"You're late? Late for what, luv?" Spike asked, still half asleep.

"Not that kind of late you moron! I'm late, ya know…" Buffy trailed off with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Late for…" he paused, "oh," realizing what she was trying to say, his blue eyes grew.
"OH!"

Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed.

"But, but…how?" Spike inquired, stuttering a bit.

"Well, let's see. You, human. Still following?" He nodded slowly, "You human means without precautions, you…let's say…aren't shooting blanks anymore." The slayer explained, stress eating away at her.

They sat in silence, Buffy stared at her once nicely manicured nails. No matter how hard she tried, they always got ruined when she fought. Spike had been deep in thought until he looked up to stare at Buffy.

"What's going to happen? What I mean is, what are we gonna do?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Buffy slowly looked up into Spikes sapphire eyes.

"Well," she started, "I think we should confirm it. Or make sure, whatever. And then, well, I'm not sure what to do from there." As her eyes started to fill, the platinum blond held his arms out, she went to him and wept. He held her, stroking her hair and back Intel the door quietly opened. Not looking up, Spike put his hand in the air, making his forefinger spin in the motion of turn around, wagged his hand in a way of go about your business, then waved his hand in a bye-bye motion.

Shaking with tears, Buffy asked softly, "Who was that?"

"Not a clue, luv," Spike replied.

After about 10 minutes, the seemingly small girl drifted into fitful sleep, exhausted. Laying her down gently as to not wake her, Spike tucked Buffy into her bed. Collecting his clothes and slipping into his faithful black duster, he walked silently out the door, pulling it shut behind him. He walked down the stairs, ignored Joyce and Dawn's questioning stares, and out the door into blinding light.

Waking in two hours times, Buffy sensed she was alone and panicked. She looked around to find a box on her desk accompanying a single rose whose petals had been dyed black. Picking up the rose to inhale its scent, she set it down again to open the box. She untied the ribbon that had been fastened around the hand-sized box. Lifting the lid, Buffy found a simple sterling silver chain that held a small cross charm with a red ruby in the middle. Suddenly a pair of pale hands with black polished nails came around from either side of her, taking the two ends of the necklace, clasping it around her neck and pulled her into a warm embrace with his arms around her waist. As she leaned against his chest, Buffy felt the pressure of a small telltale kiss that Spike planted in her hair. Tilting her chin, her cheek pressed against his, Buffy brought her right arm up and wrapped it snugly around his neck. Having him kiss her own neck, she turned in his embrace to face him. She stared deeply into his eyes and gave him a gentle kiss that led to a more passionate one. She let him lay her on the bed for the second time that day but obviously not for the same reasons. With is hands at the hem of her shirt, he lifted it easily off. Doing the same for him, Buffy felt him fumble in his pocket. Taking his hand, with her mouth next to his ear, she whispered a 'no', and with that they slowly made love until both were exhausted. Kissing her forehead, both Spike and Buffy fell into a deep sleep.

Neither noticed when the door opened again to reveal a shocked Joyce. Taking in the sight in front of her, her daughter lying on her supposed mortal enemy, both bare from what she could plainly see, Joyce backed out the door when Buffy stirred and exposed her nude torso.

Both woke with the setting sun. Dressed, they slipped out the window, Buffy with a bag containing clothes to last for a week and a half. If need be she could just wash her clothes. Stopping by a drugstore, the slayer picked up a home pregnancy test and a Pepsi at the outside vendor. They ran the way to Spikes crypt where he led her to a secret underground chamber. The chamber had three rooms equipped with beds and dressers. There were two bathrooms; both decorated the same, in black. A room with a gray leather couch and a wide screen TV served as the living room. The kitchen was packed with food and drinks and the necessities, an oven, stove, dishwasher, the works. It was all one story, or so Buffy thought so until Spike showed her a spiraling stairway in a hidden closet leading down. Saying that was where to go in case anybody found their hideaway, which was practically impossible, Spike answered her questions she had not yet voiced.

"After I found the Gem of Amara, I went back to the room that had held it and hocked just about everything there. I still have plenty of cash left, pet," he added grinning as he lifted the lid to a wooden chest that was filled to the brim with a variety of bills; from ones to hundreds. Grabbing a fist full of cash, he motioned Buffy to do the same, and dropped it into a large glass jar. They did so until the jar contained almost $5,000. Closing the lid again, he attached a lock that had three keyholes. One key went to him, one to her, and the last in a container filled with flour.

Wordlessly, Buffy held up the pregnancy test and found her way to the nearest bathroom. Spike paced in front of the door for what seemed like hours but in reality was a mere 10 minutes. When she emerged from the bathroom, Spike looked at her worried expression as she held up the test, which now revealed a blue positive sign. Looking to her for answers, he heard Buffy whisper to the floor,
"You're going to be a daddy."
As she said daddy, she looked up at Spike. She watched of the emotions splayed across his face. Finally ho looked over at Buffy, broke into a huge grin, and pulled her close. Trying to choke back a sob, she failed as tears of joy streamed down her face.
"I was so afraid. Afraid you'd be upset." She managed between sobs and quiet hic-ups.
"Upset? Why would I be upset?" Spike asked searching her watery green eyes for answers. When she didn't respond, he raised one hand and rubbed away the tears on bother cheeks with a thumb. As she closed her eyes he kissed both of her closed eyelids and the tear that had escaped. Taking a step back, Spike dropped to his knees, put both hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. As he put his ear to her stomach, her hands twined their way through his mussed hair. Standing, Spike swept Buffy up off her feet. He carried her to a bedroom that had a king-sized bed with red silk sheets and a black spread. Setting her down on the bed, he walked around to the other side where he climbed in with her.
After an hour, Spike got out of bed, said he'd be back in less than a half an hour and left. Instead of his usual outfit, he walked out the door in a brown trench coat, blue jeans, and a faded jade green tee shirt. When he returned he held 11 boxes of auburn hair dye, 6 boxes of a mousy brown hair dye for men, 2 combs, 2 brushes, scissors and conditioner.
The next day, the occupants were no longer the blondes they used to be. In their new home lived a woman with uneven, unruly auburn hair that reached just about her shoulders. The man had wavy light brown hair. Both had glasses; the woman with small silver frames, the man with larger thin black frames. Roaming the streets at night, they were assumed a newly married couple and were not recognized.