A/N: Thanks again to my awesome beta Laney and sorry its taking so long for this fic to get finished but I'm going the summer school thing and work. Thanks for all the reviews I love them and live for them! Okay, now here's the real disclaimer: I really hated writing this chapter because of the emotions and politics associated with it. It was really hard for me to write so if you disagree with how I handle it, I'm sorry, but it's creative license…

Chapter 7:

To say that Joyce and Giles were shocked was an understatement. They were also ecstatic though that the couple was making progress towards becoming a family. As soon as she found out Joyce made Buffy and appointment at the OB/GYN to be sure the both the baby and Buffy were healthy, relatively speaking. Buffy really liked Dr. Wood. He was a tall black man with a good sense of humor but a serious demeanor that seemed to be at odds with his sense of humor. Never the less his personality reassured Buffy especially after they she explained to him about the tumors.

"Well, there's good news and there's bad news. Which do you want first?" Dr. Wood asked Buffy after examining her.

"I guess the bad news." It can't be any worse than what else I've heard in the last month, she thought.

"Okay, the bad news. You cannot undergo chemotherapy. Due to the inherent nature of chemotherapy you'd run the risk of harming your baby. You also cannot undergo radiation therapy for the same reasons."

"So, I now have a tumor and a baby and I can't kill the tumor or I may kill the baby?" Buffy slumped in her seat.

"I'm afraid that's where it stands. So I will give you a few things to think about for the coming months." He glanced at her notes than back at her, "Would you like your mother back in here before I start?"

"Yes, please." Joyce was brought back in and they sat and listened to what Dr. Wood told her about diet and exercise and things to avoid. "That doesn't sound so bad, although I think I dread Lamaze!" Buffy smiled at the thought of Spike going through Lamaze class.

"Now for the harder things we need to discuss. Given the state of your tumor and the length of time you've been given there is a great chance that you may not live long enough to carry your baby to term." Dr. Wood paused, he hated having to talk to the young woman like this, she as so young, so pretty and so full of life, "there are options you can consider and this is what I wanted your mother in for. The likelihood of you carrying the baby to term is about ten percent," Buffy gasped at that, "but it is possible to do an emergency c-section if it looks like you aren't going live but the baby if close to term." Tears began to form in Buffy's eyes and she felt Joyce squeeze her hand. "Another option that you may want to consider is an abortion." He drew a deep breath, "if you have an abortion now, then you may still have a chance to go through radiation or chemotherapy and could live, but you would possibly be sterile by the end of the therapy." He took another deep breath, "So, I would like you to go home, discuss this with the rest of your family and decide what you would like to do." He stood up as Buffy did, "Thank you Miss Summers," he gave her a brief hug, "just remember, everything has a way working out." He smiled then sat down wearily as she walked out.

Dinner that night was very somber. No one wanted to talk after the fight that had raged before. Everyone had had their own opinion about what Buffy should do and the discussion had gotten louder and louder until finally Buffy burst into tears and had to be calmed down. After dinner the usual board game was preempted for a quieter discussion about what to do about Buffy's baby.

"Buffy, we know you feel that you should keep the baby, but there's nothing that can be done for you if you do. The tumor will grow unchecked and it will kill you." Giles told her quietly but firmly. She glared at him and hugged her abdomen.

"Sweetie, I'm behind you what ever you do, but please realize that if you do carry the baby and it has to be delivered prematurely it could be retarded or crippled or could die anyway. I don't know if I could deal with that double loss." Joyce was quiet too but she didn't seem to have Giles' conviction. Buffy leaned into Spike for comfort. She looked up at him, trying to tell from his expression what he was thinking. It was really cruel the way fate played out, she and Spike should be so happy right now, but instead they were scared for two lives. At least, she thought, it's Spike, not Angel!

She mused over the one month that she and Spike had ever been apart. Back in high school they had had a horrible fight and broke up, each claiming that they would never speak to the other again. Spike had gone off and dated Drusilla right away which had aroused her suspicions about the tart. As revenge she started dating Angel. He had been nice enough at first but after two weeks he had declared his undying love for her. That had scared her but Spike was still with Drusilla so she decided to stick it out for a while longer. They seemed to get along well enough but when Spike finally relented and went back to Buffy Angel blew a fuse. He claimed that she was a tramp and had only been using him, a claim she couldn't deny. The brat had gotten so over emotional about it that he had his father transfer him to another school entirely to "escape the humiliation" Buffy had caused him. Buffy stifled a giggle over how absurd he he'd looked while yelling about his humiliation.

"Buffy, hullo, earth to Buffy!"

"Huh?"

"Off in lala land, eh luv?" Spike nibbled her ear.

"Yeah, thinking about the good ol' days."

"Now that you're back with us, can we keep talking?" Giles sounded peeved and a peeved Giles was mean Giles.

"I'm listening, you can-"she paused, "you know what?" She gathered all her courage, "You can shut up!" She stood up, trying not to shake. "I'm tired of listening to you tell me what I should do with my body, with my baby!" She looked at her mother and Giles' stunned expressions. "I will make my own choice and I will make the right choice, but it's not something you can force on me." She grabbed Spike's hand and pulled him up stairs, "We're going to bed, good night." She turned and fled up the stairs before Joyce or Giles could recover and begin to reprimand her again.

"Way to go, Buff! I thought we may be trapped down there forever!"

"I know. Do you think I'm right? Wanting to keep the baby? Is it cruel of me to expect you to take care of it if I die?" She looked deep into his eyes, trying to see through to his thoughts.

"No. It's unfair of you, but then life is unfair. I'm not upset by it though. Having the baby will give me something of you to remember. Someone to hold and love." He kissed her forehead and pulled her into bed. "It will work out."

"Yes, I suppose it will." She kissed him and made a gesture of a toast, "to fate! To hope!"

"To hope!"