Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox,
etc... except of course the ones I make up.
Summary: Spike and Buffy are going to have a baby together!!! I know, I know, it's been done about a million times but I promise that this one is different. Anyway, it also deals with all different types of families that could exist in the Buffyverse.
Spoilers: None really
Continuity: It's the sequel to "Apocalypse now... Again". However, you don't really need to read it to understand this fic. It picks up a few weeks after where "Apocalypse Now... Again" leaves off. Also, I just thought I'd point out that Tara is alive and with Willow, both witches are living with Buffy. Also, Xander and Anya are married and Anya is pregnant.
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FAMILY
Chapter 17: The Hardest Part of Waking and Breaking
Buffy had seen this place before, and it wasn't hard to remember the why. She looked at old Sunnydale High and sighed heavily. She was standing right outside the front entrance, staring at the door and the banner overhead that read:
"Formatia trans sicere educatorum."
"Enter, all ye who seek knowledge... They really oughta take that down," Buffy said offhandedly to the night. She took a step forward and could tell by the awkward tapping and uncomfortable pull of the straps on her shoes that she was dressed formally. She looked down at herself and recognized the white flowing dress immediately. It was the dress from the night she died.
"Not this dream again," she groaned angrily, "it's been forever since..."
"Help me," a small voice called to her from the dark. She turned quickly to see him standing there as he had the first time she had seen him. He stood the same way every time she saw it in her nightmares after that.
She closed her eyes tight and balled her hands into fists. "Wake up, wake up, wake up..."
"Help me," the Anointed One called again, more desperately this time. When Buffy opened her eyes and saw that he was still there, she decided to play along. She walked carefully over to him, but still stood strong, knowing what's to come.
"It's okay," she told him softly, "I know who you are."
He smiled, nodded, and held out his hand for her to take. He was so ancient for such a little boy. All that power of the Old Ones packed into that tiny little body. And it occurred to Buffy just as she was about to take his minute hand...
"You were so young."
He pulled back, a bit startled by her words and he looked at her with curiosity. "This isn't how this is supposed to go," he reminded her.
Buffy shrugged and nodded understandingly. "Oh I know, it just never really registered to me."
"It doesn't really make much of a difference though, does it?"
"I guess not..." Buffy trailed off sadly.
"Come on," he said as he tugged lightly on her dress, "I think we should go. He's waiting for us."
"I know, I know. I just can't get over it. You were so young when you died. I mean, you were just a child."
The Anointed One took a step back and grinned evilly. He gave Buffy a flash of fang and glint of yellow in his eyes. "Silly girl. You're never too young. Not even-"
Buffy awoke with a start, out of breath and with sweat dripping down the sides of her face. She inhaled deeply once, trying to calm herself down. It was not worth it getting herself all worked up over a stupid dream. Besides, at least she was finally back in her own bed.
She rolled over, hoping to be able to curl up in Spike's arms; this hope was crushed when she rolled over to find that Spike wasn't there. Panic set in and Buffy's breathing quickened. She coughed as she felt like her heart jumped into throat. Dream of the Anointed One mixed with waking up to find Spike gone, that couldn't be good.
"Stop it!" She commanded herself. "You're overreacting."
Then Buffy heard Dawn squeal loudly down the hall and she jumped out of bed. She walked into the hall and saw that the bathroom light was on and Dawn's soft groaning was coming from there. The Slayer approached the white-tiled room with caution to find a sight she was not at all expecting.
Dawn was sitting on the toilet seat with Spike hovering over her with a pair of tweezers. He was poking the tweezers at her forehead and she would wince and pull back each time they touched the sensitive area.
"What the hell are you doing?" Buffy asked angrily.
Dawn and Spike both jumped, and turned to look at Buffy who was raising an inquisitive eyebrow at them.
"I pulled a stitch," Dawn admitted, and her cheeks turned a bright pink, "Spike was helping." Dawn chewed on her lower lip and Buffy looked to Spike.
"Sorry, love, didn't mean to wake you. Dawn pulled a stitch and she was too much of a baby to just pull it out herself."
"I am not a baby!" She insisted as she gave the vampire a playful shove, "it stings."
"Dawn, you're chosen to protect the world from vampires and the like and you can't even pull a tiny thread out by yourself."
"Hey! No judging! I didn't want to aggravate the cut and you said you would help. These aren't the types of stitches that are supposed to come out by themselves."
"Well when are you supposed to get them taken out?"
"Uh... Friday. I'm supposed to go back to the hospital and have the doctors take them out."
"Yeah, well, it's Wednesday and I'm sure the doctors weren't counting on your super-human healing powers. Now sit still and-" Spike paused and looked at the door where Buffy was still standing completely still.
"Buffy?" She didn't reply, so Spike tried again. "Buffy? Love?"
"What?" She replied icily.
"I'm really sorry, pet. But it's okay, go back to bed. No worries."
"No worries? How can you say that? I'm having freaky dreams and you're not in the bed and Dawn's squealing down the hall-"
"Buffy, I'm really sorry," Dawn apologized quietly. "I won't make any more noise, I promise."
Buffy merely groaned angrily in response and marched from the bathroom. Neither Spike nor Dawn had any idea what was going on. Spike grabbed the tweezers harshly, and turned back to Dawn.
"Right. Perfect," he mumbled just loudly enough for Dawn to hear and he grabbed on to the tiny piece of thread and pulled it out with a sharp pinching pain. He looked at the small piece of thread with disgust and dropped it in the garbage. He looked like he wanted to do more than just calmly place the silver tools back on the sink counter. Dawn could tell by the way that he was clenching his jaw as he, without a word, left the bathroom.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
God, this was going to be hard.
Dawn took three deep breaths and opened her locker. It was almost time for him to walk around the corner of the hall and come to see her. They walked to AP Euro together right about now.
God, This was going to be hard.
Dawn pulled open the door to her locker and looked at the pictures she had put on the door. She looked at one of him looking at her. He was beautiful when he smiled. His whole face lit up, and of course that would make her light up inside as well. She pulled the picture off and put it face down at the back of the locker just as he came and tapped her on the shoulder.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, this was going to be so hard.
"Hey, Dawnie."
She shrugged away from his light touch and completely avoided his eyes as she said a soft, "Hey."
He tried to wrap his arms around her waist and she pulled away again, harder and more emphatically this time, hoping that he could take a hint. But of course he couldn't, he would never get what she was trying to tell him.
"Please don't do that," she asked of him quietly.
"Oh I see," David laughed light-heartedly, "playing hard to get, huh? Very hot."
Dawn turned around and put on her angriest face. "No! I mean stop!"
Dave pulled back, confusion and hurt flaring in his bright blue eyes. "Sorry."
"You should be!" She accused, but then softened her tone in a lame attempt to soften the blow. "I can't..."
"Can't what? Dawn, whatever it is-"
"I can't do this anymore."
"What do you mean you can't 'do this'?"
"I can't be with you. It just can't work."
"It is," he insisted, too shocked to say anything else, "it is working."
"No. I know you can't see it now, but you'll understand eventually."
"But I want to understand now!" He said angrily, "Dawn, I love you."
A burning sensation rose in Dawn's throat as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "No, you don't. You can't."
Before Dave could say another word she had turned her back on him and marched away. He stood staring, completely numbed by what had just happened. Dawn was walking away to so somewhere, anywhere but near him. She would just skip class, she decided, it would hurt too much otherwise.
"Oh God," she moaned painfully as she felt her heart break in two. That was so, so hard.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dawn stormed into the house and ran up the stairs with Janice following close behind. Janice closed Dawn's bedroom door lightly as she watched her best friend fall helplessly onto her bed. The desperate, painful sobs began again and Janice sat by Dawn's side to offer support in any way she could.
"Oh, Dawn..."
"It hurts so much, Janice. I'm so stupid, so..."
"I don't understand though. Why did you dump him?"
"It just can't work," Dawn choked the words as more tears slipped from her eyes, "Slayers aren't made for love."
"Oh," Janice said quietly, not at all understanding but knowing that this definitely wasn't the time to pry.
"I feel like I'm suffocating," Dawn gasped as she ran her fingers through her long, brown tresses. "I feel like the inside of me is just dying."
"It'll get better," Janice soothed, "I'm sure you made the right choice for yourself."
Dawn nodded in a way that told Janice she disagreed. She continued to cry choking sobs that shook her entire body painfully. Another wave of breathlessness shook Dawn and she grasped onto her comforter as she struggled for air.
"Oh God," she breathed lightly. Janice put her arms around Dawn and she held on as if her life depending on it.
"Come on, Summers," Janice said as gently as she could, "it's not the end of the world. Not this time anyway."
Dawn took a deep breath and stopped her tears for the time being. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and she felt like it was actually breaking. She wiped the tears from her cheeks as best she could and sighed. Her hands were shaking violently as the rest of her convulsed unintentionally.
"What if I never fall in love again?" She asked softly under her breath.
"What?"
Dawn exhaled a shuddering breath. "I know, this has to be the end."
TBC...
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YAY!!! Another chapter. Well... midterms are finally over (86 on chem baby, yeah!) Please review!!!
Summary: Spike and Buffy are going to have a baby together!!! I know, I know, it's been done about a million times but I promise that this one is different. Anyway, it also deals with all different types of families that could exist in the Buffyverse.
Spoilers: None really
Continuity: It's the sequel to "Apocalypse now... Again". However, you don't really need to read it to understand this fic. It picks up a few weeks after where "Apocalypse Now... Again" leaves off. Also, I just thought I'd point out that Tara is alive and with Willow, both witches are living with Buffy. Also, Xander and Anya are married and Anya is pregnant.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
FAMILY
Chapter 17: The Hardest Part of Waking and Breaking
Buffy had seen this place before, and it wasn't hard to remember the why. She looked at old Sunnydale High and sighed heavily. She was standing right outside the front entrance, staring at the door and the banner overhead that read:
"Formatia trans sicere educatorum."
"Enter, all ye who seek knowledge... They really oughta take that down," Buffy said offhandedly to the night. She took a step forward and could tell by the awkward tapping and uncomfortable pull of the straps on her shoes that she was dressed formally. She looked down at herself and recognized the white flowing dress immediately. It was the dress from the night she died.
"Not this dream again," she groaned angrily, "it's been forever since..."
"Help me," a small voice called to her from the dark. She turned quickly to see him standing there as he had the first time she had seen him. He stood the same way every time she saw it in her nightmares after that.
She closed her eyes tight and balled her hands into fists. "Wake up, wake up, wake up..."
"Help me," the Anointed One called again, more desperately this time. When Buffy opened her eyes and saw that he was still there, she decided to play along. She walked carefully over to him, but still stood strong, knowing what's to come.
"It's okay," she told him softly, "I know who you are."
He smiled, nodded, and held out his hand for her to take. He was so ancient for such a little boy. All that power of the Old Ones packed into that tiny little body. And it occurred to Buffy just as she was about to take his minute hand...
"You were so young."
He pulled back, a bit startled by her words and he looked at her with curiosity. "This isn't how this is supposed to go," he reminded her.
Buffy shrugged and nodded understandingly. "Oh I know, it just never really registered to me."
"It doesn't really make much of a difference though, does it?"
"I guess not..." Buffy trailed off sadly.
"Come on," he said as he tugged lightly on her dress, "I think we should go. He's waiting for us."
"I know, I know. I just can't get over it. You were so young when you died. I mean, you were just a child."
The Anointed One took a step back and grinned evilly. He gave Buffy a flash of fang and glint of yellow in his eyes. "Silly girl. You're never too young. Not even-"
Buffy awoke with a start, out of breath and with sweat dripping down the sides of her face. She inhaled deeply once, trying to calm herself down. It was not worth it getting herself all worked up over a stupid dream. Besides, at least she was finally back in her own bed.
She rolled over, hoping to be able to curl up in Spike's arms; this hope was crushed when she rolled over to find that Spike wasn't there. Panic set in and Buffy's breathing quickened. She coughed as she felt like her heart jumped into throat. Dream of the Anointed One mixed with waking up to find Spike gone, that couldn't be good.
"Stop it!" She commanded herself. "You're overreacting."
Then Buffy heard Dawn squeal loudly down the hall and she jumped out of bed. She walked into the hall and saw that the bathroom light was on and Dawn's soft groaning was coming from there. The Slayer approached the white-tiled room with caution to find a sight she was not at all expecting.
Dawn was sitting on the toilet seat with Spike hovering over her with a pair of tweezers. He was poking the tweezers at her forehead and she would wince and pull back each time they touched the sensitive area.
"What the hell are you doing?" Buffy asked angrily.
Dawn and Spike both jumped, and turned to look at Buffy who was raising an inquisitive eyebrow at them.
"I pulled a stitch," Dawn admitted, and her cheeks turned a bright pink, "Spike was helping." Dawn chewed on her lower lip and Buffy looked to Spike.
"Sorry, love, didn't mean to wake you. Dawn pulled a stitch and she was too much of a baby to just pull it out herself."
"I am not a baby!" She insisted as she gave the vampire a playful shove, "it stings."
"Dawn, you're chosen to protect the world from vampires and the like and you can't even pull a tiny thread out by yourself."
"Hey! No judging! I didn't want to aggravate the cut and you said you would help. These aren't the types of stitches that are supposed to come out by themselves."
"Well when are you supposed to get them taken out?"
"Uh... Friday. I'm supposed to go back to the hospital and have the doctors take them out."
"Yeah, well, it's Wednesday and I'm sure the doctors weren't counting on your super-human healing powers. Now sit still and-" Spike paused and looked at the door where Buffy was still standing completely still.
"Buffy?" She didn't reply, so Spike tried again. "Buffy? Love?"
"What?" She replied icily.
"I'm really sorry, pet. But it's okay, go back to bed. No worries."
"No worries? How can you say that? I'm having freaky dreams and you're not in the bed and Dawn's squealing down the hall-"
"Buffy, I'm really sorry," Dawn apologized quietly. "I won't make any more noise, I promise."
Buffy merely groaned angrily in response and marched from the bathroom. Neither Spike nor Dawn had any idea what was going on. Spike grabbed the tweezers harshly, and turned back to Dawn.
"Right. Perfect," he mumbled just loudly enough for Dawn to hear and he grabbed on to the tiny piece of thread and pulled it out with a sharp pinching pain. He looked at the small piece of thread with disgust and dropped it in the garbage. He looked like he wanted to do more than just calmly place the silver tools back on the sink counter. Dawn could tell by the way that he was clenching his jaw as he, without a word, left the bathroom.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
God, this was going to be hard.
Dawn took three deep breaths and opened her locker. It was almost time for him to walk around the corner of the hall and come to see her. They walked to AP Euro together right about now.
God, This was going to be hard.
Dawn pulled open the door to her locker and looked at the pictures she had put on the door. She looked at one of him looking at her. He was beautiful when he smiled. His whole face lit up, and of course that would make her light up inside as well. She pulled the picture off and put it face down at the back of the locker just as he came and tapped her on the shoulder.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, this was going to be so hard.
"Hey, Dawnie."
She shrugged away from his light touch and completely avoided his eyes as she said a soft, "Hey."
He tried to wrap his arms around her waist and she pulled away again, harder and more emphatically this time, hoping that he could take a hint. But of course he couldn't, he would never get what she was trying to tell him.
"Please don't do that," she asked of him quietly.
"Oh I see," David laughed light-heartedly, "playing hard to get, huh? Very hot."
Dawn turned around and put on her angriest face. "No! I mean stop!"
Dave pulled back, confusion and hurt flaring in his bright blue eyes. "Sorry."
"You should be!" She accused, but then softened her tone in a lame attempt to soften the blow. "I can't..."
"Can't what? Dawn, whatever it is-"
"I can't do this anymore."
"What do you mean you can't 'do this'?"
"I can't be with you. It just can't work."
"It is," he insisted, too shocked to say anything else, "it is working."
"No. I know you can't see it now, but you'll understand eventually."
"But I want to understand now!" He said angrily, "Dawn, I love you."
A burning sensation rose in Dawn's throat as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "No, you don't. You can't."
Before Dave could say another word she had turned her back on him and marched away. He stood staring, completely numbed by what had just happened. Dawn was walking away to so somewhere, anywhere but near him. She would just skip class, she decided, it would hurt too much otherwise.
"Oh God," she moaned painfully as she felt her heart break in two. That was so, so hard.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dawn stormed into the house and ran up the stairs with Janice following close behind. Janice closed Dawn's bedroom door lightly as she watched her best friend fall helplessly onto her bed. The desperate, painful sobs began again and Janice sat by Dawn's side to offer support in any way she could.
"Oh, Dawn..."
"It hurts so much, Janice. I'm so stupid, so..."
"I don't understand though. Why did you dump him?"
"It just can't work," Dawn choked the words as more tears slipped from her eyes, "Slayers aren't made for love."
"Oh," Janice said quietly, not at all understanding but knowing that this definitely wasn't the time to pry.
"I feel like I'm suffocating," Dawn gasped as she ran her fingers through her long, brown tresses. "I feel like the inside of me is just dying."
"It'll get better," Janice soothed, "I'm sure you made the right choice for yourself."
Dawn nodded in a way that told Janice she disagreed. She continued to cry choking sobs that shook her entire body painfully. Another wave of breathlessness shook Dawn and she grasped onto her comforter as she struggled for air.
"Oh God," she breathed lightly. Janice put her arms around Dawn and she held on as if her life depending on it.
"Come on, Summers," Janice said as gently as she could, "it's not the end of the world. Not this time anyway."
Dawn took a deep breath and stopped her tears for the time being. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and she felt like it was actually breaking. She wiped the tears from her cheeks as best she could and sighed. Her hands were shaking violently as the rest of her convulsed unintentionally.
"What if I never fall in love again?" She asked softly under her breath.
"What?"
Dawn exhaled a shuddering breath. "I know, this has to be the end."
TBC...
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YAY!!! Another chapter. Well... midterms are finally over (86 on chem baby, yeah!) Please review!!!