Unexpected
Understanding
Winds Of Autumn
Buffy leaned into his chest, shuddering lightly. She couldn't believe it, couldn't wrap her head around it. Pregnant. She was the Slayer, and she was pregnant with a Vampire's child. It was a joke, a sick joke that some demon was playing. It had to be. She shook her head, burrying it in Spike's neck. For once, she was happy to let him be taking care of her. She was too confused right now, too off. She wasn't herself, and she supposed she knew why now. Hormones. Crazy, Slayer-Vampire halfbreed hormones.
Spike sighed, feeling her shudder, tangling his hand in her soft hair and holding her face to his neck. He would protect her, of course. It was all he knew how to do-- that and deal with the pain she dealt the heart that loved her. He must be sadistic, for he'd decided a while back that if the pain she left in her wake was all the attention she would ever bestow upon him, then he would take it. Even if it broke him, he would take it, because Buffy would always know that he loved her, even if she refused to admit it. "You make me feel safe, treasured. Beautiful. I want to make you feel that way..."
He frowned. Had Buffy really said that? She had... But he'd been to lost in the realization that she was pregnant to carefully analyze the statement. Spike pulled back slightly, letting his hand slip from her silky hair as he caught her chin in his grip, lifting her face to look down at her. "Say it again," he whispered huskilly. Buffy frowned, then her eyes widened and she flushed, her eyes darting away from his face. "Uh uh, look at me," he added, his thumb moving softly over her cheek.
She swallowed, drawing his attention to the muscles in her throat contracting and moving at the simple motion. Her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips, then she looked at him again. There was such vulnerability hiding beneath the solid strength of the Slayer in her gaze that he felt his dead heart tear. He cupped her cheek, kissing her forehead. "I won't hurt ya, pet," he murmured.
Buffy nodded, looking up at him again. She took a deep breath, the expanding of her rib cage forcing her breasts against his chest. She bit her lip, then ignored it. "I care for you, Spike. I want to be what you want, but I don't know if its in me," she admitted.
The vampire chuckled softly, shaking his head at her. "I'm surprised at you, Slayer. Put yer mind to it, an' ya can do anythin' ya want to do," he said, complete faith of her in his voice. Buffy gave a grudging smile, starting to pull out of his arms.
"I need to go. Dawn will be worried," she said, dropping the excuse that was the most likely to be true. Dawn was sure to be waiting up in the kitchen, or slumped over her homework. Spike nodded, letting his arms drop from around her.
"Might be better for the both of us, pet, if ya didn't tell the Scoobies 'bout this," he added gruffly, lounging against the wall. Buffy wasn't fooled by his act. She nodded, then ducked her head and left. Spike stared after her, then shook his head. This wouldn't do, not at all. Something was up, and he was going to find out what.
Buffy made it home in record time, pausing once outside to throw up once more before slipping quietly inside the back door. As expected, Dawn was waiting. Only, not as awake as Buffy had pictured. She was slumped over her homework, a bit of drool making its journey from the corner of her mouth onto her homework. Buffy grinned, slamming the door closed. Dawn jumped with a scream, her eyes wild and she looked around and finally centered on Buffy.
"That was mean," she pouted, jumping off the stool and rushing around to embrace her sister. "I missed you. How was patrols tonight? There's leftover fish in the fridge," she rambled, pausing with a frown when Buffy paled at the mention of fish. "What? No fish?"
Buffy shook her head, holding her stomach. "No. No fish," she groaned. Sitting on the stool next to the one Dawn had vacated, she folded her arms on the counter and rested her forehead on her forearms.
"Buff? You all right? You look kinda sick. Maybe you should go up to bed?" Dawn suggested, worry and concern evident in her voice. Buffy just groaned again, then lifted her head.
"Sure, sure. I'll go right up, after I dig some food out," she muttered, finding her feet and moving to the fridge. She held back the bile at the smell of the fish, and grabbed a piece of left over steak in a dish. She carried it to the microwave, tossing it in for a few minutes. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the delicious scent. "You should get up to bed yourself, Dawnie. You've got school tomorrow." Dawn rolled her eyes, but gathered her books, kissed Buffy's cheek, and trudged upstairs. Buffy stared after her, then jumped as the ding announced the microwave was done. Pulling the steak out, she bit into it, ripping a chunk off and chewing greedily.
Lately she'd preferred her meat more raw than cooked, and she suddenly understood why. Pregnant. She let a hand rest on her stomach in awe, then shook herself. It was a lot to take in. A baby. She gave a bitter laught. It scared her more than any evil she'd ever had to take on in her life. A frekin' baby. She groaned. How would the others react? She didn't want to think about it. Instead, she finished her steak, then slipped quietly back out of the house. A pregnancy test would reaffirm what Spike had told her, though she didn't doubt his honesty with that particular news. He'd been in too much shock, so jealous and angry at the thought of her being with anyone else. She smirked. It had been quite comical.
Walking down the streets in the early morning hours would have been terrifying for a normal woman, but Buffy wasn't a normal woman. She had a stake in her pocket to deal with any newly risen or aged uglies, and had the strength to deal with anything else. With her hands shoved deep into her pockets and her head down in thought, Buffy made her way to the store. She didn't doubt Spike, not at all, she just had so see proof for herself. Maybe then she would tell the others about it. She cringed at the idea.
Xander hated Spike, and while Willow and Giles were neutral to him, they wouldn't be exactly thrilled either. Anya might be a big help, though. The woman had been alive for a good thousand years, and she'd done more things in her past than Spike ever had. If they could accept her because of Xander, why couldn't they accept Spike for her?
"Hello, Slayer..."
Buffy spun around, searching the darkness. "Whos there?" she demanded, her hand fisting around the worn wood of the stake in her pocket.
"Oh, think of me as a neutral party. Don't be afraid, child. I come to warn you." The figure that stepped out of the shadows was vaugely familiar, but Buffy couldn't discern who it was.
"Warn me? About what?"
It gestrued behind her, and she turned, ducking just in time to avoid a powerful blow aimed at the back of her head. She reacted, instinct taking over, the determination much stronger than it had ever been before. She had to protect her baby. When the demon was on the ground, it sneered at her.
"I'll have it, Slayer," it warned before disappearing. Buffy turned, glaring at the entity that had saved her. She was off. She hadn't sensed the demon behind her.
"Warn me about what?" she demanded, her fists clenched at her sides.
"They want your child. A powerful child it will be, carrying the Slayer lineage with the perks of Vampire blood, yet few of the weaknesses. They will keep coming, Slayer. Be warned. Be careful." It turned, disappearing back into the shadows from which it had come. Buffy stood still, then growled.
"Let them come," she vowed. "They will all die." As terrified as she was of having a child, she would protect it with her life.
