December 31, 1999:
Sunnydale, California

The Scooby Gang plus Spike sat in Willow Rosenberg's living room, drinking and waiting for the new year, the new decade, the new century, the new millennium. Anya giggled, already completely smashed on wine coolers, she paused, trying to be serious but that cracked up Buffy.

"Okay...um...Willow, truth or dare?" Anya asked. "Dare or truth...truth or dare...c'mon!"

"Me?" Willow squeaked. Anya nodded. "Um...truth."

"Okay, do you or do you not have a crush on Spike?" Anya asked. Willow's cheeks flamed and Spike smirked at the redhead.

"I-I..." Willow's voice trailed off.

"C'mon, Willowy-Will!" Buffy cried. "You said 'truth', so you gotta answer the truth. Do you have the hots for the Fangless Wonder?"

Spike growled at Buffy. "What'cha gonna do, impotent-guy? Lick me to death?" the Slayer inquired.

"Cor, no! Bloody hell, I'd rather be crucified!" Spike cried, making a face. Xander laughed insanely and Buffy swatted him.

"OW!" Xander exclaimed. "Deadboy Junior was making with the funny that was funny!"

"C'mon, Wills!" Anya exclaimed. "Ya gotta answer!"

The doorbell rang and Willow jumped up to answer it. "I'll get that since it's my house and all...so I have to answer the door...I'm answering the door," she babbled, racing to the door. Willow opened the door and didn't see anything. "That's strange..."

Then there was a soft sound from below Willow's direct line of sight. Willow stared at the little bundle in the basket in shock. That's a--that's a--that's a baby! she thought, picking up the basket, it was surprisingly light. There was a note attached to the baby's blanket. Okay, this is definitely stereotypical.

Willow strained to read the note in the faint light cast onto her porch by the streetlights, it was written in a very elegant script, it only had eleven words on it:

Take care of my Lilith, Little Tree. Her birthday is Christmas.

Someone who knows me left me a baby? she wondered. She didn't know of any pregnant girls and all of her friends were in her living room, so it couldn't be them. But who? Confusion filled Willow's mind but it was overwhelmed by a need to protect the tiny child.

"Red?" Spike called as he walked to her. "What's that?"

"Uh--" Willow started but was cut off by Spike.

"That's a baby!" he cried. The rest of the Scoobies raced to the door.

"Holy God!" Buffy exclaimed. Xander could only manage some strangled vowel sounds.

"Damn, Will, and you didn't even go Moby Dick," Anya said.

"She's not my baby...that's impossible," Willow defended herself. "But I'm going to keep her."

"A baby, Wills?" Buffy asked. "I mean, a baby?"

Willow walked inside and sat on the couch, the baby in her lap. "Yeah, a baby, that is now my baby, my responsibility." The baby looked up at Willow with wide blue eyes and cooed. Buffy's insides melted.

"She's so cute!" Buffy cried, stroking the baby's thick black hair. "What're you gonna name her?"

"Her name's Lili, I like it, Lilith Anne Rosenberg, Lili for short," Willow said.

"Lilith Anne Rosenberg," Xander murmured the baby's name. "It works."

"Can't be worse than 'Buffy,'" Spike said. Buffy glared at Spike and he shrugged.

"What about a father figure-type?" Anya asked. "You can't have Xander."

"Giles?" Buffy asked, there was a slight pause. "Eww!" Four pairs of eyes settled on the bleached-blond vampire. Spike looked around a moment before realizing they were looking at him.

"What?! No!" he cried. Willow stood up, taking Lili from her basket and she smiled sweetly at Spike, holding the baby so Spike could get a good look at her.

"How could you refuse her?" she asked.

"Oh, bloody hell, Red!" he cried in defeat.

Drusilla smiled to herself as she watched Lilith accepted by Willow. "Goodnight, my love," she whispered. The vampiress walked off into the night, feeling much more relieved now that her daughter was in the hands of the red witch.