"Okay, Faith's in the hospital, we assume Sunnydale General" Buffy recapped the nights conversation, as the sun rose "The police probably can't hold her and if I fight her, well, that could be dangerous" she paused for a moment and Giles cut in.

"There is of course the Watcher's Council" he realised in a sudden moment of inspiration, "There are operatives that may possibly be able to remove her from the hospital, and take care of her"

"When you say 'take care of her'?" Willow wondered precisely what that meant.

"Er, they'd take her back to England, attempt to re-habilitate her as it were. Of course, she would probably face some punishment first, for the crimes she's committed"

"Punishment" Buffy echoed with an almost evil smile, "And in England" she caught Spike staring at her strangely and quickly wiped the look from her face, "I mean, it's probably the best thing for her" she nodded seriously.

"I'll give the Council a call" Giles said, getting up from his seat to go and do just that. Spike continued to stare at Buffy in a discomforting way and she shifted in her seat beside Willow. The red-head spoke up next.

"We really should head back to the dorm soon" she realised, "Sun's already up and we have classes this morning"

Buffy was so busy returning Spike's stare she barely heard her friend speak.

"Oh yeah, well, I was actually thinking I'd go back to my Mom's and give her an update" she babbled, "Maybe Giles should walk you back to the dorm, and I'll see you later"

"What about..." Willow tipped her head slightly towards the silent vampire across the room and Buffy smiled to herself.

"Well, as much fun as it would be to throw him outside and watch him burn to a crisp, I guess he'll just have to stay here" she shrugged.

"So long as you tie him up like before, I doubt Giles will mind" Willow agreed, suddenly snapping Spike out of his staring.

"Oi, I am not being tied to soddin' furniture again" he complained, "I thought we were passed the chaining-me-to-things phase?"

Giles interrupted the 'conversation' as he re-joined the group, explaining that the Watchers Council already had three operatives in California to deal with Faith. It appeared she'd been awake from her coma for a couple of days and the Watcher's had a contact at the hospital who had tipped them off as soon as the Slayer's eyes had opened.

"That's good, right?" Willow smiled uncertainly, "I mean, they'll take Faith far, far away and we'll all be safe again?"

"Well, yes, as safe as the Hellmouth permits" Giles assured her.

Buffy then asked him to walk Willow back to the dorm, just in case, and explained that she just needed to use the bathroom and then she was going to her Mom's house. She assured Giles she'd tie Spike up before she left, since he couldn't leave with the sun up. She grinned when he agreed and promptly left with the red-headed witch.

"So, I guess that just leaves you and me, huh Spikey?" Buffy smirked in an unnatural fashion. Spike knew something was wrong he just couldn't quite figure what it was. She smelt the same, in the quiet room he could now hear her heartbeat and the child's, it was all the same and yet so different, she was different he just couldn't for the un-life of him figure out how.

"Buffy" he drew out her name as she disappeared for a moment and then returned with a length of rope in her hands, "Maybe this is a hormone thing and don't drive a stake through me for asking but are you feeling alright Slayer?"

"What could be wrong?" she shrugged, twisting the rope around in her hands, pulling it tight between them "I'm Buffy, the perfect little Slayer. Sure, I could have anything I want and instead I choose to pout and whine about the burden of being the Slayer...but be honest that just adds to the cute-ness of me, right?" she giggled like Harmony used to, Spike realised with a shudder, as Buffy advanced on him.

"Oh come on Spike" the Slayer rolled her eyes as she stood in front of the chair where he sat, "Don't try to tell me you don't want me, that you're not constantly wondering..." she smiled in sultry fashion as she moved her legs and sat straddling his lap, "what it'd be like to kiss me..." she all but whispered, inches from his lips, as she hooked the rope around his wrists and began to bind them "to touch me..." she continued to tease him, wriggling on top of him, keeping his mind off the fact she was tying him up "to take me..." as the words left her mouth she regretted them. Up until that point it was like she had him under thrall but now the spell seemed to be broken as the vampire's brow creased and he looked at her strangely. She leaned away from him, still on his lap, but not half so close now.

"What is it with you, Slayer?" he asked after a moment, "Lying to your mother and now this...did your witch-mate do that forgetting spell after all?"

Buffy remained silent, like she wasn't understanding what he was saying at all. Spike continued to stare, the frown still on his features as Buffy stared back at him, hoping he didn't notice...she needed to distract him again.

"Come on Spikey" she smiled sexily, running a hand up his thigh, "You don't wanna play?"

"Maybe I do" he admitted as he grabbed the hand that was advancing on areas they should not be going to right now, "but first you tell me why you admitted everything else to your mother, but you lied about sleeping with me"

Buffy's eyes went so wide Spike thought they might roll right out of her head. In one movement she was off the vamps lap and across the room.

"Buffy nailed another vamp" she said to herself, but with his advanced hearing Spike heard it easily.

"Yes, Buffy did" he agreed, "but tell me pet, why exactly are we talking about you in the third person? Y'know you can tell me if there's stuff bothering you..." he hated to admit he cared about her, it was absurd that he ever could, but she was acting so weird, it was giving him the wiggins...and hey, when had she tied his wrists together?

"Aww, ain't it sweet" Buffy mocked him, as she wrapped a second piece of rope around his ankles, fastening them together also "Vamp loves Slayer, Round 2" she laughed, not behaving like herself at all, "You're not as good as the last one though" she shook her head, "Angel would have figured it out in a second...guess you just don't love her like he did" she smirked somewhat evilly and Spike's mind spun in red alert style panic.

"You're not Buffy" he said unnecessarily.

"Damn, took you long enough to figure it out Blondie, and even then I kinda had to spell it to ya" she laughed in true Faith-style. The body swap had been too easy, acting the part to fool Giles and the Scooby Gang was a piece of pie, and then tricking this wannabe-Angel type, that was a sweet bonus, "I would be Faith" she announced, "look a little different to what you expected, huh?"

"What did you do?" Spike asked dangerously low, Faith in Buffy's body shook her head.

"Nothing that'll kill the Wonder-Slayer" she assured him, "She's just getting shipped off to England and apparently punished...unless of course I just decide to go to the hospital and hold a pillow over her face until..."

"I'll kill you if you try" Spike warned, "Don't care if my head explodes in the meantime"

"Nice imagery" Faith frowned slightly, not really understanding the head exploding part, unless... "Spike" she had a sudden realisation, "William the Bloody with a chip in his head, oh this is just too good" she laughed wickedly.

"Glad I amuse you pet, wasn't my intention" Spike sneered, completely uncomfortable with this nasty bitch parading around in Buffy's body. At least she didn't know about the baby, and he wouldn't tell her. Let the sickness and such be a nasty surprise for the bleedin' bint, and just hope she didn't get Buffy's body or the baby harmed in the meantime.

"Yeah, well, I'm capable of making my own fun" she grinned, moving behind him and pushing the chair towards the window. Spike looked horrified as he was steered toward the sunlight but the chair stopped moving right next to the fatal beams.

"Now, I never paid much attention in physics class" Faith explained behind him, "but I do know the sun is moving that way" she gestured in front of his face, "and with you sitting there, well, could be a few minutes, could be a couple of hours but before the days out, you're gonna be ash-tray sized Spikey" she said cheerily, patting him on the head like a dog.

The vampire didn't move, didn't say a word as the girl walked behind him and headed for the door.

"It was fun while it lasted, Spike" she called as she opened the door and let herself out, "enjoy the sun"

The vampire glanced out of the window and saw the sun was fast approaching, he had maybe half an hour before the beams would be directly on him. Though he wasn't bound to the chair he dare not stand. With his ankles tied together he was likely to fall over and if he fell to the right he was toast - literally.

"Oh bloody hell"

- - - - - -

Buffy was aware of nothing but darkness to start off with, then a light pierced the distance and she ventured toward it, desperate to prise her lids open and see beyond the black. Eventually she managed it and her weary eyes adjusted to her surroundings. It looked like a hospital room, all white and sterile and the light above her was far too bright. She tried to move her hand to shield her eyes from the glare but found she couldn't. Restraining straps held her wrists to the sides of the bed and no amount of pulling and wriggling was going to get them free, especially now when he was feeling less than great.

Desperately the Slayer tried to remember what had happened, not daring to call out for help in case this wasn't just a hospital. Truth was she could be anywhere and she didn't fancy calling her captors attention to her awake-ness til she knew what was going on.

She'd been walking with Spike towards Giles' house, they'd been to see her Mom to tell her about the baby and...oh God! Buffy suddenly realised she wasn't pregnant. Where was the slight bump at her stomach, and why in Gods name was she dressed like such a ho?!

"Faith" she exhaled as she realised that's who's clothes she was wearing. Her memory was staring to come back to her. A figure in the park that she'd mistaken for a fledging vamp. She'd crossed over the street only to be dived on by her manic sister-Slayer. She put up a good fight, but a couple of knocks to the back of her head and Faith was going down, then she'd grabbed onto Buffy's hand.

There was a flash, the blonde Slayer remembered now, between her hand and Faith's and then everything was black...no, wait, just before the blackness she'd run away, she'd seen herself disappear into the darkness.

"She, oh my God..." Buffy began to ramble incoherently as she realised what had happened. Faith had switched their bodies, some spell or something when she'd grabbed her hand! If she had her body, then she had her baby!

"She's awake" a voice said and Buffy suddenly realised she wasn't alone. A nurse was across the room, talking into a phone. After she'd hung up she walked towards the door, the Slayer's eyes followed her and then the man, who she assumed to be a doctor, who came into the room as the nurse left.

"Well, look who's awake" an English voice came out of the 'doctors' mouth and Buffy frowned, "Don't get too used to it. Seems you've been quite the naughty girl, Faith" he leered at her, pulling out a syringe, and grabbing her arm that she was unable to move. She kicked out her legs but to no avail, she couldn't reach him that way.

"By order of the Watchers Council" he said with a certain amount of evil glee as he pushed the needle into her, "you are to be taken into custody..." she didn't hear anymore as the world went blurry and disappeared altogether. Her final thoughts before unconsciousness were of her unborn child and, strangely, of Spike.

Spike had been watching Willow and Tara conjure and incant and such for the past two hours or more. On the outside he figured he must be looking pretty calm, but inside he was screaming with frustration. The sun was high in the sky, just gone midday he reckoned, meaning he hadn't seen Buffy, the real article, in over twelve hours. He was beginning to admit, to himself at least, that she did mean something to him, that he did care just a little. There was just no other explanation for what he was feeling. This pain in his chest and the lead weight in his stomach that was making him want to heave, despite the fact he hadn't eaten anything for hours. He'd heated himself some blood about an hour ago when his demon started to complain but he'd had trouble swallowing it down, he felt so bad inside. He was going stir-crazy and God help him he was gonna rip this joint apart if something didn't change soon.

"Are we almost done with the herbs and prayers, ladies?" he snapped at the witches "Clock ticking y'know" he reminded them, agitatedly.

Willow smiled as she held up a small box. Inside was a ball of pure green light, that didn't look as if it should've taken two hours of hard graft to create! Still the witches were grinning, Red most especially.

"We did it" she exclaimed "I wasn't' sure if we could but, look" she thrust the box further under the vampires nose and he backed up a little.

"Great" Spike frowned slightly "it's a green energy thingy, but will it work" he asked the blonde girl who nodded slowly.

"I-I'm n-ninety percent certain" she forced out and he gave her half a smile, glad he had the ability to still scare someone at least!

"Well, I guess that'll have to do" he agreed, "What next?" he asked and the phone rang in response. He grabbed at it, something inside him shifting as he thought it could be good news or something awful.

"Yeah?" he said as he put the receiver to his ear, "Giles? Did you find the Slayer?" the girls stood watching, holding each others hand, trying to analyse Spike's expression and decipher the meaning on the conversation from only his words "Oh bloody hell!" he exclaimed, before sighing "We got the reversal spell but...here, talk to Red" he decided that was the best option since he couldn't explain all that mojo rot.

He shared a look with Tara as Willow and Giles talked about the spell and presumably Faith and Buffy before she hung up the phone.

"Everything okay, sweetie?" Tara asked worriedly, going to her girlfriends side.

"The Watcher guys took Buffy" she frowned deeply "cos obviously they think she's Faith. The real Faith, beat up Giles at the hospital and then took off" she told them "On the upside he's pretty sure he knows where to find the Watcher guys" Spike paced the room as he took in the news. The Slayer, his Slayer, was in as much danger from the Wankers Council as she was from Faith, but chances our dear old Rupes could talk them round. Right now they needed the other girl so they could reverse the trick she'd pulled.

"And the bitch-Slayer from hell?" he stopped in front of Willow.

"That's the bad news" she shrugged "no clue"

Spike thought for a second before grinning somewhat evilly.

"That's not a problem pet...Vampire remember?" he tapped his nose with his forefinger "I know Buffy's scent well enough I can track it" he glanced towards the window before picking up the throw from the back of the sofa and pulling it over his head "s'not gonna be easy with the sun up and all, but s'not impossible"

"But how can you make her come back?" Willow called behind him as he made for the door "It's not like you can hit her or anything"

"Don't fret about that, luv" he shook his head in the negative before gesturing for Tara to get the door for him which she dutifully did "Spike always delivers" he promised right before he left "I'll be back"

- - - - - - - -

When Buffy finally managed to open her eyes again the bright light was gone, replaced by harsh darkness even worse with her eyes open than closed. As she awoke and looked down at her shackled hands and feet, she remembered everything. The body swap with Faith, waking up from unconsciousness at the hospital and being injected by some English guy. 'By order of the Watcher's council..' that's what he'd' said. Faith was in trouble and her body was to be shipped off to the mother country for punishment it seemed, regardless of who she was on the inside.

Buffy hated the fact she felt tears on her cheeks. She was the Slayer. She shouldn't be afraid or worried, but she truly was. It wasn't being shipped out of the country that bothered her, or even the prospect that they would harm her, though she'd prefer not to be hurt or worse dead. Still, the thing that bothered her most was that she was currently away from her child. Her unborn baby was inside a body that Faith inhabited, probably drinking and smoking and fighting - anything could go wrong. even if they did manage to swap back, would it be too late to reverse the damage, to save the child?

"Buffy?" a voice shattered the dark and silent panic inside the back of the truck where she was being held. Another English voice but one she recognised, and this one wasn't calling her Faith or bitch or scum or...

"Buffy?" the voice called again.

"Giles?" she dared to hope and soon the doors were open and he was in there with her, using a key to undo the bonds that held her captive. Relief flowed through her borrowed body as he helped her out of the truck and across the warehouse she hadn't even known she was in. She was still pretty out of it from the drugs and the beating she'd taken when Faith cast the spell, but she knew it shouldn't have been so easy to escape.

"There were three guys, Giles" she told him as they finally made it out of the building and into the harsh mid-afternoon sun, "How did you....?" her question was left unfinished as he uninterrupted.

"It's not important" he told her, "I did what must be done"

Buffy knew better than to push him on the subject. She was free now and half the battle was won. Her friends cared so much about her, she had no doubt they'd all be working on a way to help her get her body back, and although they didn't know it, her baby too.

- - - - - - - -

It had taken a while. Dodging in and out of sewer tunnels and the like, whilst trying to keep a hold on the Slayer's scent hadn't been easy and the sun had caught him in a couple of places, causing nasty burns. Still he'd suffer the pain of his scalding flesh and any other injury he might sustain if it meant he could re-unite a soon to be mother and her unborn child. He didn't understand why he felt these things for the Slayer lately, all he knew was that he did. It wasn't love, at least not yet, it almost scared him to think it might be, if of course the Big Bad was the 'get scared' type, which he wasn't. Still it was something and that something was a thing he wanted to investigate, not something he could do if he didn't find the silly bint that had screwed everything up! No sooner had he thought it than he spotted her. He come up from the tunnels in the basement of the airport. It seemed like a plausible place for the girl to go and he'd managed to track her most of the way there before.

As soon as he got near the departures lounge he knew he was right, and there she was. The beautiful body of his Slayer with the rotting essence of the bitch inside.

"Hello pet" he smiled insincerely, grabbing her arm and yanking her from the seat before striding towards a more secluded area. To her credit she didn't struggle, clearly not wanting to make a scene and attract unwanted attention. When they were far enough away from any onlookers or eavesdroppers, he let her go.

"Spike, and here was me thinking you'd be out of my shampoo commercial hair by now" she scowled, folding her arm over her chest.

"You're an idiot, Faith" he rolled his eyes in annoyance at how dumb a child she really was.

"No, that would be you" she snapped back, pointing her finger at him "I know you can't hurt me with that chip in your head"

"Maybe not" he shrugged his shoulders, folding his own arms and leaning back against the wall "Sure, you could dust me here and now" he told her easily "but I know how to get your own body back and you'll never find out if I get dusty"

"Why would I want that body back?" she grinned "Got a brand new one" she spread her arms and turned around, letting him see the glorious new skin she was walking around in, "and hey, I heard blondes have more fun, so..."

"What about mothers?" he cut her off, making the smile drop from her face in a second "They have fun, do they?"

"What're you talking about BleachBrain?" she asked with as severe frown. Spike pretended to be surprised, though in truth he'd expected a dim little idiot like her not to realise.

"Oh, you didn't notice?" he said with a repressed smirk "That body you're wearing isn't all you got in this deal, you got a baby out of it too"

Realisation dawned on the Slayer's face and her eyes widen as she glance down at her borrowed stomach. She had felt a little weird on and off but she assumed that was just after effects of forcing her essence in where it didn't belong. She looked back up at the vampire's face and he nodded in answer to her unasked question - was it true?

"Damn!"

- - - - - - - -

Buffy was pleased to be back at Giles' place thought less pleased to still be inside Faith's skin. It gave her the wiggins to just look at herself and since she'd been semi-conscious before she was happy to keep her eyes closed even though she was fully awake now. The drugs those guys from the Watchers Council had used on her were having no more effect and all she wanted was for Spike to arrive back with Faith so their bodies could be switched back.

Initially Buffy had to admit she hadn't be a hundred percent sure she wanted the baby she carried, but having it be taken away from her and put in danger, confirmed that she needed to protect it, that on some levels she loved it already.

When she and Giles had arrived, Willow and Tara were there with the reversal spell all ready and they'd called Xander over for back-up. He'd brought along Anya, who'd driven everyone crazy with her unhelpful comments until Giles had come to the end of his tether and sternly told her to shut up if she had nothing of use to say. Now the witches were talking quietly about their magicks and Xander had his arm around Anya, whispering to her as she sulked. Giles had opened the bottle of scotch from the cabinet, hoping to calm his nerves so he said. Buffy couldn't help but wonder what exactly he'd done to get her free and if that was why he needed a 'stiff drink'.

A loud knocking on the locked door caught everyone's attention.

"Who's there?" Giles called warily, getting up from his seat.

"One smouldering vamp and one not-so-friendly resident psycho" came back the fairly angry reply.

"It's Spike!" Willow exclaimed, jumping up from her seat with Tara at her side.

"Thank heaven" Giles sighed as he opened the door and Spike came inside with Faith "now perhaps we can perform this spell"

"Hey B" the blonde girl with the bitch inside spoke to her sister Slayer.

"Faith" she nodded coolly. She really wanted to smack her stupid face, but that stupid face was currently attached to herself and the girl she was looking at was her!

Giles took the girl in Buffy's body to one side and sat her down, always very wary of where her dangerous fists and feet were.

"You okay, luv?" Spike asked Buffy quietly, frowning slightly at the face that looked back at him. It was Faith on the outside but somehow it was obvious from the way she smiled slightly at his concern that it was definitely his Slayer on the inside.

"I'll be better when I get my own body back" she nodded, the look in the wrong colour eyes telling him that the word body could be exchanged for baby, since she was just as eager to get the child back.

The vampire walked back across the room, sitting himself up on the counter and staring at Faith in Buffy's body. They'd made a deal. She'd come back, let the bodies get swapped back without complain and then piss off for bloody ever with any luck.

"How did you get her here?" Giles said from beside him, it was barely a whisper, he clearly did not want anyone else to here.

"Doesn't matter, does it?" Spike shrugged, voice equally as low "Point is she's here"

There was a moment before he asked his own question.

"How'd you get Buffy away from those Watcher types anyway?"

Giles looked at him and then back at the remains of his scotch. Downing it in one he smiled slightly.

"Doesn't matter does it? The point is, she's here"

Spike smirked as the ex-Watcher walked back across the room where Willow and Tara were preparing their spell. Could it be that a certain alter-ego had surfaced when it came to getting the Slayer away from those ponces from the Council of Wankers? There was a definite look of Ripper in his eyes just then, Spike was sure of it.

"Okay, we're ready" Willow announced, breaking the train of thought. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as Faith and Buffy sat opposite each other with one witch behind each of them. The ball of green energy was magically lifted from the box on the table and brought between the Slayers. They were instructed to raise their right hands and in a flash of light they connected with the Katra and each other.

The Scoobies all blinked and squinted against the harsh light until it finally subsided and they saw both Slayers breathing deeply.

"Buffy?" the red-headed witch asked the body that looked like her friend. The blonde nodded.

"It's me Will, and I'm okay" she said, gripping the sides of the chair and trying to get her breath back. Finally she felt whole again, her body and her baby were back where they should be.

"Faith?" Giles turned to her and she nodded.

"I'm five by five"

"I wasn't enquiring about your health" Giles rolled his eyes "merely that your essence was where it was supposed to be"

The dark Slayer jumped up from the chair and looked towards the door.

"Hey, rather have this body back than carry her kid around" she tilted her head at Buffy, then shot an evil look at Spike that the evil himself would've been proud of. She'd sworn not to let that slip, it was part of the deal! The vampire leapt down from the counter top and glared at her as the Scoobies began gabbling a hundred questions at once at Buffy, who looked crushed.

"Oh no" she closed her eyes and put her face in her hands as Faith made for the door and Spike went after her.

"You bitch!" he yelled as he grabbed her by the hair, spinning her round and punching her square across the face. He screamed like a wounded animal as the chip fired making his whole head feel like it might explode. Still, he wanted this bint to pay. She opened the door and ran out, as he desperately tried to fight the pain enough to grab his blanket and go after her. The sun had almost set but it'd be another few minutes before he'd be completely safe.

"Let her go, Spike, it's not worth it" Buffy begged, surprising herself. She didn't know until he screamed like that, that his pain bothered her, but it did.

"Buffy" Giles got the Slayer's attention back as he and the rest of the Scooby gang stood around her "is there something we should be told?"

"Buffy" Giles got the Slayer's attention back as he and the rest of the Scooby Gang stood around her "is there something we should be told?"

Buffy looked to Spike for salvation, but he wasn't even looking at her, his head was clearly still hurting from his attack on Faith. Besides, what could he say to make it better? It was bad enough that her friends had just found out she was pregnant. Add to that the fact Spike knew before them and she just couldn't take what their reactions might be.

"I'm sorry" she said finally, tears running down her cheeks as she got up from her seat, "I can't..." she cried as she pushed past her friends and ran out of the door. Spike considered going after her but refused to show these losers that he might actually care! Besides, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to have to cope with a blubbering Slayer right now. After all she'd been through, would she really want his company? He guessed probably not.

"The Buffster" Xander frowned, "She's not really...I mean with the baby have-age..."

"It's certainly what Faith implied" Giles frowned even deeper than the boy. How could this have happened to his Slayer, to the girl he saw as a surrogate daughter?

"But Faith lies" Willow jumped immediately to her friends defence, "I mean, Buffy would be careful and stuff, she doesn't just...oh God" her hand went to her mouth as a thought occurred to her.

"What is it, sweetie?" Tara asked, concerned by her girlfriends expression.

Willow surveyed the room and tried to decide if she should admit what she'd just realised. There was no backing out now. Bringing her hand away from her face she sighed.

"Buffy dated a guy named Parker" she said quietly, "It didn't last, he kinda dumped her after..." she couldn't say it, there was no way she could mention it in front of Giles, even if she could have said it with the others looking at her.

Spike stifled a smirk. The little Red witch was a smart one alright, figured it all out in record time. His expression was soon serious again as he took in the gang's reactions. Giles went down into the armchair with a thump, immediately removing his glasses and polishing them til Spike was sure he'd wear the lenses down to sand. Xander's mouth open and closed like a gold-fish but no sound came out at all. The witches held onto each other hands, both clearly feeling bad for the Slayer and her situation whilst the demon-girl didn't really seem to give a stuff as she picked at her nail polish and looked thoroughly bored with the whole thing. He wished he could be so calm about it all. Right now he was itching to go towards the front door and chase the Slayer down. He wanted to be there to comfort her, he wanted to tell her it'd all be okay, put his arms around her and...

"Well, as much as fun as it is watching you ponces sit around doing landed fish impressions" he announced as he got up and headed for the door, "Some of us have better things to do" he told the group, though they were scarcely paying attention.

Spike was glad the sun was no longer in the sky, instead the moon was rising above him, bathing the world in silver light. Now he could find the Slayer, and it shouldn't be that complicated. He was almost certain she'd have gone back to her dorm. Even though her mother knew the truth about the baby, Spike was pretty sure she'd want to be alone right now, which begged the question why was he going to look for her? But Spike was one to follow his blood, not his brain, and that was singing out for him to find his precious Slayer. He lit a cigarette as he set off in the direction of the university, thinking that maybe on the way there he'd be able to figure out exactly why Buffy meant so much to him of late...

- - - - - - - -

Buffy didn't stop running until she was practically to the door of her and Willow's dorm room, and even then she only came to a halt because her body hit another.

"I'm sorry" she mumbled, moving to side-step the man before she glanced up and realised who it was.

"Hey Buffy" Riley said flatly, not sure what to say after that. He really wanted to hate her after what he'd found out but she looked so upset and he ached to hold her and make it all better. They'd come so close to being close but the last few days he hadn't even seen her. Though it wasn't an official break-up, it was more than clear they were over, especially after the following exchange...

"What's the matter?" he asked, pretty sure he already knew. With tears streaming down her face and no thought for who might hear, she blurted out the truth - that she was pregnant. With that she collapsed into Riley's arms and cried some more. He awkwardly held her in the dimly lit corridor, absently rubbing her back.

"I know" he said quietly, wondering what her reaction would be "Hostile 17's baby"

"What?!" Riley was fairly certain the entire campus heard Buffy yell as she backed up a couple of steps from him "Spike?!"

"Don't deny it Buffy" Riley shook his head, understanding why the Slayer might, but knowing it would do her no good "The Initiative know all about it"

"Well then they've got it wrong" Buffy exploded, pacing up and down the corridor, her mind whirring with the possibilities.

"The Initiative doesn't do wrong" Riley pointed out to her, arms folded across his chest in a defensive stance - no-one questioned the wonder of his precious Initiative friends "You were scanned by our sensors when you visited last week. You're pregnant and it's DNA has strands that matched our databanks" he told the now still Buffy, she was too shocked to moved as the information hit her like a punch in the face. Could it really be true? Could it be Spike's child she was carrying?

"I've already said more than I should" Riley said quietly, knowing that was only half the reason he was going, the other thing being he couldn't stand to be around Buffy for too long. Liking her so much when he wished he could hate her, and seeing her cry when there was no way to help, it tore him up inside.

It took a moment for Buffy's brain to register that he was walking away, but as soon as she did she strode after him, grabbing his arm and spinning him back towards her dorm room. She pushed him through the door and pinned him to the wall by the throat, kicking the door closed again so no-one would see.

"No way are you walking away from me now" she told him in a dangerously low tone.

Riley had the courtesy to look a little worried by their current position and held up his hands as if to surrender. She released her grip on him but stood by the door, daring him to try to leave. Resigned, he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Now you start over" Buffy commanded, pointing her finger at him "and you tell me everything you know...I'm serious Riley"

Of course he knew she was serious, and hormonal, and possibly had a demon child growing inside of her. He knew Professor Walsh would be mad that he was telling the Slayer classified information, but he also knew the assumption had been made that these were facts she was already in possession of. Add to that the fact she could probably kill him five different ways before he even made it to the door and it seemed safest just to give up the info.

"You're having the hostiles child" the Iowa boy sighed, hating having to repeat such revolting facts "The DNA matches"

"But vampires, they can't..." Buffy frowned, not quite managing to finish her sentence with Riley looking at her.

"Vampires being sterile is a myth Buffy" he would have laughed at her naivity if the situation hadn't been so grave "You being the Slayer, I figured you'd know" he shrugged, before bitterly adding "but then I never thought you'd be stupid enough to sleep a demon"

The blonde sat down heavily in the chair by the desk. If not for the astounding news about her child she might have felt worse about Riley's 'stupid to sleep with a vampire' comment, given that she'd now given herself to two of them! But the revelation that she could be having a child that was the spawn of Spike was making her feel too many kinds of weirdness for anything else to register in her mind.

"This can't be happening" Buffy shook her head, causing more tears to fall from her eyes that stared blankly at the wall "Me and Spike, it was one time, and it was two months ago, I am way more than two months pregnant...right?" she addressed the final word to Riley, as she started to wonder if she was wrong about all this. She'd assumed she was a little less that four months since that was how long it'd been since her night with Parker, but no doctor had ever confirmed anything and she wasn't the world's biggest brain when it came to pregnancy or even her own body. It had been Spike that told her she hadn't had a period in quite some time, she might not have noticed so quickly if not for him. But still, she had to be more that two months pregnant - didn't she?

"The sensors put you at fifteen weeks when you visited last week that'd make you almost four months now" Riley agreed that Buffy had made a correct estimation. She made the mistake of sighing with evident relief. The commando hadn't finished yet, "but there's no denying that it's the Hostile's child. Maybe the pregnancy's faster cos you're the Slayer or because of what he is, I don't know..." he told her as she put her head in her hands and cried some more.

Riley was really feeling bad for her now. As disgusted as he was to think she would willingly giver herself up to an HST, when she'd barely let him touch her, he did really like her. For a while there he believed he loved her, but Professor Walsh had helped him out a lot, reminding him of what was important and right now his confused feelings for Buffy Summers just weren't as big a deal as the Initiative.

The Professor had a special project she was going to let him in on soon. Riley Finn was about to embark on a new adventure - Project 314, and he wasn't going to jeopardise his chances of doing so well just because of a Slayer who liked to bang vamps!

"I should go" he said eventually, though she barely noticed he'd spoken or moved. Her mind was in a whole other place of babies and dates and consequences to actions. When the door clicked closed behind a man who was effectively her latest ex, she just cried harder and there was no one there to comfort her.

- - - - - - - -

Spike had worked himself up into a frenzy by the time he reached the campus. He needed to know Buffy was okay. He wanted to be there for her when she needed him, and there was really only him she could turn to. Sure, her mother knew about the baby now, but as accepting as she'd been, both Spike and Buffy knew she wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with the idea of her little girl having a child of her own, at the age of nineteen and by a man she'd only slept with once!

The vampire was not amused when a boy and girl came crashing down the corridor, so interestedd in kissing and groping each other that they were bumping into every available thing in the building, including Spike. He rolled his eyes as he pushed his way around them and the girl giggled insanely before going back to kissing her man.

"Oh Parker" she sighed, and Spike whirled around in fury.

This little git standing a few feet from him, clearly planning on getting Little Miss Giggles out of her knickers tonight, was the same sod that had violated his precious Buffy and dumped her the very next day?! There wasn't time to wonder about the use of the phrase 'my precious Buffy' in his own mind because he was already moving towards the boy who'd caused so much trouble. He wrenched him off the girl with one yank on back of his jacket. Spinning him round, Parker barely had time to look shocked before he was struck across the face by Spike's fist.

Pain shot through his head, but the vampire barely felt it, the electric shocks were nothing compared to what he'd like to do to this kid. He was a special kind of scum that needed killing in a nice long painful way, Spike reckoned. Every time Parker made a valiant attempt to stand he was knocked back down, until the vamp was sure the boy was out cold.

All credit to the lad, he had some stamina to stay awake so long, but he might be unconscious for a couple of days the beating he'd just received. The girl he'd been with had run away, Spike realised probably because his game face had slipped into place as he released his anger on his prey.

When he finally came out of the bubble of pure anger, he felt the pain in his head and smelt his own blood as it ran out of his nose. The impact of the chip firing over and over had probably burst a blood vessel somewhere. It didn't matter, he couldn't worry about it now, there was far too much worry in him for Buffy, he didn't have any left for himself. Concentrating, he pulled his human features back into place and headed for her room.

- - - - - - - -

The Slayer's mind was in a complete whirl, with the possibilities and implications of what Riley had just told her. She sat with a calendar in her hands counting days and weeks, trying desperately to remember the exact date she'd last bled and comparing it with the date she'd slept with Parker and the day of Willow's Will Be Done spell when she and Spike had been together. Now that she looked at it, she realised a small mistake. If she was having Parker's baby, she would be seventeen weeks pregnant now, if it were Spike's she'd be eleven. Yet Riley told her the Initiative sensors had picked up she was fourteen weeks, last week. The explanation that her pregnancy could be faster due to her superpowers or indeed Spike's was plausible enough, but the whole thing was making her head spin and she desperately wished she had someone she could talk to about it.

A knock on the door made her jump. Maybe it was Willow, she could talk to her, although she'd have to start from the beginning and she wasn't sure she could manage it...

"Who is it?" Buffy called, sniffing and wiping her face with her hands. Depending on who it was she'd rather not look like a blubbering mess.

"It's me" came the English-accented reply and Buffy sighed. She wasn't sure if it was relief but it certainly felt like it and before she knew what she was doing she opened the door for him.

"You okay, luv?" he said as soon as he saw her. She was frowning hard but he didn't realise it was his own appearance causing that look until she told him.

"What happened to you?" she asked, guessing it was something supernatural and so grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the room away from prying ears and eyes.

"Oh, the blood" he realised what she meant and wiped his hand under his nose to remove some of it, "S'nothing really, chip just fired a little too much, probably burst a vessel" he explained, hovering in the middle of the room. Now he was here he didn't know where to begin and she seemed to be having the same problem.

"Sit down" she said after a while and he took a seat on the edge of the bed as she grabbed a box of tissues from the desk and came to sit beside him. Pulling a wad of tissue from the box she put her hand towards his face and he flinched away.

"What?" she asked, more harshly than she meant to, but he was being annoying and she really wasn't sure how to act around him right now.

"I dunno" he shrugged, "I came here to make sure you're okay and you wanna clean up my bloody nose?" he frowned "Used to be we were the first in line to see each other suffer" he told her.

"Things change" she said quietly, turning away from him, holding the tissue in her lap and looking down at it as her fingers ripped it to shreds of their own accord.

Spike didn't know what to make of that. Things change. Well, of course they did, nothing stayed the same forever, but what did it mean for them, him and the Slayer.

"Look, Buffy" he started awkwardly, not daring to look at her either, "Your mates, they'll be okay with the whole baby thing, same as your Mum was and..."

"Why did you tell her?" Buffy interrupted him, still staring at her own hands and the shredded paper between them, "Why did you tell Faith I was pregnant?"

"Only way I could think of to get her back here and have the spell done willingly" he explained, "Seems she gets most of her info from unsuspecting blokes anyway. She knew about my chip too. I called her on it, seems some of the Initiative boys were at a club just outside town, getting loose lipped after a few too many beers, mentioned yours truly and his affliction...speaking of, it's a bloody pain when you want to smack certain humans who deserve it. That git Parker was in the corridor, I gave him a bit of a going over..."

Spike was surprised to find his little ramble interrupted by Buffy sobbing her heart out.

"Hey now, Slayer, what did I say?" he asked somewhat worriedly. Buffy didn't have an answer, she could only cry and like an instinct reaction, Spike put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her too him. She went willingly into his embrace, feeling strangely warm and safe in the cold arms of her supposed enemy, but then there was apparently every chance he was also the father of her child.

"Come on, luv" he whispered into her hair, "S'not as bad as all that"

"Spike you have no idea how bad it is" she sobbed into his coat, making his dead heart clench in his chest.

"So tell me" he urged her, leaning away until he could see her face. She looked so young and innocent and terribly lost. If her next words hadn't been so important he might have kissed her then...

"Spike, the baby, it...it might be yours" she admitted in a tiny voice before crying all over him again.

A hundred emotions shot through the vampires body as he held the Slayer tighter and rocked her gently. He'd got her pregnant, or there was apparently a distinct possibility of it. That meant the 'vampires are impotent' thing could well be a myth. It also meant he might be a father after all, an idea he'd had to give up when he'd been turned, or so he thought. Finally it meant he may be the cause of so many of Buffy's tears these passed weeks. For that he hated himself, more than he thought possible. Somehow this girl had gone from enemy to friend to someone he loved dearly, and right now, though he'd never admit it, he was too afraid to say a word to her about any of it.