Somewhere during Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
there were things you didn't hear about and this is where we begin.
Chapter One
Willow and Tara enter the room, hand in hand, Buffy and Dawn following closely behind. Xander sits beside the bed, hand desperately clenching Anya's.
"How is she?" Tara asks quietly, putting her other hand on Xander's shoulder.
"Ok," Xander replies. "The doctor just told me her condition is stable. Whatever the hell that means."
"Did the doctor ask you any more questions about the accident?" Dawn begins. "Or about papers or anything proving she..."
"Dawn!" Buffy scolds.
"No, I tried to avoid the subject. What am I going to say? She is my 1,000 year old gir..." Xander pauses and strokes Anya's fingers with his own. "The doctors are running more tests. The nurse said they should be able to tell us more after they get her blood work back…. She lost a lot of blood." Xander chokes and fights back tears.
"She's tough, Xander," Buffy says as she sits down next to him, holding his other hand. "She's tough, she's brave, she did this trying to save an innocent human being." Buffy pauses, "We're all here for you. I wish I could say everything will all be ok."
"Yeah, but if it's not?" Xander snaps. "I know we've had our problems over the past year, but she… she's my everything."
"I know," Buffy comforts Xander, squeezing his hand. "And you're hers."
The room gets quiet as everyone looks to Anya.
The door opens, breaking the silence. The nurse arrives with a folder of papers and places them in a plastic compartment attached to the hospital bed. "We finally have news!" She says excitedly. "And I don't think you'll be upset to hear it! We're waiting for the doctor."
The doctor enters the room where there seems to be a sense of calm since the nurse arrived in such high spirits. "Mr. Harris," the doctor begins, "we have very reassuring news. All of your wife's tests came back fine. She will recover fully. Everything is in order, all of her blood work came back fine, her blood transfusion was successful, no internal organs were severely harmed. She is very strong. With rest, she is going to be fine."
The room erupts in sighs of relief and hugs. The doctor and nurse smile and look to Xander. The nurse chimes in with a big smile, "And, Mr. Harris, I'm sure you'll also be very happy to know that all the ultrasounds came back wonderfully." Xander looks puzzled, but not at all disturbed as he lays his head on top of Anya. The doctor and the nurse prepare to leave. The nurse opens the door and just as they are walking out the doctor adds, "You really have no need to worry anymore, your wife and baby are going to be just fine."
The door shuts as every eye opens wide and looks to Xander.
"Baby?!" Willow asks surprised and excited.
"Baby?" Xander echoes.
Chapter Two
"What? Anya never… Baby?" Xander contemplates aloud. He's now the only one in the room, aside from Anya. Xander looks down at Anya's abdomen. "I'm going to be a dad?"
The nurse walks into the room. "How are we doing, Mr. Harris?"
Xander, looking frazzled, looks up from Anya to the nurse. He can only muster up one word. "Baby?"
"Why yes, Sir. And a very healthy one at that. The heart rate, despite your wife's blood loss, is very strong."
"How far along?"
"About 2 months. Were you not aware, Mr. Harris?"
"No, ma'am. Anya never mentioned…" Xander pauses and breathes deeply. "But it's healthy?" Xander smiles.
"Yes, Sir." The nurse responds reassuringly. "I'm going to leave you two alone."
As the nurse leaves, Xander lies his head back on Anya's abdomen and ponders.
After a few more hours by her side, Anya begins to stir, coughs, moves her arms and finally opens her eyes. "Anya? Baby, can you hear me?" Xander whispers, nose to her nose.
"Yeah." Anya replies faintly. Xander kisses her.
After the doctors receive word Anya is awake, they call everyone from the waiting room. Buffy and Willow enter. "Anya! You're ok!" Willow exclaims. "We're glad you're ok," Buffy adds. "How are you feeling?" Dawn chimes in.
"Ok." Anya replies, slightly disoriented, looking around the room. She looks to Xander, "Did we? Is everything…?"
"We did, it's over. You're safe. We're safe." Xander reassures Anya, taking her hand in his and kissing it.
"Mrs. Harris, we're so happy to have you back with us. Unfortunately, we're going to have to keep you here at least one more night for observations," the nurse says to Anya, writing something in her file folder.
"Anya, is there…?" Xander begins.
"Mrs. Harris," the nurse interrupts, "we want to run just one more ultrasound to make sure everything is ok. We want to make sure the baby is safe before we can discharge you." The nurse says tucking the file folder beside the bed and leaving the room.
Xander's eyes widen and look to Anya, along with Buffy and Willow's.
Anya grabs Xander's hand and places it over her abdomen. She smiles. "Surprise, Daddy."