking at him the whole time. "I do love you. I've been meaning to tell you for weeks, but I haven't dared. I'm so scared, you know that. I'm scared of this -" she motioned at her stomach "- and I'm scared of us."

He smiled and cupped her non-swollen chin in his hand. "I'm scared too. But believe one thing, pet. I won't ever leave you."

She cuddled closer to him and let him kiss her forehead.

"Thank you," she mumbled.



* * *



Buffy was released from the hospital two days later. Her wounds had healed quickly due to the Slayer healing, and once the doctor had run a couple of tests on the baby in her belly, and had concluded that it seemed perfectly all right, she was given an okay on going home. Spike and Dawn picked her up on the afternoon three and a half days after she was brought in. The two had just come from Dawn's high school, where Spike had picked her up for once.

"So, there is this guy, Richie, and he's really, really cute, and Lisa says he's into me. Isn't that so cool? Sabrina says he's gonna ask me out."

"Well, I don't know Nibblet, boys that age can be bad. They're just thinking about one thing," Spike replied as he carried Buffy's little bag of necessities in one hand and held Buffy's hand in the other, on the way out to the car.

"Whereas you two never think about sex, or what?" Dawn said, raising her eyebrow. "I can really see that," she muttered, shooting a look at Buffy's growing belly.

"I'm just saying, don't get in over your head, all right?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, yeah, we would only be going to the Bronze anyway, what's the big deal? It's not like he's taking me to some lone hilltop or anything."

"No," Buffy said, "Cause I wouldn't allow you to go in that case."

"I know."

Dawn got into the backseat, Spike in the driver's seat and Buffy next to him.

"Shouldn't you go buy like baby stuff soon? Clothes and carriages and things, you know?" Dawn asked as Spike drove the car out of the parking lot.

"In a while," Buffy replied, yawning.

"Tired, pet?"

Buffy nodded. "Don't know why. Haven't really done anything but slept for the last few days, now have I?"

"It's understandable. Your body went through some trauma; you should be tired. The doctor was surprised at how fast you recovered though."

"You see, Slayer healing is a handy thing to have."



TBC…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 9



Another month passed by, and suddenly Buffy found herself unable to wear any of her old clothes. This depressed her severely, although it got better when Dawn took her out to shop. Meanwhile, things in school made time fly by, and Spike managed to get a job. At the hospital, nonetheless. It came as a total surprise when he told her that he, when he was alive, had worked as a doctor. Not fully taught, but still respected. And even through the years as a vampire, Spike had kept himself a jour with what happened in the medical branch, and the workers at Sunnydale Hospital were impressed with him. And with the job came much needed money to the Summers' household.

Giles had discussed Buffy's role as both a Slayer and a to-be mother with her. He had told her that he thought she should be careful and not go out without company until the baby was born - and preferably not after that either, since it would not do the baby any good if his or her mother was killed. Buffy had agreed reluctantly, and Giles had told Spike and the other Scoobies about their deal just to be on the safe side, so that Buffy would not get a stupid idea some night and go out anyway.

They celebrated Dawn's sixteenth birthday, although Dawn insisted on having two candles on the cake instead. "I'm really only a little more than a year and a half old, remember," she had told the Scoobies at their little gathering. At the party she threw for her other friends - those in her age - she had sixteen candles though, figuring it would be a little hard explaining the Key story for people who did not even believe there were creatures that went bump in the night.

Dawn also found herself with her first boyfriend. Richie, the guy she had been talking about on the way home from the hospital, had indeed asked her out and Dawn had found she liked him. So now they were dating. Buffy prayed that they weren't doing anything but the occasional kissing, but on the other hand, she herself had been Dawn's age when she made love with Angel for the first time.

It seemed so long ago.

In reality, it was not more than a couple of years, but it seemed as far away as a lifetime. Back then, Buffy had believed in true love, that Angel and her were soul mates, and that they would live happily ever after. That dream had been shattered over and over again. Now, she had found happiness with Spike, and she hoped that he would keep his promise and stay with her. She knew that she would never leave him.



* * *



One night, when Buffy came home from college after a long day of studying, she found the house looking dark from the outside. When she opened the door and walked inside, she saw hundreds of candles, lit everywhere, creating a mystical light and atmosphere.

"Spike?" she called, but none answered.

On the table in the living room, she saw a bouquet of red roses, and a note saying, 'dining room'. She smiled to herself and began walking through the rooms slowly, letting her hair out and taking in the beautiful surroundings that the lights created at the same time. The whole way was lit with candles and they continued in a path towards the dining room.

Someone started playing music, soft classical music, and Buffy smiled. That smiled changed to an ear to ear grin when she saw Spike standing in the dining room, clad in a smoking.

"Welcome home, love," he said, holding out a glass to her. At her skeptical look, he said, "Only cider. Nothing that is bad for you or the little one."

She smiled and they drank. Then he pulled out her chair and they sat down.

"This looks delicious," Buffy said when he presented chicken and rice and vegetables for the main course. "And it is delicious!" she continued after taking a bite.

"Why thank you, pet," he said, grinning. "Don't sound so surprised."

"So, why?" she asked, pouring some Sprite from a can into her glass.

"Why what?" He looked innocently at her.

"Why dinner? Candles? Roses? What have you done?"

"I haven't done anything. Can't a guy just get to surprise his princess every now and then without having a bloody motive behind it?"

"Well, you could, but… Let's just say, I know you." She grinned.

"Okay pet, well then I'll just say you know me fairly well. Because I do have a motive." He smiled and began fishing for something in his pocket.

"Aha!" Buffy exclaimed, but it died out as Spike sat down on one knee in front of her.

"Buffy, I have thought long about this, but… I love you. And I have tried at times to imagine how it would be to not have you in my life. And Slayer, every world I imagine, is hell. You've got me trapped… So, I'm asking you, Buffy Anne Summers: Will you be my wife?"

He held out a little box with a beautiful golden ring in it.

She looked stunned at first when he said the words, but then a smile crept up on her face and she took the little box out of his hand. She looked at it, then deeply into his blue eyes and answered,

"Yes, Spike, I would love to be your wife."

Now it was Spike's turn to be stunned. But before long, he found himself and his ability to move, and he swept her up in his arms, kissing her passionately.

"I love you, Spike," she mumbled as he sat her down on the floor again.

"And I love you, Mrs. Walthrop."



* * *



She was walking, no, floating, around on cloud number nine during the following days. Dawn found out that same night, when she found Buffy and Spike making out on the sofa. And for once, her baby sister did not get mad; she just squealed in delight and threw herself around the Slayer and the former vampire. The next morning, Buffy called Willow to tell her best friend about what had happened. The witch had also been screaming, and it was good that Spike had gone to work, or else he might have had second thoughts about marrying Buffy, when he saw how she was acting.

Or not.

Buffy had showed him just how much she loved him and the idea of getting married several times during the night, and Spike too walked around on clouds. There was no happier place to be than the Summers' home.



* * *



Five and a half months pregnant and I'm sitting here, flipping through bridal magazines with an ex-demon in a magic shop.

Life could not be better.

Buffy kept a light hand on her bulging stomach as she and Anya flipped through page after page of bridal dresses.

"I like that one," Anya said and pointed to yet another dress. Buffy made a face.

"I will not have a dress with a butt-bow," she said and turned the page. It showed another set of gorgeous dresses, but Buffy looked slightly unhappily at them.

"What's wrong, Buff?" Xander asked, entering the shop. "Oh, you're looking at that." The smile on his face faltered a little, having spent months already with his fiancée drooling over bridal magazines.

"Oh shush, this is fun," Buffy told him. "But I was a little unhappy, I'll admit…"

"How come? I thought everything was fine in Buffy-land."

"Well it is. But, check these girls out. They're all skinny and perfect and definitely not pregnant. I am, and by the time I'm actually marrying Spike, I'll look even worse. I mean, by then, I'll be really, really fat."

Dawn, who'd been sitting by the counter reading some book while listening to the conversation, sighed. She had heard her sister whine about the subject for weeks already, and had suggested that if it was so important for Buffy to be thin on her wedding day, she should wait until the baby was born to get married. But Buffy did not want that, she wanted Spike to be her husband when she gave birth. Dawn thought the whole thing was annoying, but kind of sweet.

Xander had another idea for how Buffy would not have to look fat on her wedding day.

"How about not marrying him?"

Buffy threw a little ball of paper at him, and he laughed and screamed. "Take it easy, Buff, I'm just kidding!" he exclaimed at her look.

"Well it's not fun," Buffy pouted.

Dawn walked over to the group by the table. "Haven't we had this discussion at home already, B?" Her sister had picked up on Faith's old nickname for Buffy a couple of weeks ago.

"Dawn, go away."

"Can we go away together?" Dawn asked hopefully. "We can go like home. I'm bored."

"Dawn…" Buffy began but stopped. "Fine, we'll go home."

Spike would be home by now, and they all needed to eat dinner - which Buffy of course first had to make. Buffy had always thought of herself as a walking disaster in the kitchen, but lately, when she had been forced to at least try and make healthy food, she had found it was not as hard as she had thought. It was actually a whole lot of fun.

"Let's go."



* * *



The surroundings were dark, only lit by a few candles standing in no special formation around the room.

"Have you found it?"

The voice that broke the silence was dark and bone chilling. Two smaller, dark figures made their way up towards the throne, both with auras of power and evil around them. They were graceful in their movements, dark clad and identical in their looks.

"It's her, sir," they said in unison. "May we ask why you called us, Lord?"

"You have been called, my Twins, to perform some spells on this girl."

"But this girl is special, Lord," the twins replied, "Not only is she the Chosen One, she is also -"

"I know very well who and what she is," the dark voice from the throne interrupted. "I know what I want, and you have only been called here to do what I tell you. Now will you?"

Through the gracefulness of both demons, the creature on the throne could sense one of the Twins was scared. Yet he did not say anything; he knew he had them both under his power.

"We will do it, Lord," they both said.



TBC…

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Part 10



Buffy rubbed her lower back while waiting for the water to begin boiling.

"Back hurting, pet?"

Spike's hands moved around her waist and she jumped at the touch, not having heard him enter the room. She sighed loudly as he began massaging carefully.

"Yeah," she said, leaning on him. I guess I should get used to it though. The books said back hurting is common, especially later on in the pregnancy."

He moved his hands from her back onto her stomach again. "Maybe it's worth it," he whispered in her ear.

She giggled. "Well, you wouldn't know anything about it, now would you? You won't have to go through anything to set this child to this world -"

"Nothing, love?"

"Nothing that's uncomfortable," she said, slightly annoyed, as she turner around to face him. He smirked.

"Nah, the part I was involved in was definitely comfortable."

She glared at him. "It's just unfair. Why do I have to take everything? I'm having to changing my body, hurting my back, breast swelling, being sick in the morning…" She looked up at him and saw that he was watching her with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm being whiny."

"It's all right, love. I understand that it can't be easy, but I still hope that you think it's worth it."

"Oh Spike of course I think it's worth it. To have a baby - it's a chance I thought I'd never get, being the Slayer and all. You know I'm the happiest girl on Earth." She tilted her head to kiss him again.

"I know. Now, let's see if we can make you comfortable again…" He sneaked his hands underneath her shirt, letting her stomach fill his hands before continuing up to her breasts. She sighed happily.

A noise interrupted them and Buffy turned around to find the water on the stove boiling over.

"Shoot," she swore to herself, while Spike took a step back to let her handle the stove. He knew she would only get annoyed if he tried to help her.

Forty-five minutes later, dinner was on the table. Neither one of the two noticed the two dark figures outside of the window, listening intently to every word said.



* * *



"I can't believe it's already December."

"And I can't believe I'll be seven months pregnant very, very soon," Buffy sighed to her little sister.

"You know," Dawn told her, "That is the only thing you talk about these days."

Buffy glared at her. "Well it's kinda hard to keep your mind off something that will soon make me unable to see my toes," she shot at her. She made a gesture at her stomach, which did not seem as big at the moment because it was hidden underneath a huge sweatshirt.

"Yeah, yeah," Dawn sighed and turned her attention back to the TV. A second later, she looked back at Buffy. "When's Spike coming home?"

"I don't know, he said it could get late, cause there are a lot of guys sick right now, so he'll have to be there some extra."

"He really likes that job, now doesn't he?" Dawn asked.

"Seems like it. He spends a whole lot of time there, that's all I - Aii!"

A loud crash interrupted the calmness of the room as a ball of fire made thousands of glass splinters rain over the room. Dawn screamed as the pieces tore into her flesh, while Buffy tried her hardest to cover her sister, throwing her down on the floor. A couple of seconds later, all the glass was on the floor, and other than the burning something on the floor, things were calm once more.

"W-what was that?" Dawn stammered quietly, trying unsuccessfully to brush of pieces of glass from her clothing without getting any more cuts.

"I don't know," Buffy replied, "Are you all right?"

She looked at her baby sister. Dawn was bleeding a little from a cut by her right eyebrow, and some smaller shards had bruised her arms, but other than that she seemed physically okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dawn said. "Though… I hate to say this, but it makes me a little … nervous when there comes burning thing through the window."

Buffy, who was making her way slowly towards the burning something turned around a little and gave her sister a small smile. Then she turned her attention back to the thing on the floor. The fire was dying out quickly, but it seemed as though the thing that had been burning was still fine. It was a rolled up piece of paper.

Buffy stretched her hand out and grabbed it once the fire was out, but screamed and let it go quickly as the thing burned her hand.

"Ouch," she said. "On second thought, I just might wait a little before looking at that…"

Dawn walked over to her sister and took Buffy's hand in hers. "Stay here," she said, "I'm gonna get the first aid kit."

"That's not," Buffy began, but her sister was already out of the room, "Necessary."

At that very moment, the front door opened and Spike came in. His eyes were wide open and he looked around the room in a slight panic. "Buffy?" he asked. "Nibblet?"

"We're here," Buffy said, walking over to him. "We're fine, don't worry."

"Don't worry?!" Spike asked. "I see someone run away from our house and the living room window is broken and I hear screaming and I shouldn't worry?!"

"Spike, really, it's okay. But you saw who did it?" That part had gotten her interest immediately.

"Just a shadow, no, actually there were two," Spike said, now bringing Buffy close and holding her while stroking her hair. "But I didn't see who it was. I would have gone after them but I had to make sure you were all right first. Now I would like to see the bleeding idiots, I would rip their arms off and cut their throats open and -"

"Spike, honey, that is way more than I want to hear," Buffy told him with a smile. "Although I can't say that I wouldn't do just about the same."

"Buffy, here's the first aid kit," Dawn said as she came down the stairs. When she saw that Spike was there, she ran down and threw her arms around him as though it had been years and years since she last saw him.

After Spike had hugged his two favorite girls for another couple of minutes, the trio made their way to the couch. Dawn lay with her head on Buffy's lap, while Buffy herself leaned on Spike a little. Soon, Buffy began stroking her sister's hair. It was a calming motion; it always made her feel better.

Once Dawn had fallen asleep, Buffy and Spike began talking in low voices after wrapping Buffy's burned hand. Spike had picked up the piece of paper from the floor a while before, and the two were now studying it.

"This is stupid," Buffy concluded. "And it's definitely not English."

"No, pet, it isn't."

"Why can't they write things in good ol' English instead of making prophecies in dumb languages that no one knows?" Buffy muttered. "And what's the point of throwing this into our lives when we don't get any of it anyway?"

"Well, as it turns out, love, this doesn't seem to be some ancient language at least."

"Huh? You're saying that you get what this says?" Buffy asked. Her tone was a little too loud, and Dawn stirred on the couch. The couple held their breaths, not wanting Dawn to wake up, and soon, she settled once more.

"Well, I'm not sure, but it seems as though this scroll is written in Swedish."

"Swedish? That's like, um, Sweden, right? Somewhere in Europe?"

"Very good, love. It's in Scandinavia. And if it is Swedish, then there are about nine million people who know the language this is written in."

"Uhu. And this you know because…?"

"Pet, I'm over a hundred years old. I have picked up some things during the years."

Buffy looked at him with a bored look. "So you decided to get to know everything about a country with nine million people?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.

Spike glared at her before turning on his charm instead, knowing that his fiancé was bored with the conversation anyway.

"That wasn't all I learned," he told her in a low voice, brushing his lips over hers.

"Spike, not… Dawn…" Buffy mumbled, but was silenced with a passionate kiss. She tried to resist but found herself loosing the battle with Spike very soon and her hands moved up over his hard, muscular body. Then she abruptly broke off.

"Not here," she whispered and pointed at Dawn, who was still laying with her head on the Slayer's lap.

"I'll fix that," Spike smiled. He got up and lifted Dawn carefully. "I'll be right back." He disappeared up the stairs with the still sleeping Dawn in his arms.

A couple of minutes later he was walking back down the stairs. It was quiet downstairs. Spike found his way to the living room, but stopped in the entrance. A tender smile crept onto his face, because on the couch was the petite Slayer, sleeping. Her bandaged hand rested lightly on her swelling tummy and the other one was under her head.

Spike let Buffy's slow and steady heartbeat, and the baby's faster one, fill his mind as he looked at her on the sofa.

My angel, he thought.

He just stood there watching her for a while, content and happy. Then, half an hour or so later, he walked over and picked her up. She fit so perfectly in her arms. Although the pregnancy was making her heavier, to him she was still as light as a feather. She cuddled closer to him unconsciously, as he made his way up the stairs for the second time.



TBC…

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