OF THINGS TO COME

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created, like Billy.

Authors note: If you guys/gals, the readers and reviewers, like this story enough I'll do a sequel but it'll jump some years ahead to the groups kids.

CHAPTER 29

Giles was about ready to send everyone that was able back out into the streets to find Buffy when Buffy and Spike tiredly trudged into the house, with an exhausted Dawn quietly shutting the door behind them. They all looked about ready to drop as Spike almost fell asleep standing straight up. Xander and Willow were first to notice as they almost knocked Spike over in their rush to make sure that Buffy and Dawn were alright.



"Buffy.Dawn.you guys alright," Xander and Willow said in unison as Willow looked Buffy over for any injuries and Xander gave Dawn a big hug.



"I'm okay to.," Spike muttered a little taken aback as he took a step away from the door and took a step into the living room.



"Really guys.I'm fine.," Buffy said sheepishly as she shrugged her shoulders before she pushed past her two old friends and caught up with Spike before slipping her hand into his.



"Buffy, there you are.what.," Giles said with a small sigh of relief as he stood up and walked over to Buffy and Spike.



"Didn't Prunes fill you in.no.Peaches taught him well," Spike said with a small bit of shock in his voice before he looked around and noticed the blank stares that everyone was giving him.



"Spike stop that.," Buffy said as she squeezed Spike's hand before she led him to one of the chairs and they both then squeezed into it.



"Fine.we weren't finding a bloody thing.then Dawn and Billy found the entrance to some tunnels so we investigated," Spike said with a small sigh as he yawned and then pulled Buffy close.



"We ended up running into like an army of vampires.," Buffy started to say with a worried frown on her face before her demeanor darkened a bit as she saw Giles furrow his brows in concern. "Led by Drusilla.," she said with a somewhat reluctant look on her face as she looked around the room for reactions but got mostly shocked stares before she felt Spike tense up and shift uncomfortably in the chair beside her. "In the end we got away.Billy got hurt but he'll be fine.and Connor staked Drusilla," Buffy finished with a hesitant tone to her voice and look on her face, all the while putting an arm around Spike and pulling him close.



At first there was almost no reaction, with those in attendance trying to come to terms with what they had just been told. Willow and Xander looked at each other with happy smiles on their faces before those smiles instantly slipped off of their faces as they turned and saw the look on Spike's face, a look that mirrored the look of a small child that had just lost someone close. Spike still wasn't ready to deal with what had happened in the cavern and before anyone could say anything further he tore himself away from Buffy and sulked off into the kitchen.



"Drusilla is truly gone then.good.," Giles said with a relieved but still worried look on his face as he noticed the somber look on Buffy's face.



"Good.for some of us.Spike's taking it pretty hard," Buffy said with a small sigh as she looked up at Giles before she stood up and started to take a step towards the kitchen.

"Buffy.I'm not sure if.maybe we should give him some time alone.Drusilla meant a great deal to him.," Giles said with a slightly firm tone to his voice as he stepped in front of Buffy, barring her way.



"She meant a great deal to him when he was still a vampire Giles.I'm not going to just sit here and let him go through it alone.he needs me," Buffy said with a very stubborn frown on her face as she was almost daring Giles to try and keep her from getting to Spike. After a few tense seconds Giles relented and moved aside, allowing Buffy to rush into the kitchen.



"You sure you're okay Dawnie," Xander said with a worried look on his face as he turned to Dawn, who had just sat down in the chair that Buffy and Spike had just been in.



"I'm fine.why does everyone keep asking me that," Dawn said with a slightly angry tone to her voice and look on her face before she yawned and leaned back in her chair.



"Because we were worried about you.," Willow said with a happy smile on her face as she grabbed Xander by the shoulders and pulled him away from Dawn and towards another chair.



"But I'm fine.Buffy's fine.Spike's..," Dawn started to say with a slightly angry tone to her voice before she remembered the look on Spike's face when Drusilla exploded into a cloud of dust and her face grew grim and sad. Xander looked about ready to say something when a nervous and yawning Giles interrupted.



"I think that's enough for now.Dawn you must be very tired.why don't you get some sleep.you'll feel better after a rest," Giles said with a hopeful smile on his face as he looked down at Dawn, who reluctantly nodded in agreement.



"Okay.you're right.but first I'm going to check on Buffy and Spike.," Dawn said slowly and tiredly as she stood up and began to make her way towards the kitchen.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, I think that we should give them some time alone, if they want to talk they'll come to us," Giles said slowly after clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses. For a second or two it seemed as if Dawn would launch into one of her impatient and angry tirades but she decided against it and trudged up the stairs.



In the kitchen Buffy had found Spike sitting at the kitchen table with an empty glass in front of him. He looked as if he had gotten the glass out with the intention of getting something to drink, but then been overcome by memories and plopped down in the nearest chair before the tears started to slide down his cheeks. Instantly Buffy pulled the chair out nearest to him and sat down, putting an arm around him and laying her head on his shoulder.



"All seems like a dream.," Spike muttered sadly as inside he was torn over exactly what to think of Drusilla being dusted. A part of him was heartbroken and probably always would be, how could a part of him not be after the decades that he and Dru had spent together, it was only natural. But on the other hand there was a part of him that was completely ecstatic over the event, because Dru was the last barrier that stood between him and finally finding happiness with Buffy.



"I know it does.when my mom died I felt like it was just a dream.a bad nightmare.but now that she's gone.," Buffy said with a sympathetic look on her face before her expression changed to one of hope.



"There's nobody from our pasts that'll come back and bite us in the ass," Spike said softly and slowly with at first a somber look on his face but at the end his expression came close to matching Buffy's.



"Oh I don't know about that.who knows.Parker or Riley could show up on my doorstep tomorrow and beg me to take them back.," Buffy started with a joking smirk on her face before her tone changed as she heard and felt Spike snort his disapproval.



"Either one of those two wonkers show up I'll make bloody sure they leave as quickly as they came.," Spike said with a slightly angry tone to his voice that was tinged with sarcasm. "What if Harmony shows up, you gonna just tell her to fuck off and.," Buffy said quickly before she really had time to think and ended up stifling a laugh as she mimicked Spike's manner of speaking, right down to the curse words. Spike noticed immediately and looked over at Buffy out of the corner of his eye with a confused but somewhat pleased look on his face.



"If that ditzy little bitch shows up again I'll do what I should have done a long time ago.drive a nice stake through her heart, if only so I don't have to listen to anymore of her incessant whining," Spike said with a small sigh as he shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he finished talking.



"You see.it's still possible for you to smile.so how about you let me take you upstairs and we can get a good nights.days.sleep," Buffy said with a happy smile on her face as she then gave Spike a light squeeze that he seemed to appreciate as he seemed to relax a bit.



"Like I have a choice.fine pet, lead the way," Spike said with a sigh and a slight shrug of his shoulders before he and Buffy stood up, with Spike then letting Buffy lead him towards the stairs.



* * * * * * * * *



It was several hours later before Giles noticed the note of the side of the refrigerator that Wesley had put there to remind him to take Faith to the doctor for her first prenatal checkup. It took him a few seconds to fully realize what the note meant as Wesley had hurriedly scribbled it on a scrap piece of paper the day before. The note was for an appointment in the middle of the afternoon, and since Giles had just heard the noon bells chime he decided to let the expectant parents sleep for a bit longer. Dawn had long since collapsed from exhaustion onto her bed and had been asleep for almost as long as Wesley and Faith.



In the living room Gunn had finally woken up and recounted his actions up to the point of him being ambushed, with a stone faced Angel filling in the rest. The tale had gone smoothly enough, only being interrupted by small squeaks of fear from Fred and an almost endless amount of questions from Giles. After finishing a particularly grueling round of questions Giles had set aside his curiosity and was about to take Angel aside to ask him all the questions about Connor that were buzzing around in his head when he turned and almost knocked a startled Anya over.



"Giles.watch where you're going, you almost trampled me like an elephant," Anya exclaimed with her usual look of complete innocence and shock, causing Giles to momentarily fumble his response.



"A.Anya.I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you there you just.," Giles mumbled out with a thoroughly embarrassed look on his face as he smiled as sincerely as he could and then politely turned away.



"Okay so what do we do now.," Xander asked with a serious look on his face as he clapped his hands together and looked around the living room.



"Shouldn't you be getting ready for work," Anya shot back with a cheesy smile on her face as she lightly elbowed Xander in the ribs.



"Nah.I just called in sick, I told them I had the flu.besides there's probably going to be plenty of fun stuff to do around here today, and I don't want to miss out on a single part of it," Xander said with a large and cheesy smile of his own as he slowly inched away from Anya towards one of the chairs.



"Well actually Xander today we're probably going to spend most of our time in research and demon hunting.down in the sewers where I've heard that there are massive spiders lurking about," Giles said with a small sigh as he rolled his eyes and looked down at Xander before he ended his statement with a very dreadful and scary look on his face that made the only male Scooby almost visibly wilt.



"You know on second thought.work's not sounding so bad.I'd better get going," Xander said sheepishly with a large grin on his face before he quickly looked around the room and then headed for the door, with an exasperated Anya close behind.



"So what are we really going to do today Giles," Angel said softly with a small shrug of his shoulders as he walked towards the old watcher, making sure not to get to near the stray rays of light that streaked in through the drawn shades.



"Wesley and Faith have a doctor's appointment and when Buffy and Spike wake up I'll need to talk to them about their experiences last night, as for the rest of you I'd say take it easy and rest up, although we had two victories last night with Drusilla's death and the Mayor's death I fear that our adversaries will undoubtedly strike back, and in brutal fashion, so we should all be ready for what will come," Giles said sternly after clearing his throat and looking around the room.



"Why don't you just ask Connor Giles, he was there remember," Cordelia said with a small frown on her face before she stifled a large yawn.



"Yes.that is true.Connor," Giles said with a hopeful look on his face as he pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket while turning to Connor. He hadn't even begun to clean his glasses when Connor responded.



"We won.they lost.end of story," Connor said in an almost furious tone of voice before he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room and loudly trudged down to the basement, leaving everyone in the living room with shocked looks on their faces.



"Connor.hey wait.don't," Angel said with a shocked look on his face as he looked back and forth between Giles and Willow before he also turned around and stormed off down the basement steps after his son.



"Boy he was a lot of help.not," Willow said with a slightly sarcastic scowl on her face before she finished with a forced smile. "Leave him alone.this is all your fault," Cordelia said with a angry scowl on her face as she turned and glared at Willow.



"No it's not.it's not my fault that Connor's a jerk," Willow said with a slightly hurt look on her face as she returned the glare. For a split second Cordelia seemed primed and ready to launch into an angry tirade, but she thought better of it and turned on her heel and stormed off after Connor and Angel. The angry trio had been gone for barely the span of a minute before Giles spoke up.



"Well that exchange was certainly enlightening," Giles said with a sarcastic look on his face and tone to his voice as he looked at the remaining people in the living room.



"Maybe we should get to the studying and researching part of the days agenda, I'm good at it," Fred said with a big smile at first before the expression on her face changed to one that looked almost scared.



"You're right Winifred.we should get to the research portion of our day.who knows, we may find something that could tip the balance in our favor," Giles said with a small sigh along with a smile as he turned to look down at Fred.



"And then.and then I won't have to be under constant house arrest and watched over like I'm.I'm," Willow started to say with a frumpy frown on her face as she looked back and forth between Giles and Fred before she was interrupted by a voice from the stairs.



"You're what.really boring.yeah I guessed that already," Faith said with a small smirk on her face as she descended the last few stairs and then headed into the kitchen with a sleepy Wesley behind her. Willow was about to storm into the kitchen to give Faith a piece of her mind when Giles gently laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke up.



"Don't let her get to you Willow, she didn't mean it, her hormones are raging out of control.," Giles said with a sympathetic tone to his voice and look on his face as Willow turned to face him.



"Yeah I know.but she didn't have to be so mean about it," Willow said with a frumpy frown on her face before she turned away and slowly began to trudge up the stairs.



* * * * * * * *



They hadn't been up long when Faith had forced Wesley out the door and making them arrive early at the hospital, with Faith becoming suddenly nervous as he pulled into the hospital's parking lot. Faith didn't become nervous to often, mostly when she had to talk about her feelings to anyone but Wesley, and when she did become nervous she'd fidget incessantly. Wesley had tried to help her to stop fidgeting so much when she would get nervous but after one near disaster in which he had grabbed her hands in an attempt to calm her down and she had responded by reflexively aiming a punch straight as his nose, but he had moved at the last moment and ended up with a rather large black eye. After that Wesley had resorted to attempting to keep her out of as many stressful situations as he could.



Even though they arrived early for their appointment they caught a lucky break when another patient had been forced to cancel her appointment because of family troubles. Faith was soon lying flat on her back on a bed with the doctor moving the ultrasound equipment into position. The checkup was going smoothly enough when the doctor looked up at Wesley with a startled look on her face.



"Doctor.what.what is it.what's wrong.," Wesley said with a worried and scared look on his face as he felt Faith nervously squeeze his hand so hard that he thought she was going to break every bone in his hand.



"What.no.nothing's wrong.it's just that something.unexpected has come up," the doctor said at first with a shocked look on her face before her expression changed to a kind smile.



"Unexpected, what the fuck does that mean.tell me.," Faith growled angrily as she glared back and forth between Wesley and the doctor, all this before she caught sight of Wesley giving her the stare that he always aimed her way when he wanted her to be quiet for a change. This time she squelched her anger and took a gamble and waited for the doctor's response.



"Well your blood work didn't show it.but don't worry.the heartbeat's fine.both of them," the doctor shot back with a confused look on her face before she smiled a bit and crossed her arms.



"B.both of them," Faith and Wesley gasped out together as they first looked at each other and then up at the doctor with confused and concerned looks on their faces.



"Yes.both of them, I'd say that congratulations are in order.you're having twins," the doctor said with a big smile on her face, but her words got little response as both Wesley and Faith's minds were sent reeling by the revelation.

END OF CHAPTER 29