Description: Buffy's not feeling well, Spike won't go away, and Dawn knows
more that she should. The Scoobies lives are about to be changed forever.
Rating: R
Pairing: Buffy/Spike (did you think otherwise?)
Dawn was the first to greet Buffy and Spike as they came in the Summers' home.
"Buffy." Dawn cried, throwing herself at her older sister. "God, I was so scared. Please don't ever do that again."
"I'm sorry, Dawnie." Buffy apologized, hugging her sister tightly, "I just needed some time."
"I know." Dawn said. "I get that, and I tried to hold the fort down, but they're getting rowdy in there."
Buffy looked into the living room to see all her friends staring at her intently. She felt like turning around and running back out into the night and never coming back. Running somewhere--preferably some place that wasn't a Hellmouth; a place where demons and vampires existed only in books.
Spike saw the look in her eyes. "No, no more running. It's now or never pet." He said taking Buffy's arm and hauling her into the living room.
"How about never? Never sounds good to me." Buffy whispered just low enough for Spike to pick up. He grinned slightly, but kept dragging her forward.
"Buffy are you alright?" Giles asked, a fatherly tone to his voice.
"I'm fine." Buffy lied. Her stomach was doing enough flip-flops to qualify for the Olympic gymnastics team. With a final nod from Spike, Buffy sat herself down in the middle of the couch, forcing Giles to stand next to Dawn in her chair.
Spike looked from Buffy to Dawn, back to Buffy and then to Giles. Satisfied that the people that knew their secret were ready, he sat down next to Buffy and took her hand in his, discretely.
Buffy felt his larger, cold hand grasping her and it sent a chill up her spine. Never before had it hit her just how cold his touch really was. It reminded Buffy of ice or a wiping wind full of snow. But there was certain warmth behind it, maybe because of everything she had told him and he had told her, or maybe because of everything he had given her in the past, but whatever it was the feeling caused Buffy to relax momentarily.
"Buff what's going on?" Xander asked, gesturing to their adjoined hands. "What's up with you and Captain Peroxide?"
"Xander," Willow warned her best friend. "Buffy is something happening?"
Buffy looked at Willow; she sat on one of the chair adjacent to the couch, girlfriend perched loyally on the chair's arm. Her eyes searched Willow's looking for the girl she knew once upon a time, the Willow that understood everything and was always there to help in any way possible.
"I'm.I'm." Buffy stumbled. 'I can't do this.' She thought hopelessly, 'I'm choking.' Spike gave her hand a gentle squeeze as if to remind her that he was still there, that he wouldn't leave her like the others had. Buffy took a deep breath and gathered her courage, 'you can do this Summers. You're the Slayer for Christ's sake!' With one final look around the room, Buffy finally just blurted, "I'm pregnant."
Then came the silence. Anyone who thinks that silence is peaceful, an escape, clearly wasn't in that room. Suddenly Buffy found her shoes to be incredibly interesting. She avoided looking at anyone except Spike. She peered into those deep sapphire eyes and what she saw there changed her forever. His eyes literally screamed with love, trust, and compassion. It seemed weird to her, but at that moment Buffy knew that Spike was going to be a great father.
"What?" Xander asked tearing Buffy from her happy thoughts. "Buffy how did.how?"
"Well you see when two people sleep together, the egg and the sperm join together and form a baby and then." Anya explained before she was cut off.
"That's not what he meant." Willow said in an even voice. With a steady gaze, she looked over to her best friend. "Who?" she asked after a long moment. Willow already knew the answer, she had seen Buffy sneaking out to meet Spike numerous times, and even saw them making out under the tree in the front yard, she was still permanently scared after walking in on them in the training room of the Magic Box. Luckily that hadn't seen her, but she would be in therapy for the next thirty years. She had never told anyone, and no one ever found out she knew. For some reason though, she wanted Buffy to admit it, to herself and to everyone else.
Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat, 'This is the clincher,' she thought to herself. Gathering every last nerve she had, Buffy looked directly at Xander and said, "Spike."
You would have thought that Buffy had just told Xander he was the father. His eyes grew about three times their normal size, and his face went a ghostly white.
"But how can.I mean Spike can't.um.can you?" Willow stammered trying desperately to understand this.
"We're not sure." Buffy explained.
"But you've been sleeping t-together?" Tara asked hiding her face behind the curtain of hair she so frequently sought shelter beneath.
Buffy looked at Spike, he squeezed her hand tightly, giving her a boost of nerve. "Y-yes."
"Well that's pretty obvious." Anya blurted earning confused looks from everyone, excluding Xander who was too busy staring at the floor. "It's just that every time you came into the Magic Box after one of your little 'adventures'," she used sarcastic quote marks making Dawn snicker, "you always looked so flushed. It was clear that you were suffering from post- orgasmic-flush. Your face was always so red."
The silence. It was back. But this time it was not because everyone was in the dark, because now they all knew. No, this silence was meant for contemplation, to take everything that had just been given to them and arrange it in a sensible way. It was like a jigsaw puzzle that needed to be put together.
Buffy glanced at each of her friends in turn, gnawing on her bottom lip. She knew in general that most of them wouldn't say anything and eventually accept it. But there was one person that Buffy was worried about and that person was Xander. Everyone knew he was going to flip, and tried to mentally prepare themselves for the volcanic eruption.
Tara decided not to wait for Xander's reaction. She picked herself up off the arm of the chair and walked to Buffy, throwing her arms around the girl. "Congratulations Buffy." She whispered in her ear and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
Buffy rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around Tara, thankful that the waiting was over. She had almost worn a hole through her lip. "Thank you." Buffy said just above a whisper. Willow joined them in an embrace, quickly adding Dawn and Anya.
Giles shook Spike's hand like a father congratulating his new son-in-law. Though he would never admit it, Giles had come to rather enjoy Spike's company. But under his breath he threatened, "Hurt her and I'll stake you myself." Spike should have been scared, but seeing the look in the Watcher's eyes, made Spike understand where he was coming from. Buffy made everyone around her seem to want to protect her.
Dawn, Tara, and Willow backed away from Buffy, giving her some room to breathe. Everyone turned to look at Xander when a quiet laugh began. It grew louder and louder until it transformed into hysterical laughter.
"I'm sorry," Xander apologized between fits, "it's just that it's so funny. I mean clearly Buffy's playing a joke on us. Right Buff?" Everyone looked at Xander like he had grown another head.
"Xander."
"Oh God," he sighed, the reality hitting him at full force. "It just can't be.you.you slept with Spike?"
"Hey." Spike defended himself.
"Oh no," Xander warned him, "You don't get to defend yourself. You knock up my friend and think you can just waltz in here expecting me to be okay with this?!"
"Xander!" Buffy yelled. Spike moved to her side and took her hand in his.
"You know what Whelp?" he said in an extremely pissed off tone. "Notice she's not pulling away from me. Must mean she's not entirely disgusted with me. So you've got problems you need to just deal with them!"
"This isn't happening." Xander said, trying to convince himself more than anything else. He got up off the chair he was sitting on and stormed to the door.
"Xander where are you going?" Anya asked.
"Anywhere but here." He said and stomped out the door, slamming it behind him.
Although Buffy had anticipated that Xander was going to freak, she still felt herself being torn apart. He was her best friend, and his opinion was important. She knew she shouldn't care so much; it wasn't like she could forget about the problem and go on with her life. There were only seven months before her little problem became a real life miracle.
"Buffy." Spike ventured noticing a small tear appear in Buffy's eye.
"No, I'm fine." She said jerking her hand away from his and swiftly wiped the stray drop away. "It's just.I need to be alone right now." Feeling the tears welling up, Buffy pushed through her friends and made her way through the kitchen and out to the back porch.
"Should someone.go with her?" Willow asked shyly.
"No, I think she needs some time." Giles said, removing his glasses and cleaning them thoroughly with a handkerchief from his pocket. "I think it best if we all just came back tomorrow."
"Agreed." Tara said staring off towards the kitchen. "Just give her some space, I'm sure she'll come around."
"Let's hope so." Willow whispered.
Dawn silently crept down the steps, avoiding those that squeaked when stepped on. As she hit the bottom, Dawn peered into the living room, making sure she hadn't woken anyone up. Sure enough he was still asleep.
Spike had decided to crash on the Summers' couch for the night when everyone else went home. Said he wanted to be there in case Buffy needed him. But Dawn knew that he couldn't bring himself to leave her.
Stepping passed the doorway and crossing to the kitchen Dawn thought she was out of trouble. She strode gracefully to the back door without a care.
"Don't even think about it Niblet." Spike said shutting the refrigerator door.
"Spike!" Dawn cried jumping back from the door. "Geez, what are you doing here?"
"Well I was sleeping, but my soddin stomach wouldn't stop growling. Where's your sis keep the blood around here?"
"It's in the back behind the kool-aid." Dawn said turning around and grabbing the doorknob again.
"I believe I said no Bit." Spike said, not looking up from the fridge.
"But she's been out there all night." Dawn whined. "Someone should check on her."
"She wants space." Spike explained pulling out a pint of blood. He bit into the package and downed it in one gulp. "We should just let her go."
"But." Dawn started.
"No buts pet." Spike threw the packing away and came over to Dawn. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders like an older brother would, and led her into the living room. Spike sat her down on the couch and took a seat on the coffee table opposite her. "Listen, for some strange reason big sis needs to have the Whelp's okay. And she's not going to be happy until she has that. I personally couldn't care whether Xander is okay or not. S'not like he can change it."
"Would you change it? If you could?" Dawn asked sheepishly, bowing her head and dropping her eyes to the floor, afraid to know the answer.
"Little Bit." Spike moved from the coffee table and took a seat next to Dawn. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "I love your sis. And she knows that, somewhere deep down, she knows it. And I'll be damned if I let Xander come between that. These kids.our kids.they're going to be good for me, for all of us." Dawn nodded silently in agreement laying her head on Spike's shoulder. "Sure it's gonna be tough, but you know.we're living on a bloody Hellmouth, what part of life isn't tough? But we're gonna get through this."
Dawn felt herself drifting off to sleep as Spike talked. She knew he was trying to calm his own nerves as well as hers. Dawn shut her eyes and concentrated on the even flow of Spike's voice, never raising nor falling, always a steady tempo.
'I could listen to him talk all night.' Was her last coherent thought before sleep engulfed her and thrust her into the land of dreams.
"Night Niblet." Spike whispered when he felt her heart rate slow and muscles relax. He gently picked her up and took her upstairs to her, kissing her temple as he laid her in her own bed and covered her. Spike shut the door as quietly as possible and leaned against the wall just outside her room. "Now off to deal with big sis."
Rating: R
Pairing: Buffy/Spike (did you think otherwise?)
Dawn was the first to greet Buffy and Spike as they came in the Summers' home.
"Buffy." Dawn cried, throwing herself at her older sister. "God, I was so scared. Please don't ever do that again."
"I'm sorry, Dawnie." Buffy apologized, hugging her sister tightly, "I just needed some time."
"I know." Dawn said. "I get that, and I tried to hold the fort down, but they're getting rowdy in there."
Buffy looked into the living room to see all her friends staring at her intently. She felt like turning around and running back out into the night and never coming back. Running somewhere--preferably some place that wasn't a Hellmouth; a place where demons and vampires existed only in books.
Spike saw the look in her eyes. "No, no more running. It's now or never pet." He said taking Buffy's arm and hauling her into the living room.
"How about never? Never sounds good to me." Buffy whispered just low enough for Spike to pick up. He grinned slightly, but kept dragging her forward.
"Buffy are you alright?" Giles asked, a fatherly tone to his voice.
"I'm fine." Buffy lied. Her stomach was doing enough flip-flops to qualify for the Olympic gymnastics team. With a final nod from Spike, Buffy sat herself down in the middle of the couch, forcing Giles to stand next to Dawn in her chair.
Spike looked from Buffy to Dawn, back to Buffy and then to Giles. Satisfied that the people that knew their secret were ready, he sat down next to Buffy and took her hand in his, discretely.
Buffy felt his larger, cold hand grasping her and it sent a chill up her spine. Never before had it hit her just how cold his touch really was. It reminded Buffy of ice or a wiping wind full of snow. But there was certain warmth behind it, maybe because of everything she had told him and he had told her, or maybe because of everything he had given her in the past, but whatever it was the feeling caused Buffy to relax momentarily.
"Buff what's going on?" Xander asked, gesturing to their adjoined hands. "What's up with you and Captain Peroxide?"
"Xander," Willow warned her best friend. "Buffy is something happening?"
Buffy looked at Willow; she sat on one of the chair adjacent to the couch, girlfriend perched loyally on the chair's arm. Her eyes searched Willow's looking for the girl she knew once upon a time, the Willow that understood everything and was always there to help in any way possible.
"I'm.I'm." Buffy stumbled. 'I can't do this.' She thought hopelessly, 'I'm choking.' Spike gave her hand a gentle squeeze as if to remind her that he was still there, that he wouldn't leave her like the others had. Buffy took a deep breath and gathered her courage, 'you can do this Summers. You're the Slayer for Christ's sake!' With one final look around the room, Buffy finally just blurted, "I'm pregnant."
Then came the silence. Anyone who thinks that silence is peaceful, an escape, clearly wasn't in that room. Suddenly Buffy found her shoes to be incredibly interesting. She avoided looking at anyone except Spike. She peered into those deep sapphire eyes and what she saw there changed her forever. His eyes literally screamed with love, trust, and compassion. It seemed weird to her, but at that moment Buffy knew that Spike was going to be a great father.
"What?" Xander asked tearing Buffy from her happy thoughts. "Buffy how did.how?"
"Well you see when two people sleep together, the egg and the sperm join together and form a baby and then." Anya explained before she was cut off.
"That's not what he meant." Willow said in an even voice. With a steady gaze, she looked over to her best friend. "Who?" she asked after a long moment. Willow already knew the answer, she had seen Buffy sneaking out to meet Spike numerous times, and even saw them making out under the tree in the front yard, she was still permanently scared after walking in on them in the training room of the Magic Box. Luckily that hadn't seen her, but she would be in therapy for the next thirty years. She had never told anyone, and no one ever found out she knew. For some reason though, she wanted Buffy to admit it, to herself and to everyone else.
Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat, 'This is the clincher,' she thought to herself. Gathering every last nerve she had, Buffy looked directly at Xander and said, "Spike."
You would have thought that Buffy had just told Xander he was the father. His eyes grew about three times their normal size, and his face went a ghostly white.
"But how can.I mean Spike can't.um.can you?" Willow stammered trying desperately to understand this.
"We're not sure." Buffy explained.
"But you've been sleeping t-together?" Tara asked hiding her face behind the curtain of hair she so frequently sought shelter beneath.
Buffy looked at Spike, he squeezed her hand tightly, giving her a boost of nerve. "Y-yes."
"Well that's pretty obvious." Anya blurted earning confused looks from everyone, excluding Xander who was too busy staring at the floor. "It's just that every time you came into the Magic Box after one of your little 'adventures'," she used sarcastic quote marks making Dawn snicker, "you always looked so flushed. It was clear that you were suffering from post- orgasmic-flush. Your face was always so red."
The silence. It was back. But this time it was not because everyone was in the dark, because now they all knew. No, this silence was meant for contemplation, to take everything that had just been given to them and arrange it in a sensible way. It was like a jigsaw puzzle that needed to be put together.
Buffy glanced at each of her friends in turn, gnawing on her bottom lip. She knew in general that most of them wouldn't say anything and eventually accept it. But there was one person that Buffy was worried about and that person was Xander. Everyone knew he was going to flip, and tried to mentally prepare themselves for the volcanic eruption.
Tara decided not to wait for Xander's reaction. She picked herself up off the arm of the chair and walked to Buffy, throwing her arms around the girl. "Congratulations Buffy." She whispered in her ear and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
Buffy rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around Tara, thankful that the waiting was over. She had almost worn a hole through her lip. "Thank you." Buffy said just above a whisper. Willow joined them in an embrace, quickly adding Dawn and Anya.
Giles shook Spike's hand like a father congratulating his new son-in-law. Though he would never admit it, Giles had come to rather enjoy Spike's company. But under his breath he threatened, "Hurt her and I'll stake you myself." Spike should have been scared, but seeing the look in the Watcher's eyes, made Spike understand where he was coming from. Buffy made everyone around her seem to want to protect her.
Dawn, Tara, and Willow backed away from Buffy, giving her some room to breathe. Everyone turned to look at Xander when a quiet laugh began. It grew louder and louder until it transformed into hysterical laughter.
"I'm sorry," Xander apologized between fits, "it's just that it's so funny. I mean clearly Buffy's playing a joke on us. Right Buff?" Everyone looked at Xander like he had grown another head.
"Xander."
"Oh God," he sighed, the reality hitting him at full force. "It just can't be.you.you slept with Spike?"
"Hey." Spike defended himself.
"Oh no," Xander warned him, "You don't get to defend yourself. You knock up my friend and think you can just waltz in here expecting me to be okay with this?!"
"Xander!" Buffy yelled. Spike moved to her side and took her hand in his.
"You know what Whelp?" he said in an extremely pissed off tone. "Notice she's not pulling away from me. Must mean she's not entirely disgusted with me. So you've got problems you need to just deal with them!"
"This isn't happening." Xander said, trying to convince himself more than anything else. He got up off the chair he was sitting on and stormed to the door.
"Xander where are you going?" Anya asked.
"Anywhere but here." He said and stomped out the door, slamming it behind him.
Although Buffy had anticipated that Xander was going to freak, she still felt herself being torn apart. He was her best friend, and his opinion was important. She knew she shouldn't care so much; it wasn't like she could forget about the problem and go on with her life. There were only seven months before her little problem became a real life miracle.
"Buffy." Spike ventured noticing a small tear appear in Buffy's eye.
"No, I'm fine." She said jerking her hand away from his and swiftly wiped the stray drop away. "It's just.I need to be alone right now." Feeling the tears welling up, Buffy pushed through her friends and made her way through the kitchen and out to the back porch.
"Should someone.go with her?" Willow asked shyly.
"No, I think she needs some time." Giles said, removing his glasses and cleaning them thoroughly with a handkerchief from his pocket. "I think it best if we all just came back tomorrow."
"Agreed." Tara said staring off towards the kitchen. "Just give her some space, I'm sure she'll come around."
"Let's hope so." Willow whispered.
Dawn silently crept down the steps, avoiding those that squeaked when stepped on. As she hit the bottom, Dawn peered into the living room, making sure she hadn't woken anyone up. Sure enough he was still asleep.
Spike had decided to crash on the Summers' couch for the night when everyone else went home. Said he wanted to be there in case Buffy needed him. But Dawn knew that he couldn't bring himself to leave her.
Stepping passed the doorway and crossing to the kitchen Dawn thought she was out of trouble. She strode gracefully to the back door without a care.
"Don't even think about it Niblet." Spike said shutting the refrigerator door.
"Spike!" Dawn cried jumping back from the door. "Geez, what are you doing here?"
"Well I was sleeping, but my soddin stomach wouldn't stop growling. Where's your sis keep the blood around here?"
"It's in the back behind the kool-aid." Dawn said turning around and grabbing the doorknob again.
"I believe I said no Bit." Spike said, not looking up from the fridge.
"But she's been out there all night." Dawn whined. "Someone should check on her."
"She wants space." Spike explained pulling out a pint of blood. He bit into the package and downed it in one gulp. "We should just let her go."
"But." Dawn started.
"No buts pet." Spike threw the packing away and came over to Dawn. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders like an older brother would, and led her into the living room. Spike sat her down on the couch and took a seat on the coffee table opposite her. "Listen, for some strange reason big sis needs to have the Whelp's okay. And she's not going to be happy until she has that. I personally couldn't care whether Xander is okay or not. S'not like he can change it."
"Would you change it? If you could?" Dawn asked sheepishly, bowing her head and dropping her eyes to the floor, afraid to know the answer.
"Little Bit." Spike moved from the coffee table and took a seat next to Dawn. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "I love your sis. And she knows that, somewhere deep down, she knows it. And I'll be damned if I let Xander come between that. These kids.our kids.they're going to be good for me, for all of us." Dawn nodded silently in agreement laying her head on Spike's shoulder. "Sure it's gonna be tough, but you know.we're living on a bloody Hellmouth, what part of life isn't tough? But we're gonna get through this."
Dawn felt herself drifting off to sleep as Spike talked. She knew he was trying to calm his own nerves as well as hers. Dawn shut her eyes and concentrated on the even flow of Spike's voice, never raising nor falling, always a steady tempo.
'I could listen to him talk all night.' Was her last coherent thought before sleep engulfed her and thrust her into the land of dreams.
"Night Niblet." Spike whispered when he felt her heart rate slow and muscles relax. He gently picked her up and took her upstairs to her, kissing her temple as he laid her in her own bed and covered her. Spike shut the door as quietly as possible and leaned against the wall just outside her room. "Now off to deal with big sis."
