"What about Joan?" Spike tried to hold a hysterical laughing fit in at Buffy's name idea.
"Joan", he reiterated.
"What's wrong with Joan?" She looked offended. The now 5 month pregnant slayer was stretched out on their unbelievably comfy bed, her back propped up by Spike's arm. Her hand was resting on her bulging belly, Spike's own free one covering hers.
"Just doesn't sound right for her." Buffy tilted her head back so that she could stare directly at the vampire.
"Then what's your idea of a name that sounds right for her?" He didn't want to think too hard about it. He just wanted a name that naturallly came to him. Something traditional.
"Alice." Buffy began to grin at the suggestion. Here was Spike, the once 2nd biggest baddest vamp in all of history, sitting down and discussing baby names with her.
"You don't like it?", he asked catching onto her grin.
"No, it's beautiful, really. It's just...weird doing this with you. Good weird though. I mean, a few years ago. No, even a few months ago, who'd have thought it huh? You, me, parents?"
"Can't say I ever prepared myself for the whole white picket fence life even if I had thought about it before". The slayer shared a sympathetic smile with him and gently stroked his cheek.
"C'mon", she sighed as she pulled away from her boyfriend's embrace and rose to her feet.
"It's grey enough out there for you to drive us to the store".
"What for love?"
"We're running low on Jell-O!" Spike shook his head.
"You've been eating nothing else for weeks. You need to get something different into your system."
"It's the only thing that doesn't wanna make me heave. That and cheetos."
Spike didn't bother to retrieve his duster. It may have been grey skies all round but the heat was still incredible! Buffy pulled her extra large cammy down over her bump that had ridden up whilst she was lying down. The past couple of months, she'd had to replace her entire wardrobe.
"You and your cravings Summers", he muttered before planting a gentle kiss on her brow.
"C'mon then"...
Buffy had tried to refrain from going outside on to the beach, aware that it reminded Spike of all the things he couldn't do with her and their child. He had caught on to this and insisted that the reason he chose to live here was so that she could be in a warm, sunny environment by the sea. He could tell it was the place she felt most at ease and peaceful. Buffy wasn't aware of him watching her through the door as she stood at the edge of the sand, letting the tide lap over her toes. Her plain white beach shawl fluttered in the light breeze along with her now shoulder length hair. Spike was thoroughly against the idea of her getting it trimmed. He'd always loved playing with it. Wrapping it round his fingers and feeling it's silky texture. Buffy had wanted change however. She continued to stare out across the horizon and wonder what the future held. She'd being doing that more and more often recently ever since Illyria's last attack. She never really used to consider the furture before. Of course, Spike had gotten Giles straight on to Illyria but he wasn't having much luck so far. Buffy had refused to speak to Willow and Xander and made excuses every time they tried to contact her. Spike didn't understand why she was still scared of what they'd say 3 months on. Surely it would be worse the longer they kept the baby a secret. Spike had been staring at Buffy for too long and she recognised the feeling of when he use to stalk her on patrol all those years ago. She hadn't realised how long she'd been outside until noticing the position of the sun. It had almost disappeared behind the horizon. As she came back to reality, a sudden gush of wind caused her to get a chill. She wrapped the shawl further around her body as she turned to head back indoors. As she expected, Spike was waiting for her at the door.
"Ever heard of a thing called privacy?" Spike glanced at the floor a little before sliding the door shut behind them. He opened his mouth to speak but Buffy placed a finger on his lips.
"I was joking dummy."
"No you're not", he replied.
"I know when you're joking." She should've known better than to try and fob Spike off but she wasn't exactly prepared to tell him straight out that he'd interrupted a fairly personal moment.
"Yeah well..", she muttered before gently nudging his shoulder with hers as she skulked across towards the bed. She sat on the edge, leaning over to brush excess sand from her legs. Spike dropped down a level and squatted in front of her.
"Y'know I'm worried about you right?", he confessed directly. Buffy stifled a laugh.
"When are you not?"
"No I'm serious. You're pushing everyone away, spending a lot of time on your own."
"It's just hormones and -" She paused before patting her stomach gently.
"Baby stuff..really. Y'know me, I was fine before this." Spike sighed.
"Who are you trying to kid here Buffy? Me? From the second Angel told you about Dawn, you were different. I could tell."
"Yeah obviously! My sister's in a friggin' coma! Doesn't mean I'm different. I'm still Buffy. Still the person who loves and trusts you."
"Not saying you're not. Just don't think you're coping is all. I've seen you in Sunnydale dealing with some pretty heavy shit but what you're dealing with now? Some would say it's as close to home as you can get. Dawn's fighting for her life, you've cut yourself off from the Scoobies, you're pregnant for god's sake. Doesn't get any more intense than that."
"I'm coping. You'd know if I wasn't. Trust me. I just need you to believe me cause god knows no one else does right now."
"You think I don't believe in you? You are a silly bint sometimes aren't you?" Buffy couldn't help but let a heart warming smile escape her lips.
"Why do you think I followed you around for years like a love sick teen, helped you when I should've just ripped your throat out chip or no chip. Why do you think I let the hellmouth swallow me whole so that you could get out?"
"Hey." Buffy grasped hold of his hand.
"You don't need remind me of that. I know why you did what you did. I just wish I'd realised sooner all you'd done for us. For me."
"Doesn't matter anymore love. You know now. I hope."
"Shut up", she giggled, grabbing a pillow from behind her and chucking it in his direction. The impact knocked him off his feet slightly but he managed to stay in his crouch position.
"You know I do." Suddenly, the distant sound of a ring from the living room echoed through the house.
"I'll get it pet", Spike sighed as he pushed himself to his feet.
"Thank you", she whispered before kneeling up on the soft mattress to place a tender kiss on his lips. As Spike disappeared past the bedroom arch, Buffy fell gently backwards into the pillows. Sleeping was always the best part of the day. She heard Spike's footsteps approaching the bedroom again but the look on his face suggested that the call wasn't a happy one.
"Who is it?"...
