Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters portrayed or mentioned here, they all belong ultimately to Joss Whedon. I do, however, own this particular storyline and the portrayals of the characters //in this story//.
Notes: As always, text inside //these// are italicized.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Dawn went to bed that night, Buffy told her that she was going out for a quick patrol, but she should be back within two hours. Really, a patrol should only take about three quarters of an hour, but after patrol, she planned on paying a visit to a certain vampire.
She didn't burst into his crypt like she normally did. She wanted him to realize that she was serious. When he looked up from a book he was reading on top of the tomb centered in the room, she knew she'd gotten his attention. "I already did patrol, but . . . I have to talk to you."
Spike's eyebrows went up. He very deliberately placed a bookmark in his spot and set the book down off to the side. "Talk? As in, a conversation? No threats?"
Buffy looked down slightly, shaking her head. Looking back up, she met his gaze. "No threats. In fact . . . I'm calling a truce." This really got his attention; he rocked back in surprise. Buffy nodded to prove she was telling the truth. "This doesn't necessary mean I like you, or feel any deep, profound feelings for you - you know that, right?"
And instead of answering with some snide or rude comment, Spike tilted his head to examine her, and in a soft, serious voice, answered, "Yeah. I know. But, why the sudden change?"
Instead of answering, she moved further into his crypt. She finally came to a stop in front of him, leaning against the wall, giving them about a meter and a half of space. "I'm going to tell the others what we've been doing."
She figured if his heart could stop, it probably would have. He seemed to turn even paler than normal, his eyes growing wide. "What?! Are you insane?!" he cried at last. She was silent, watching as he got himself under control. Eventually, he looked back at her and said, "You know half the fun of this little tryst is sneakin' 'round."
They both knew that was a lie, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out why he didn't want her to tell the others. But then she realized, he was afraid. If she told the others, at least Xander would try to stake him. After gaining some semblance of trust from her friends, he was going to lose it. For some reason, this made her angry, because she knew her friends would blame him totally, conveniently 'forgetting' that she had been a participant. That on more than one occasion, she had initiated it. She pushed those thoughts aside for the moment. "No, it's not," she replied. "It's just a lot of hard work that's hurting my friends and Dawn. I don't like keeping secrets from them." She gave a world-weary sigh. "We're gonna have to stick together on this, Spike. I may not love you, but . . . I've come to like you, when you aren't being overly obnoxious - which is most of the time," she amended when he started to look cocky. "Don't worry about my friends. I will make it absolutely crystal clear that there will be no staking of the Spike."
"And the shunning?"
Buffy took a deep breath before speaking her next words. She wanted him to understand just how much this meant to her. "There will be no shunning, either, or at least, minimal. I will stand up for you all the way. They can't stand you being part of the group . . . they'll have to deal with me leaving."
Spike was stunned. His mouth slid open, hanging agape in shock. "What? Why?"
He sounded like he honestly didn't understand why she was doing all this. Buffy worried her lower lip for a minute before saying slowly, "I'm sick of everyone drifting apart, into their own factions." She realized as she spoke that it was true. "If we aren't a united front, we aren't going to be affective. We're just a bunch of people pretty much now, not a group. And you're part of the group, Spike. You help out, despite none of us ever giving you any credit or thanks." She stopped, trying to think of the best way to go on. She'd thought about how to tell him this ever since seeing him in the magic shop. "Something's . . . happened, come up, that I need to tell you about." And then, she was stuck. What else was she supposed to say? Just get it out, she thought to herself. Just tell him. Taking a deep breath, she said explosively, "I'm pregnant."
He blinked. That was good, at least he was still . . . unliving. Slowly, unbelievingly, he said, "You're . . . pregnant." As if it were a foreign idea to him. Buffy nodded patiently. "You're pregnant," he stated again. Buffy didn't even dignify that with a nod. She simply waited for him to process the information. Spike looked down and to the side, seeming to think very hard about something. Finally, he looked back up at her and asked slowly, "Who's the father?"
Buffy's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot into her hairline at the question. "Who's the--?" She shook her head. "In my entire //existence//, I've only slept with four guys. Angel, once. Parker, once. Riley was my boyfriend, but it's definitely not his. Aside from the whole //being dead// issue, it's been almost six months since I was with him last, and I'm not six months along. I'm only about a month and a half along. The other person I've slept with, Spike, is //you//. You're the only one I've been with since I came back!"
Spike shook his head. "No. That's not possible. Vampires can't have kids. We aren't equipped -- I mean, we got the equipment, but the batteries are dead!"
Buffy took a deep breath, swearing she was going to be patient with him, even if it killed her. "Well, yours must be Energizer batteries, 'cause they still work. Look. I've figured out that I must have . . . conceived, that time when I was invisible. Maybe that has something to do with it. Who knows? The point is, I've only been with you, and now I'm pregnant. Which leads to the obvious conclusion that it's yours, vampire notwithstanding."
Spike sat there, deep in thought, for some time. Buffy took that time to think about what she'd told him, and how she felt about it. She did want Spike to be a part of the group, not just for the sake of the baby, but because, like she told him, she did like him, when he wasn't being a bastard. Which, that wasn't as often as it seemed. Most of the time, he was just saying things that were true, a lot like Anya did, but she never appreciated his observations. She had thought she could get him out of her system, but she was beginning to realize that wasn't going to happen. Spike wasn't going to leave, no matter what anyone said or did, short of killing him. But she didn't love him. She'd gone through that cycle too many times to do it again, once even with another vampire. That way led to broken hearts and scary stalkers. Course, Spike did that anyway - stalked her, that is. Maybe, when they told the others, he would back off a little. She wondered if she really liked the idea of Spike backing off. After all, that was part of who he was.
"Tell them you love me." Buffy frowned. "What?" she asked incredulously.
Spike sighed, reiterating. "Tell them you love me, or they'll never let me in. They'll never take you seriously unless you tell them you love me."
Oh, that was just insane. He just wanted to hear her say it. "No way. They'll never //believe// me if I tell them that."
Spike finally stood up from the tomb and came to stand an arm's length away from her. "Look, they'll see through you as easily as I do. You're gonna tell them you're expectin', right?" Buffy nodded. "If you tell them you're expectin', and it's mine, and you want them to accept me as part of the team, they're gonna realize it's just for junior's sake, and they're still gonna detest me. You tell them you love me, and we're gonna have the kid, they're gonna have to accept me."
She met his eyes defiantly. "But I don't love you." What was supposed to be a hard statement of denial ended up sounding more like a meek protest. Spike smirked softly, but surprisingly, didn't comment on her words. "You've hidden our little affair for quite some time. I'm sure you can hide your contempt for me just as well."
She nodded. "Fine." She said. "Be at the Magic Box tomorrow afternoon. I'll tell everyone then."
As she left Spike's crypt, she thought again about how much she hated him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Next up!: Buffy tells her friends about her pregnancy, and about Spike.
Notes: As always, text inside //these// are italicized.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Dawn went to bed that night, Buffy told her that she was going out for a quick patrol, but she should be back within two hours. Really, a patrol should only take about three quarters of an hour, but after patrol, she planned on paying a visit to a certain vampire.
She didn't burst into his crypt like she normally did. She wanted him to realize that she was serious. When he looked up from a book he was reading on top of the tomb centered in the room, she knew she'd gotten his attention. "I already did patrol, but . . . I have to talk to you."
Spike's eyebrows went up. He very deliberately placed a bookmark in his spot and set the book down off to the side. "Talk? As in, a conversation? No threats?"
Buffy looked down slightly, shaking her head. Looking back up, she met his gaze. "No threats. In fact . . . I'm calling a truce." This really got his attention; he rocked back in surprise. Buffy nodded to prove she was telling the truth. "This doesn't necessary mean I like you, or feel any deep, profound feelings for you - you know that, right?"
And instead of answering with some snide or rude comment, Spike tilted his head to examine her, and in a soft, serious voice, answered, "Yeah. I know. But, why the sudden change?"
Instead of answering, she moved further into his crypt. She finally came to a stop in front of him, leaning against the wall, giving them about a meter and a half of space. "I'm going to tell the others what we've been doing."
She figured if his heart could stop, it probably would have. He seemed to turn even paler than normal, his eyes growing wide. "What?! Are you insane?!" he cried at last. She was silent, watching as he got himself under control. Eventually, he looked back at her and said, "You know half the fun of this little tryst is sneakin' 'round."
They both knew that was a lie, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out why he didn't want her to tell the others. But then she realized, he was afraid. If she told the others, at least Xander would try to stake him. After gaining some semblance of trust from her friends, he was going to lose it. For some reason, this made her angry, because she knew her friends would blame him totally, conveniently 'forgetting' that she had been a participant. That on more than one occasion, she had initiated it. She pushed those thoughts aside for the moment. "No, it's not," she replied. "It's just a lot of hard work that's hurting my friends and Dawn. I don't like keeping secrets from them." She gave a world-weary sigh. "We're gonna have to stick together on this, Spike. I may not love you, but . . . I've come to like you, when you aren't being overly obnoxious - which is most of the time," she amended when he started to look cocky. "Don't worry about my friends. I will make it absolutely crystal clear that there will be no staking of the Spike."
"And the shunning?"
Buffy took a deep breath before speaking her next words. She wanted him to understand just how much this meant to her. "There will be no shunning, either, or at least, minimal. I will stand up for you all the way. They can't stand you being part of the group . . . they'll have to deal with me leaving."
Spike was stunned. His mouth slid open, hanging agape in shock. "What? Why?"
He sounded like he honestly didn't understand why she was doing all this. Buffy worried her lower lip for a minute before saying slowly, "I'm sick of everyone drifting apart, into their own factions." She realized as she spoke that it was true. "If we aren't a united front, we aren't going to be affective. We're just a bunch of people pretty much now, not a group. And you're part of the group, Spike. You help out, despite none of us ever giving you any credit or thanks." She stopped, trying to think of the best way to go on. She'd thought about how to tell him this ever since seeing him in the magic shop. "Something's . . . happened, come up, that I need to tell you about." And then, she was stuck. What else was she supposed to say? Just get it out, she thought to herself. Just tell him. Taking a deep breath, she said explosively, "I'm pregnant."
He blinked. That was good, at least he was still . . . unliving. Slowly, unbelievingly, he said, "You're . . . pregnant." As if it were a foreign idea to him. Buffy nodded patiently. "You're pregnant," he stated again. Buffy didn't even dignify that with a nod. She simply waited for him to process the information. Spike looked down and to the side, seeming to think very hard about something. Finally, he looked back up at her and asked slowly, "Who's the father?"
Buffy's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot into her hairline at the question. "Who's the--?" She shook her head. "In my entire //existence//, I've only slept with four guys. Angel, once. Parker, once. Riley was my boyfriend, but it's definitely not his. Aside from the whole //being dead// issue, it's been almost six months since I was with him last, and I'm not six months along. I'm only about a month and a half along. The other person I've slept with, Spike, is //you//. You're the only one I've been with since I came back!"
Spike shook his head. "No. That's not possible. Vampires can't have kids. We aren't equipped -- I mean, we got the equipment, but the batteries are dead!"
Buffy took a deep breath, swearing she was going to be patient with him, even if it killed her. "Well, yours must be Energizer batteries, 'cause they still work. Look. I've figured out that I must have . . . conceived, that time when I was invisible. Maybe that has something to do with it. Who knows? The point is, I've only been with you, and now I'm pregnant. Which leads to the obvious conclusion that it's yours, vampire notwithstanding."
Spike sat there, deep in thought, for some time. Buffy took that time to think about what she'd told him, and how she felt about it. She did want Spike to be a part of the group, not just for the sake of the baby, but because, like she told him, she did like him, when he wasn't being a bastard. Which, that wasn't as often as it seemed. Most of the time, he was just saying things that were true, a lot like Anya did, but she never appreciated his observations. She had thought she could get him out of her system, but she was beginning to realize that wasn't going to happen. Spike wasn't going to leave, no matter what anyone said or did, short of killing him. But she didn't love him. She'd gone through that cycle too many times to do it again, once even with another vampire. That way led to broken hearts and scary stalkers. Course, Spike did that anyway - stalked her, that is. Maybe, when they told the others, he would back off a little. She wondered if she really liked the idea of Spike backing off. After all, that was part of who he was.
"Tell them you love me." Buffy frowned. "What?" she asked incredulously.
Spike sighed, reiterating. "Tell them you love me, or they'll never let me in. They'll never take you seriously unless you tell them you love me."
Oh, that was just insane. He just wanted to hear her say it. "No way. They'll never //believe// me if I tell them that."
Spike finally stood up from the tomb and came to stand an arm's length away from her. "Look, they'll see through you as easily as I do. You're gonna tell them you're expectin', right?" Buffy nodded. "If you tell them you're expectin', and it's mine, and you want them to accept me as part of the team, they're gonna realize it's just for junior's sake, and they're still gonna detest me. You tell them you love me, and we're gonna have the kid, they're gonna have to accept me."
She met his eyes defiantly. "But I don't love you." What was supposed to be a hard statement of denial ended up sounding more like a meek protest. Spike smirked softly, but surprisingly, didn't comment on her words. "You've hidden our little affair for quite some time. I'm sure you can hide your contempt for me just as well."
She nodded. "Fine." She said. "Be at the Magic Box tomorrow afternoon. I'll tell everyone then."
As she left Spike's crypt, she thought again about how much she hated him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Next up!: Buffy tells her friends about her pregnancy, and about Spike.