Chapter 10

After so long of having not been in a moving vehicle had both Buffy and Andrew car sick. More than once Spike had to make an emergency stop for one of the to toss their cookies. Oreos as a matter of fact, most unpleasant. But Spike diligently held her hair back and ran soothing circles on her back with his hand until she reigned control over her protesting stomach. With both Buffy and Andrew now fast asleep, Spike could relax and just drive. He stayed off the intestates, too littered with abandoned cars, or cars with drivers who'd died running to nowhere. He didn't want Buffy, or the mouse for that matter, to see anymore carnage, disease or misery. Being the kind of man he was, protecting his family from these sorts of things was integral, even though he was perfectly aware that they all knew the reality, this facade of life being peachy was something he couldn't let go of.

Buffy was reclined across the center bench, awkwardly buckled in, with her head on his thigh, her hand on his knee. The scents of her body lulling him as he wound the massive vehicle down the back roads of California on the way north. There was the odd car on the side of the road, in one hundred miles though he'd only seen three. No sign of people, which to Spike wasn't entirely a bad thing. He liked having Buffy need him as she did. He liked that they talked together so much. He liked especially in the quiet times, how she touched him and gave him her body, and loved him. She turned over in her sleep, her round tummy presenting itself and Spike could help but lay his hand there. The miracle of life growing from the two of them was something that he could never get used to, no matter how Buffy's burgeoning stomach told him it was fact.

"You know, lil' bitty," Spike began, a dialogue to his unborn child,"Your dad's quite the fellow, thought I should tell you that in case your mum forgets in and amongst all the kickings of my ass, or tellin' me what a stupid git I am, or that I'm an over bearing sod who won't let you date until you're thirty - if you're a girl that is. 'Course your mum's also quite taken with me and even though I haven't seen my reflection in over a century, I do know I'm a rather handsome chap, so if you're a boy then you'll be beatin' 'em off with a stick, especially if they're all genetically mutated from disease, radiation n' what not. However, even if they're no prettier than a Chaos Demon, you show a lady respect..." It was then that Buffy giggled,"Bloody hell!" She opened her eyes and kissed the air at him.

"Sorry, but you were being so cute."

"I'm not cute."

"Yes you are. You are so cute, honey. You're also a wonderful man and this baby's so lucky to have you, I'm so lucky too." She took his hand and brought it to her lips to press a kiss on his palm,"You know, I think my tummy's bigger. Did it grow when I was sleeping?"

"Couldn't say, pet, well come to think of it, a tad larger, I suppose." She sat herself up and immediately scooted right up to him until they were pressed tight together. He put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her close, kissing her temple while keeping his eyes on the road,"Sun's almost down, we'll drive all night, I think, head up to Cannon Beach in Oregon, almost to Washington. It's beautiful there, North Oregon....we can make love on the beach."

"Sounds romantic."

"Horribly romantic, roses and champagne."

"Except Wal-Mart didn't have those things."

"We'll use our imagination. There'll be a moon, and stars, and salt wind." Buffy sighed and kissed the side of his neck.

"William the Poet, that's who you are, my poet, all mine."

"Yeah, love, all yours, always all yours." They drove on a little while longer, perhaps an hour, in silence, holding each other and watching the world pass by. There were difficult spots where the Hummer came in handy, when the road was overgrown and nearly impassable. Somewhere along the way Spike heard Buffy humming softly to herself,"I know that one, pet."

"Old and English - like you," she said, rubbing her tummy,"I don't know how I remember it, but I do."

"Maybe Joyce had sung it to you?"

"Maybe. It's very pretty."

"Written by King Henry VIII, when he was a poet, when he didn't care about crown and country, just his lady love."

"Didn't he chop of the heads of all six wives? And hello, six wives? Insecure much? "

"And I became a vampire and according to some slaughtered half of Europe. We were both young idealistic young lads once."

"Can you sing? I mean the non-punky stuff you just shout. Really sing?"

"Yeah m'not bad."

"I'm terrible, really. I want one of us to be able to sing to the baby and not hurt their little ears."

"Doesn't matter if you're not operatic, love, a mother's voice is the sweetest sound a child will ever hear."

"You said once your mother sang that other song to you."

"Early One Morning. It was my lullaby. Shall Greensleeves be ours?"

"I'd like that."

"Alright then, Greensleeves it is. You should sleep again, it'll do you both good. I'll wake you for lunch, find us a nice shady spot to stop."

"I like talking though...and if I sleep anymore I'll slip into a coma!" He hugged her, giving his insistence in the gesture and Buffy acquiesced, sliding back down and using his thigh as her pillow. He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb back and forth over her features. He cleared his throat, and began tentatively, but his voice grew in confidence.

"Alas, my love, you do me wrong, to cast me off discourteously. For I have loved you well and long, delighting in your company. Greensleeves was all my joy, greensleeves was my delight, greensleeves was my heart of gold, and who but my lady greensleeves. I have been ready at your hand, to grant whatever thou would'st crave; I have waged both life and land, your love and goodwill for to have. Greensleeves was my delight, greensleeves my heart of gold. Greensleeves was my heart of joy, and who but my lady greensleeves...."

Chapter 11

The coast was beautiful, even with the images diffused by the tinted window. A sliver of sunlight shone on Buffy's face where she'd opened the window on her side for a little fresh air. Hopefully it would diminish her car sickness. They'd stopped for lunch, of which despite the nausea, Buffy ate a whopping amount. There was plenty of food packed to last them for weeks, but it still concerned Spike how much of an appetite Buffy had now, and if suddenly having food became an issue again it might prove difficult to provide. He'd have to cross that bridge when they came to it. He had skipped lunch himself, human food wasn't sitting with him too well lately. He could go into the forest for a bit of a hunt, find some poor creature and drink its blood, but that thought wasn't overly appealing either. Furthermore, leaving Buffy alone was not an option anymore.

Back on the road Spike watched the world go by, the breathtaking, wild, unpopulated world. Sometimes he preferred this, just the three, or rather four of them, their cosm, their family. However the notion of Buffy giving birth without drugs, a hospital or doctors to help should anything go wrong terrified him beyond imagination. Of course the thought of him trying to deliver the baby himself was another thing that nightmares were made of. He rarely had dreams that brought him fond memories come morning, always nightmares, especially about the past two years. He didn't sleep much anymore, he was afraid every time he closed his eyes that when he'd wake, she'd be gone.

"Spike!!" Buffy's voice cried out. He snapped back to attention, taking control of the steering wheel and righting the direction of the Hummer before it nearly veered off the road and down a ravine. He slammed on the breaks and put the vehicle's emergency break on and buried his face in his hands, trying to breathe steadily in and out in an effort to regain his composure. He was sure his heart would have been racing like a jack rabbit if it wasn't dead.

"Mom?? Are we there yet?" Andrew asked as he woke from his own sleep, but held his voice when he saw something was wrong. Buffy cast the boy a sympathetic look, asking with her eyes to just wait a moment. She tentatively touched Spike's arm and he jerked it away. Buffy unlatched her seatbelt and maneuvered until she was kneeling beside him. Gingerly, she began to stroke his hair.

"What happened?" she whispered.

"Just bloody near killed you!" he growled.

"Spike, get a grip, come on. Talk to me, sweetheart. I woke up and you were all dazy looking, are you sick?"

"I'm not sick, Slayer."

"But you're angry at something, you don't call me Slayer unless you're emotional."

"Emotional? Great, a bloody wanker now am I?" He sat up, his face marred with so many emotions Buffy couldn't pin point a single one to tackle first.

"You've been up for hours, we can stop for a rest..." He put the car back on the road and started driving them again,"Spike..." He ignored her. Buffy wasn't going to stand for this sort of attitude.

"Pull over, please." He kept on driving, jaw clenched so tightly that his cheeks sunk in. Buffy sighed heavily,"The baby's pressing on my bladder and it's uncomfortable, please stop the damn car, Spike." He hesitated, then did as she asked. She grabbed a box of tissues and hopped down, then slammed the door shut with all her Slayer strength, damn near wrenching the thing off its hinges. She was mad at him and it stung no matter how deserved it might have been. It hadn't been her fault and her first reaction had been to try and comfort him and he'd acted like a beast to her. Apologizing would likely earn him a punch in the nose. When she got back in the Hummer she sat leaning against the passenger side door, staring out the window and out of his reach.

Spike choked on his hurt and the vehicle started moving again. The sounds of Andrew playing with his new hand held video game system were the only disruption to the icy silence between the pair in the front seat. The drive was excruciating from then on out. Spike watched the road, kept his mind sharp, kept his eyes hard and open. He wanted to touch her, to apologize for taking his anger at himself for nearly dozing off out on her. Andrew played his game with focus and intensity, because if he let them see how upset the distance between them made him, he'd probably cry himself.

After an hour, Buffy made the first move. It wasn't anything she said, she didn't move too far from her spot, but in her own way she made things alright between them. She rummaged through the Wal-Mart bag chock full of CDs and chose one. She unwrapped the cellophane and slid it into the car's stereo. She kept the volume low and easy, selecting the song she wanted before curling back up against the window.

Spike knew this one, loved the humbleness and the sensuality to it. Bruce Springsteen's Fire. He felt the warmth returning between them. Loving and fighting, it was just their way.

"Cannon Beach is about four hours off," Spike said.

"Okay," was Buffy's reply. By the end of the song, Buffy was a few inches closer to him. Andrew let out a sigh of relief. He didn't like it when his parents fought.

Chapter 12

Cannon Beach, at least to Spike's memory, had not changed. Along the shore stood megalithic stones scattered along to the ocean's lip like so many monstrous teeth. Douglas firs and cedars were gathered in lush clumps upon the rocks, standing sentry before the forest that divided this sanctuary from the mainland. The sun was hovering on the horizon and the shapes were cut apart from the azure tinged sky of twilight as black silhouettes. The night's rain had already come and gone. Buffy and Andrew descended from the vehicle and made their way to the beach for watch the sunset, while Spike hid out the final minutes of daylight behind the Hummer, unpacking the camping gear and preparing dinner for the humans.

Buffy felt a bit of chill rush through her, the wind off the water decidedly cool and very unlike that what was found back in Southern California. There was still some residual tension between her and Spike, but she wished he'd come and wrap his arms around her. In a day all the strife would have dissipated, but those hours in which emotions ran hot there was a distance in bodies that made for a distance in hearts.

"Do you think the baby will have fangs?" Andrew suddenly asked. Buffy's jaw dropped at the audacity of the question, but knowing Andrew as she did also knew he'd meant no offense.

"No, mouse," Spike answered as he brought them their dinner. He had for each of them a hot bowl of Kraft dinner with broccoli as well as canned peaches for Buffy. He'd tossed a blanket on the lawn in front of the Hummer. And oil lamp burned for light, while a heating element simmered down after having cooked the pasta.

Buffy awkwardly made her way down to the picnic and as she relaxed Spike was behind her stacking pillows for her back. She went to thank him, but he disappeared again, returning with bottles of water. They ate in silence for some time.

She knew there wasn't a right time to broach the subject with him, but if she waited too long, they both might regret it. She offered him a spoonful of peaches,"Here, eat a little," she coaxed, trying to keep her tone from seeming desperate. He waved her off and went back to watching the ocean. Andrew turned away from them.

"No thanks, pet, food hasn't been sitting well with me lately. I come over a bit queasy afterwards."

"Maybe it's because your body's craving blood, not macaroni and cheese." He huffed out a breath, instantly going on the defensive.

"Don't start, Buffy."

"Already started it."

"I'm fine."

"You had some animal something in the forest a week ago? Nothing since, don't you dare tell me you're fine. Normal people can't go a week without eating."

"Vampires can."

"Skinny people in dusty countries? Living skeletons! That's what you said, you're on the fast track to becoming one."

"Oh sod off, it's hardly that bad! Bloody hell!!" That dismissal made her angry, he could be so stubborn sometimes. She had to get through to him and yelling wasn't going to it. She didn't want to manipulate him, but she couldn't see another way at hand. She labored to her feet, Spike reacting instinctively and standing to help her. She pushed his hands away and started walking away down the beach."Buffy? Where are you going, love?" She ignored him and kept walking, increasing her pace. He let her go another twenty paces, then ran after her,"Wait up!"

He caught up with her, coming around in front of her, blocking way,"Please move."

"Buffy, don't be like this."

"You told me to sod off! So, that's what I'm doing. Move."

"Like hell! That's not what I meant, I just wanted..."

"Me to drop the subject, I know, that's why I had to get away from you. I don't think you're even aware of what's happening here!" A stream of tears suddenly flowed down her cheeks,"How can you take such good care of me, watch out for me and not expect me to do the same for you? Spike, a vampire needs blood, there was a time when you used to drink a person or three every night! Even with the pig's blood you still ate everyday. Now look at you, you're skinnier than I've ever seen you!" She poked his hip to punctuate her point,"You're all bone!"

"So I'm not a hulking caveman like some of your others, I'm good enough."

"Spike, dammit, this is about your health and not my stupid boyfriends, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm carrying your baby here! You're a hell of a lot more than good enough. But you're getting sick, I can see it. You almost fell asleep at the wheel earlier. You're tired, you don't look well, Spike...I'm scared for you." He was perplexed, she seemed truly upset. He hadn't thought much of it himself. Certainly he was aware that his lack of blood intake was showing signs, but not as bad as she was making it out to be. Though now her behavior was giving him doubts.

"Took on the bloke last night alright." She nodded, sniffled, then her hand was on his chest.

"Why won't you take my blood?" She said it in such away that he felt ashamed for ever having refused it,"Is it me?" She took her hand away and wrapped her arms around herself, looking down at the sand.

"Since when are you this insecure?"

"That one time, in that woman's house, where you'd buried all those people the First made you kill. You licked the blood off my arm. Is there something wrong with my blood?"

"What!? Buffy, god no. You're the Slayer for bloody sakes, your blood is ambrosia to vamps, a holy liquor - a man could drown in it. You're forgetting that before the baby, I had your blood all the time."

"That was sex, I'm talking about drinking my blood, from my neck."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?" She was trembling and coupled with her tears and sad voice, the vampire was rendered helpless. He pulled her close, his hands on her lower back, pressing her pronounced stomach against him and he rest his forehead down on hers.

"Taking your blood will weaken you, that'll weaken the baby and here and now, in this world where you aren't even guaranteed a decent meal once a day, taking a risk like that is more than I'm willing to wager."

"Half a pint isn't going to make me miscarry, you know. It's not going to do anything to me that I won't be back 100% from in half an hour. Spike, please listen to reason."

"I won't do it." She gripped his biceps and choked on a sob.

"Baby, please." She was practically begging and he wanted so much to give in, he knew if he did he would feel guilty and disgusted with himself,"Please, William, I love you, I want this." She pulled back and held his face in the palms of her hands,"Change for me." He kept his eyes down and did as she bade. She caressed the distorted ridges of his face and smiled,"Don't ever think I don't love this face just as much as your human one." She kissed his mouth, running her tongue gently along his fangs. She took his hand and placed it over her heart, then guided him to her throat. He pulled her closer, his arm all the way around her waist and kissed the pulse point carefully so not to graze her with his fangs. She rubbed his back soothingly as well as the back of his neck, encouraging him onwards. He sunk into her flesh, into her vein and drank. He started to pull away almost instantly, the hot rush of liquid ecstasy that was her blood overwhelming him, but Buffy held him down forcefully until he relented.

He took long, slow gulps until Buffy let him know it was time to stop. He drew back from her, not a spec of her blood on his face, just a little on his bottom lip. He pressed his thumb to each puncture, to take up the drops of blood that escaped before her Slayer healing took instant effect. He bent back down and licked away the smudges, she shivered with a little thrill. Her hands found their way to his thin waist, hooking her thumbs inside his jeans."You feel better, don't you?" she asked. He didn't reply, the look on his face was stern, yet sad also."We're going to do this every couple of days, okay?"

"Buffy..."

"William."

"Don't say my name like I'm a child you're scolding!"

"Then stop acting like one! For heaven's sakes!" She grabbed his lapels suddenly and yanked him to her for a fierce, passionate kiss,"By the way, I'm not really being a martyr here. The bitey thing? Better than sex!" She got a little grin out of him and she finally felt at ease.

Chapter 13

Half way back to camp Buffy was suddenly seized by Spike, wrapped completely in his arms and being thoroughly kissed so deeply she thought she was having an out of body experience. He sucked on her tongue and groped her body with ferocity that had her blood singing. This was a wild passion between them that was so overwhelming she nearly swooned.

When he finally let her come up for air, she found herself embraced close to his body, held tightly with his face buried at her neck breathing in and out deeply. She was uncertain for a moment, but then turned her face to his and then burrowed against his throat, her arms slipping under the duster and around his back."Love you, Buffy," he mumbled.

"Love you too, Spike. We gotta take care of each other."

"I know, we will. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, baby. Let's go back, poor Andrew's probably in a fit and I want snuggles, all night snuggles."

"Be very happy to oblige, pet, get us all nice and warm...you'll let me come inside, make your body sing for me."

"Yes, I need you. Make love with me, all night...I'd be so lost without you. I couldn't bare to be alone out here." He wrapped the folds of the duster around her, sealing them in a cocoon.

"How's the baby tonight?"

"Quiet, just little touches here and there, feels bigger."

"Won't be long now."

"I can't wait to hold them, look in their eyes."

"I want to watch you nursing. I imagine it all the time. Watch their little cheeks sucking and face getting all pink. Those little fingers clutching to your breast. I want to see the life I had no business creating."

"You will, sweetheart and don't give me any of that I'm the evil undead nonsense.I believe in destiny and it was your destiny to be a daddy, so there."

"Yes dearest."

"Thank you, now about those snuggles please, need my nekkid Spike."

"How's about you have your naked Spike after we do something first?" She drew back, a little perplexed, but willing to play.

"Okay, I'll bite...but I like it better when you bite." He gave her a pointed look and she wrinkled her nose at him and kissed the air to him.

"You're quite precious, you know that?"

"Yep, because you tell me and I believe everything you tell me. Now what are we doing before I get me some?"

"We, my lovely love, my beautiful, effervescent, sex pot..."

"Get on with it, vampy."

"Marry me, here tonight on the beach. Bugger the priest...okay, poor choice of words there, I meant forget that there's no priest, or holy bloke or judge or legalities..."

"There's Andrew."

"No church or white gown for my bride..."

"Knocked up here, white gown not so appropriate."

"Champions of Goodness, carrying miracle children in their wombs can wear white."

"I still don't have a dress."

"I like what you're wearing now."

"We don't have rings."

"That I can help us with..." He kept their cocoon secure, but managed to reach into the inside pocket and produced the ring box. The look on her face, the instant tears of joy, when she saw the matching bands was enough to make his soul burn."Takin' that as a yes?" She squealed and it gave him a jolt, then she kissed him.

"Andrew's celibate, he'll make a good priest."

TBC...

Chapter 14

"Is that the Bible?" Buffy asked, trying to peer over the large volume their would be presidor for the impromptu wedding ceremony held aloft in his hands.

"Uh....no...it's um, The Lord of the Rings," Andrew replied with a nervous laugh."I thought i'd be okay cause of the Berren and Luthien thing, but with Spike as Luthien because he gave up the ways of his people for his mortal love and stuff. Buffy, did Spike ever sing and dance in a moonlit meadow wearing a gown of deepest purple?" Spike gave the mouse a stern glare,"Perhaps not, but I think you'd look nice in purple, it would bring out your eyes."

"Get on with it mouse, or I'll show you what the Ents really did to the orcs at Isengard, and I'm talking about branches where branches don't belong." Andrew's eyes widened in horror and Spike smirked.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but it's creepy and all nerdy, so cut it out," Buffy huffed. Andrew cleared his throat and held his head high.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, under the um....um...the uh, the....well, um..."

"What, mouse?" Spike asked.

"God, Allah, Shiva, Ahuramazda, or....."

"Willow always said Gaia," Buffy provided,"And the Goddess is all around us now, I think. And Ahurawhat?"

"Zoroastrian uber deity."

"Riiiiight....please continue."

"We are gathered here today in the house. Well, no so much house as great big outdoors, of Gaia, to join Spike and Buffy in holy matrimony."

"Bloody hell, you're making it sound like we're being sentenced to life of hard labor!" Spike groaned. Buffy whapped him across the stomach,"Sorry, mouse, you're doing splendid, carry on." Andrew bravely stuck his tongue out at Spike and Buffy giggled.

"Do you William, take Buffy..."

"Often..." Buffy cocked her fist back and Spike just smiled.

"To be your lawfully, even though there's no civilization to support said law, wedded wife to have and to hold, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, especially 'cause there's no more money in the world, as long as you both shall live? Or, unlive..." Despite the jangled version of wedding vows Andrew had presented, there was calm and assurity that had come over Spike as he turned and looked into the hazel and emerald eyes of his intended bride. Buffy saw this, saw his soul projecting out to her the love that had endured and grown over years and her emotions welled up inside her all at once and came forth in tears.

"I do," he said simply, taking both her hands in his and holding them to his chest.

"Buffy....or is it Elizabeth, 'cause Buffy is just the pet favorite abbreviation of Elizabeth, it was popular in the late 18th century England..."

"It's Buffy," she stated.

"Buffy Anne, actually," Spike added.

"That's sweet," said Andrew,"Do you Buffy Anne, take William as your lawfully in a world without law husband to have and to hold, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer in a world where money no longer exists, as long as you both shall live? Or, unlive..." Buffy closed the gap between her and Spike, until their stomachs were touching and the baby was happily nestled between them.

"I do, and always will." A single tear escaped down Spike's cheek and she watched it run down his neck and wet his shirt,"I love you William..." She took a cleansing breath,"I love you with all my heart, so much so I think's it's full up and then you go and do something that makes me love you more. Our lives have been messed together for almost nine years - can you believe that? We used to despise each other, I guess it was just the passion...and it's always there, whether we're fighting or making love, or just doing nothing. You're inside me, you're in my blood, in my soul...you surround me, take care of me and you've given me a peace inside and a love that is worth dying for, worth fighting for and worth living for....I just love you, Spike." Andrew passed her a ring and she slipped it on Spike's held out and trembling hand.

"Buffy...oh god..." Spike's voice cracked as he tried to echo her words with his own,"My Slayer, my salvation....my redemption. It's all you, all because of you. This demon, in me..." He pounded his fist to his heart for emphasis,"He's fierce and vicious and he loves you like any loves their mate, I will kill for you, die for you, be good for you and be a man for you. I love you better than anyone that's ever been, love you more than I ever did anyone when I was man and as I do now as a vampire. For the longest time you were my soul, Buffy, my guiding light, showing me the way back to myself, back to the boy whose mother loved him, back to the man who wanted a wife and child of his own to love and protect. You saved me, every night you've saved me." Spike fit the ring to Buffy's finger and kissed it. Andrew began to sob and snivel as he clutched the book to himself.

"That's SO BEAUTIFUL!!!" the boy cried.

"Oh, bloody hell, mouse, pull yourself together...honestly...really...terrible..." Spike said this as he wiped his own deluge of tears from his face harshly with the back of his hand.

"There's one last bit there, Andrew," Buffy said softly.

"Oh yeah," Andrew laughed nervously,"Sorry. Uh, by the power vested in me by no one whatsoever, I now pronounce you man and wife, or vampire demon and claimed female human concubine type thing."

"Good enough."

"You may now kiss, or bite your bride."

"Capital plan," Spike mused as he took hold of his bride and kissed her. As the pair of lovers embraced, Andrew all too happily found himself pulled into their arms."Thanks, mouse."

"Welcome, guys."

"That was perfect, Andrew," said Buffy, kissing the boy's cheek,"Now get back in the Hummer, I want to have sex with my husband."

"Pet, you just channeled Anyanka!" Spike exclaimed.

"I did, didn't I? Anya's a nice name for a girl, isn't it?"

"It's lovely, pet. Good name, from a funny, bright girl."

"What about the first dance?" Andrew asked, the married couple looked at him, surprised, he tried to explain,"We have twinkies, they can be the wedding cake and lots of music, so you guys can have a dance...like, like a really real wedding."

"Oh Andrew!" Buffy cried, elated,"That's so thoughtful!" Andrew gave them a dopey smile and dashed off to the Hummer. He opened the windows and slipped a CD into the player, the sudden sounds of a love song playing along with the thrum of the ocean.

"Bloody hell..." Spike mumbled.

"What is it honey?"

"The Bee Gees. Does the boy know anything about me? Honestly, it's been bleedin' years?! How Deep is Your Love? Torture."

"It's sweet, corny, but sweet. He's happy, let him be." Spike grumbled a little, but smiled, when Buffy's fingertip dipped under his chin and lifted his head up,"You going to dance with me or sulk all night?" He gave a little snarl and pulled her into his arms, the pair of them swaying in the cool ocean air, Andrew back by the Hummer stuffing his face with snack cakes.

Chapter 15

Now that they were suddenly alone, trying to repeat more words like those just said in their wedding vows seemed impossible. Part of Buffy thought it was ludicrous that Spike was setting up the bed again, just like they'd had in the store the other night, but on the other hand there wasn't anything more romantic to her mind than making love on the beach under the moon. When he came to her, the first touch of his hand on her body had her suddenly so overwhelmed with desire she let out her breath with a slight cry of urgency that sounded like pain. He was shaking himself, already fully aroused and aching to be with her. The duster dropped off his shoulders and fell to the grass, he kicked off his boots, then grabbed her shoulders and crushed his mouth to hers. This kiss was poured into her with all his love, his soul, every passion of the demon and hope of the man. Buffy fell into him and let him hold her up, let him fill her up.

The efforts to get their clothing removed were hampered by their unwillingness to part their lips and when they got their shirts bunched up around their necks, the laughter started."Look at us, like a bloody pair of teenagers swimming in hormones and premature eja..."

"Don't you dare!"

"Buffy! I wouldn't. I'm the five hour man, remember?" He made a lewd gesture with his tongue, to which Buffy snapped open her bra and stripped it off as well as her shirt. Spike pulled his own shirt off his back and over his head, then tossed it to the wind."Look at you..." She made a face, letting her arms flap to her thighs.

"Chubby, all quasi-bodied Buffy...." The cool wind air had her nipples stiffly erect, her skin covered in goosepimples. Spike chuckled warmly, a deep sound rumbling in his chest, and bent his head down to on of those ample mounds of flesh. Taking one nipple in his mouth he suckled fervently as she draped her arms over his back. He tugged down her jeans and panties while she helped shimmy them down her legs. Her nipple, tingling from the attention he'd paid it, popped free from his lips as he descended to his knees. He helped her off with the boots and the rest of her clothes, all the while nuzzling the soft curls on her mound, untrimmed in years and just how he loved them. She was the perfect embodiment of woman. His lips pressed wet, open mouth kisses to her swollen stomach, her scents and heat radiating to all his senses. She was still exposed to the elements, and before she could catch cold, he was on his feet and taking her to bed.

Once inside the heavy layers of quilts and blankets and Spike naked finally, Buffy decided it was her turn to be worshipful of his body. They could only see each other's faces, given the little chrysalis of quilts they were under, but they could feel. Spike opened his mouth, felt his eyes roll back and moaned, when her two hands closed around his erection. One moved steadily up and down the shaft, the other massaged his sac. Her touch rendered him speechless, helpless and submissive. Her hands eventually left him, moving up over the plain of his abdomen, over his chest, then settling on his shoulder for support as she moved over top him.

Straddling his waist, the blankets still around her shoulders, Buffy slowly let him part her soft folds, then bit by bit, become enveloped in her snug heat. Settling comfortably down upon him, she bit her bottom lip and smiled, adjusting to the familiar sensations. His hands ran along her thighs while he pushed up with his hips and was gifted with little mmmms of pleasure from his wife. She wanted to ride him like she used to, slam their bodies together in a wild frenzy, but those days are gone, replaced with a carnal lust born of the deepest love on Earth. This doesn't mean of course that it wasn't still phenomenal.

With calculated movement, Buffy angled her hips back and forth, flexing and tensing her inner muscles around his cock, the pair of them sinking low down into the pleasures of it. She flipped her hair to one side, the long tresses falling over his arm and shoulder. Buffy rocked a little faster, a little harder, rubbing her clit down on his pubic bone while his hand roamed over her back and bottom. She arched her back, presenting her full breasts to him and Spike raised himself up and flicked his tongue over the nipples. Buffy's little sighs of delight pleased him and he thrust up with a little more purpose, always mindful to be careful. After a moment she pushed him back down against the mattress.

She was slow and easy as she began to slide herself up and down on him. As she rose, she tightened herself around him, making him groan loudly, going back down was for her own pleasure, letting his length hit the sweet spot. The looks between them were beyond lust, into a love that transcended the act. The carried on guided by the ebb and flow of the ocean, until the breaking point came and they cried out with their climaxes. They would have gone on all night, but there was a serenity to this place that lulled them to sleep quicker than usual. It seemed somehow that this was the first time in two years, that they could rest.

Chapter 16

The sunlight of late morning coupled with the salty ocean air and fragrant trees lining the beach were the elements that made this the perfect morning to wake up to. The night before had been to her recollection the absolute happiest of her entire young life. It definitely hadn't been the wedding of her teenage fantasies, but in truth the only part of those fantasies that mattered were that she was with a man she loved. The silly dream of a white dress and a church with Angel frankly made her a little disgusted with herself. It had been the aspirations of a little girl, now the reality of husband and child was so much sweeter, no matter the conditions. She opened her eyes and blinked quickly as the light assaulted her senses and just like with children, the sudden brightness made her sneeze.

It took her a few moments to realize that Spike wasn't by her side, which wasn't surprising given the time of day, but where would he be otherwise? She looked over to the grass, where his duster, clothes and boots form the night before still lay. Panic seized her and she tossed back the covers, searching for his dust,"Oh god!!" she gasped, there wasn't even dust.

"Right here, precious," he said solemnly from his position sitting at the end of the bed, his naked back fully exposed to the sun's rays. He had his knees drawn up to his chest, arms around them and chin resting there. He'd been staring at the ocean since dawn, since he'd woken to find his exposed leg not being burned by first light. Buffy scrambled over to him frantically, having to touch him and make certain he was real. He quickly pulled her on to his lap and wrapped his arms around her, hiding his face between her breasts and sudden sobs wracked his body,"What's happened to me?!" She held him tight, rubbing his back and kissing the back of his neck.

"Are you still a vampire?" He nodded, raising his face to show her the demon. She smiled at his other face and pressed her lips to the ridged brow,"Are you somehow alive too?"

"No...m'heart's not beating. Just...just not burning anymore. Buffy, why am I not dust?"

"Why am I pregnant? I don't have the answers. Maybe it's because of how the world's changed. Hey, it could be radiation poisoning that's changed you - made you all mutant vamp?"

"Which would make the little'un one too? Not doing a terrific job of cheering your husband up there, pet." She batted the back of his head and gave a pout.

"Or Gaia's changed the world in such a way that you've naturally evolved, making you fertile and non-conbustable?"

"That's better. I didn't get any sunglasses at Wal-Mart."

"You'll live."

"Yeah."

"How does it feel? Being out in the sun after well over a century?" He peered up at the blue sky and shivered slightly, prompting Buffy to encircle his shoulders with her arms,"Hmmm?"

"Scary, very bloody fucking scary!"

"I wonder if you'll freckle?" He rolled his eyes at her, intimately pleased that she knew him well enough to crack a joke. He dropped his head to her shoulder and sighed.

"Sweetheart, I'm so glad you're here."

"I'll never be anywhere else. You can play in the sunshine with the baby."

"Yeah, guess I can now, I'll enjoy that. Sometimes I see us with a little girl, and she's chasing a butterfly, picking flowers....I know, terribly poofy of me."

"Not at all, just the kind of thing I love to hear you talk about."

"Or teaching my son how to play footy."

"Soccer?"

"Football, pet. Speakin' of footballs..." He hand patted her round tummy,"Definitely bigger, you're into your last trimester."

"I think so. I hope Seattle's everything we're expecting it to be, that we can deliver the baby safely there."

"It will be, I trust your dream. I trust the Slayer."

"The Slayer doesn't always know what's best, we learned that lesson the hard way." She looked at him and smiled, thought it was full of woe,"I couldn't lose you, I couldn't let you sacrifice yourself. It was wrong and it was selfish and it's because of me that the world ended."

"World's not ended, love, it's beautiful, you see it for yourself. I would have done it too, I was ready to die...but hearing your words of love, your tears, you begging me to stay....so sod the bloody world, Buffy needs me...I was weak, I should've done it."

"We're together, we're blessed....but it cost so much...."

"Guilty because we're happy, I know, I feel it too, but the bitty one doesn't deserve that, so we go on, we live. We make our child's life worth it, they died so our baby could live. Some would say that's wrong, but if we think like that we might as well give up now."

"Seattle's the answer, I know it is."

"And I believe that too, so Isuppose we should get to it then, shouldn't we?"

"Or we could...uh..." She nibbled on her bottom lip and trailed her finger down his chest,"You're so beautiful in the sunlight." Drawn into the kiss, Spike held her to him with his hand resting on her swollen stomach, smooth ripples of movement under the surface. The intimate moment lasted only a few seconds when Spike suddenly tackled away from Buffy and being smothered by a heavy quilt.

"Andrew! Let him up!" Buffy ordered. Andrew turned his head and yelped at the sight of a completely naked, yet very commanding Slayer. Spike used the distraction to toss Andrew off him and get to his feet.

"Bloody hell mouse! What'd you do that for?!" Spike demanded. Andrew turned to see Spike and his own sculpted nude body, the boy's eyes growing wide and focusing in one place."Hey! Eyes on the trees!" Spike grabbed the quilt and covered the source of his modesty, then noticed that Buffy was just as starkers as he was,"Slayer, cover yourself!" Buffy rolled her eyes and grabbed a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around her body.

"You're not on fire!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Oh, right...that. Funny thing that, er, no longer flammable."

"Cool." Andrew smiled, Spike had a very nice chest. Spike cleared his throat, the situation at a bit of a stalemate. When Buffy's wandering hands gave his bottom a pinch, the vampire reacted.

"I need my pants!"

TBC...

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