Prologue

"Yeah, Buffy. What are we going to do now?"

Staring over the crater that once was Sunnydale, a smile began to inch up Buffy's face.

"We travel." Without another word, they boarded onto the bus and began heading somewhere. Only thing was, they didn't know where this somewhere was. At least not until they got there.

The next morning, as they stopped along a highway rest stop, Buffy rushed to the bathroom and emptied out the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl. It had been this way for the past few weeks, but she chalked it up to nerves and worries about defeating the First.

"B? You okay?" Faith asked tentatively, knocking on the door of the bathroom stall.

Buffy wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet. She unlocked the door and headed to the sink, where Faith watched her swish some water in her mouth.

"I'm fine. Just a little under the weather."

"Under the weather? B, we have Slayer immune systems. We never get sick. What's wrong?"

Letting Faith's words sink in, she began to think.

'When was the last time I got my monthly?' Buffy pondered. As the last date came to her mind, she froze. 'Oh shit. Wait a second. What? No, this can't be happening. He… I…Oh crap.'

"B? Hey? You alright? You look pale."

Buffy slowly sat on the ground and leaned up against the nearest wall.

"I think I might be pregnant." She replied.

"What?!" Willow came in shocked, just in time to hear Buffy' revelation. "How? What? Who?"

Buffy shook her head. "Crossing out the chance of Immaculate Conception, the only way this could be… well, is Spike. He's the only one I've slept with for over a year."

Faith and Willow just stared at their blonde friend, dumbfounded how this could have happened. Spike was a vampire. As far as lore goes, no one had ever gotten pregnant by a vampire. Then again, Buffy was probably one of the few, if not only, people to have slept with a vampire. But being a Slayer and having lived on the Hellmouth didn't exactly decrease the chances either.

"We have to tell Giles." Willow blurted out. "He is probably the only person who can help us figure this all out."

"You're what?!" Giles stared at Buffy in shock. "How can this be?" They were sitting on the school bus, trying to find a route to get to Cleveland.

"I was hoping you would know. 'Cause you see, I've only slept with Spike and…"

"Wait a second… You are saying that Spike is the father?"

Buffy nodded. "Why? What's the sitch?"

"The sitch, as you put it, is that for hundreds of years there has been a prophecy stating that a Slayer and a vampire will produce a child. Buffy, I believe you have fulfilled it."

"A prophecy? This is basically all part of a prophecy?" Buffy exclaimed.

"Indeed it is. Now we must do all we can to keep you and this child safe. This is a miracle, Buffy. A true Hellmouth miracle."

She stared at Giles. "I hate being prophecy girl. I want to be normal." Giles opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Buffy cut him off. "I know what you're going to say. I can never be normal. I fight vampires for a living. But I'm no longer THE Slayer. I'm just A Slayer now. I was hoping for a semblance of normalcy. I just want… I just want Spike back." It was then when the floodgates let loose and Buffy began to sob.

After telling the Slayers and the rest of the gang that she was pregnant, Buffy was met with shouts and confusion from everyone but Giles, Faith and Willow.

"What do you mean you are pregnant?" Xander asked in bewilderment.

"It's a long story, but everyone remembers Spike, right?" The bus was filled with murmurs. "You know one who saved us all?" The murmurs ceased. "Well, we were in a relationship. He's the father of this child. I hope you all will honor his memory and I hope you will all protect it as if it were your own."

With those words, Buffy slumped into the seat, curled into a ball and promptly fell asleep.