Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox,
etc... except of course the ones I make up. Oh, I also don't own ~Julius
Caesar~...
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.
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FAMILY
Chapter 30: The Valiant
Dawn felt every small bump in the road as she was lying limply in Willow's lap on the way to the hospital. Her body ached even worse than before though she didn't think that that was possible. She decided that overall, it was probably good that she could still feel pain because that meant she could still feel.
She opened her eyes every now and then to look down her body at the damages, hoping that somehow they'd be better with the next glance. She swore that each time she looked at her hand her fingers were swollen even worse than before. She cursed those vampires for what they did to her and what they put Buffy through... and also for completely destroying her favorite jacket that was now no more than shreds of leather clinging to her body. That jacket had been a gift from Buffy and she thoroughly enjoyed knowing that the vamps got their asses thoroughly kicked.
Dawn had been so lost in her train of thought that she only noticed her being at the hospital when Xander came around and opened the back door. She looked up at him with glazed eyes and he smiled weakly at her as he gingerly picked her up into his arms. Willow grabbed the keys from him as she ran into the front seat and drove off in his car to find parking. Meanwhile, Xander continued to carry her into the emergency room.
"I need help!" He called out eagerly, as a doctor ran up to him to look at the bloody mess he was holding in his arms.
"Somebody get me a gurney!" He yelled out to whoever might be listening, who fortunately was a team of doctors and nurses who came immediately to their aid. Xander put her down gently and Dawn flinched as she felt her weight being shifted. Even the slightest bit of movement felt like she was being beaten with bricks. As the gurney rolled away. She soon lost sight of Xander who was being kept back for questioning.
"Can you tell me what happened, sir?"
Xander shook his head in angry and flustered confusion. "Huh? Uh. she was attacked, I guess."
"You guess? Were you with her at the time?"
"No, I found her on the front lawn."
"I see. And how do you know her?"
"Family friend."
"Okay, well, will you be able to give me personal information concerning..."
"Dawn... Summers. And yes, I can but she's been here before so it should all be in your... record stuff," Xander replied hurried, trying to keep as cool of a head as possible.
"Was this a recent visit?
"Yes... uh... February."
"I see. All right, then. I'm still gonna need you to-"
"Where is she?" A distressed Willow asked as she ran toward Xander from the front door of the emergency room.
"They took her, Will, into the room-thingie where I guess they're gonna work on her."
"Excuse me, who are you?" The doctor asked, looking irritated.
"Uh... Willow Rosenberg."
"A friend. I see... do either of you live with... Ms. Summers?"
"Yes. I do," Willow informed him.
"Okay. Are you her legal guardian?"
Willow nodded. "Yes, I am," she told him coolly. Technically, no, she wasn't, but according to the papers she created during the summer that Buffy was away, she was. She never had lost her knack for breaking into various computer systems, and breaking into that of the state government was one of her greatest achievements.
"Look, can we please go see her?"
"I don't think so, not yet anyway. From the looks of it, she might be in there a while."
Tears filled Willow's already red and bloodshot eyes. Xander wrapped a comforting arm around her waist but still the redhead continued to cry. Xander gave her a compassionate squeeze around the middle to which Willow responded by leaning on his shoulder.
"Why don't you two go wait in chairs, and I'll get you as soon as there's any progress."
Xander nodded. "All right, Doctor-"
"Meade."
"Right, Dr. Meade. Thank you."
He nodded politely. "Of course."
Xander took Willow's hand in his and led her to chairs where they were told to wait. He sat down and his best friend slowly did the same. She seemed to be functioning at a different rate than she normally did. Not that he could blame her, of course. It was taking all of his energy to keep going at the rate he was.
"How do you do this?" Willow asked, startling Xander.
"Do what?"
"Keep so cool."
Xander shrugged. "Practice?"
"She's going to be okay, right? Xander, tell me she's going to be all right."
Xander put his arm around Willow and held her for a few long moments of silence before he pressed a chaste kiss upon her forehead.
"I can't make any promises, Will, but I have a good feeling. I mean, she is a slayer after all. They're pretty tough chicks."
"Poor Buffy. I mean, it was enough just bringing this baby to term, and now... this, tonight, everything that just happened... do you think it was even worth it. Worth all the trouble that she and Dawn and Spike and everyone have been suffering through?"
Xander took a second to consider what his answer should be to this delicate question. He realized the response once he thought about how he felt about his own son.
"It may not seem this way now, but once Buffy has that baby put into her arms, every second and hardship of the past nine months will seem insignificant compared to the feeling of having her child."
Willow nodded understandingly. "God, Xander, you're such a dad."
He smiled at her and choked a short laugh. "Yeah. Scary, isn't it?"
~*~
For Buffy, the ride to the hospital was a blur of nearly breaking Spike's fingers and trying to reach her dad at almost two o'clock in the morning. Her heart was racing and she knew that couldn't be good for her or for the baby. She could tell that Spike was listening and that he didn't approve from the reproachful looks that he was throwing in Buffy's direction. She tried to ignore these glares as well as the nagging feeling of dread tying her stomach in knots. Dawn's being in the hospital and Buffy's going into labor made for a bad combination.
Just after reaching her father and hanging up the phone, her cell rang and the caller ID told her that it was Tara.
"Hello?"
"Buffy?"
"Yeah, Tara, it's me."
"Oh thank God!" She cried into the phone. "I was completely freaking. Are you all right?"
"I'm as okay as I can get right now," Buffy sighed, "but Dawnie..."
"I know," Tara informed her. "I just got a call from Willow. She's in the waiting room. She told me to try and call you and tell you that the doctors are working on her and we don't know anything yet."
Buffy took a few endless moments to take this information in. Dawn had, at least, made it to the hospital. She wasn't dead... she was being worked on. Worked on? What the hell does that mean? Buffy's thoughts were trampling loudly across her mind and it took Tara's shouting into the phone to pull Buffy back.
"Buffy!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm here."
"All right, well, I'm just getting into the car now. Anya said that she would come but with the baby..."
Buffy nodded. "I understand."
"Okay, well, I'll be at the hospital in about twenty minutes. I'll check in on Dawn and then bring you any news that I can."
Buffy felt a wave of sudden relief come over her. Tara was so considerate and warm and, well, motherly that it... in a way... made Buffy feel protected and cared for... as if it were her mother there doing it.
She smiled. "Thank you so much, Tara."
"Of course. Be well."
"I'll try."
Tara hung up the phone as did Buffy just as they arrived at the hospital. The contractions had stopped for the time being. Spike and Giles brought Buffy into the Maternity Ward of the hospital and just as they reached the reception desk, Buffy felt another contraction coming on. She felt weak at the knees as the pain shot through her back and abdomen, and she leaned on Spike for support as Giles announced her arrival. A wheelchair was brought immediately and she was rolled away to her room.
By the time the three of them reached Buffy's room for the next few days, her contraction had more or less passed. Buffy changed into her hospital gown and got into the rather uncomfortable bed. She shifted her weight around and groaned.
"This sucks," she whined.
"Sorry to hear that, love," Spike sympathized.
Buffy leaned back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. Though the contraction had passed, the ache of being in the dark about her sister's condition was weighing down heavily upon her. Spike and Giles both sensed this and gave each other uncomfortable looks, not sure what they could possibly say since their own worries were taking them over.
"Is there anything I can get you?" Giles asked after many moments of cheerless silence. Buffy simply opened her eyes and shook her head.
"No. Thanks."
Giles took a seat by the window and Spike pulled one up beside the bed. He sat down and took Buffy's hand. He opened his mouth to try and say something even remotely comforting when he was startled by the sudden entry of two very flustered witches.
"You would not believe how difficult it was to find you," Willow informed them all as she threw her bag onto the empty bed on the other side of the room. "I mean, this is not a wing of the hospital that I've only, you know, been to once before."
"And if anyone asks," Tara said in a hushed tone, "we're your second cousins."
Buffy smiled, happier than she could say to see Willow and Tara in the room with her. Spike stood to greet them as did Giles. Tara spoke to the men quietly as Willow walked straight to Buffy's bed. The witch put her arms around Buffy and embraced her tightly.
"Oh Will, I can't even tell you how glad I am that you're here."
"Yeah," Willow sniffled, "me too."
As they pulled back, the two women both wiped their eyes and smiled. Willow took Buffy's hand and held it tightly.
"How are you?"
"I'm doing okay," Buffy answered simply. "Dawn?"
Willow grinned widely. "Is going to be fine."
Buffy felt as if a huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. The feeling that she had at that moment was inexplicable. Just knowing that in the end, her sister would be all right made everything seem okay.
"But?" Buffy asked, knowing that that couldn't be the end of it.
"But... she does have some major injuries."
"As I expected," Buffy said with a nod, "what's the damage?"
"A broken arm, two fractured ribs, chipped cheekbone, there was bleeding into her stomach which they repaired and... um... just bruising all over," Tara explained to Spike and Giles quietly as Willow, she was sure, was doing the same for Buffy.
"I have to go see her," Spike stated softly.
Tars smiled. "I'm sure that she would love that," she told him. "Xander is with her right now, and you can go see her too, I'm sure." Tara continued by giving him Dawn's room number and directions of how to get there.
"Right," Spike said with a slight dip of his head. He seemed disconcerted, which of course, was no more than Tara had expected. Spike nodded his gratitude and walked over to Buffy.
"I'm gonna go check on the L'il Bit, let her know what's going on at this end, that okay?"
Buffy nodded. "Of course."
Spike tried to smile but his whole body was two tired to even allow his lips to curl upward reassuringly.
"Right, then," he muttered and he placed a gentle kissed on Buffy's lips before exiting the room to head for the other Summers girl.
~*~
Spike stood in the doorway of Dawn's hospital room for a few, long moments full of complete dread. If he could have helped it, Spike would rather never have had to see Dawn the way he had when he arrived on the front lawn. There were very few things in the world that mattered to Spike as much as Dawn did and seeing such a strong, powerful girl looking... beaten... it broke his heart.
He pulled down gently on the door handle until it clicked and he pushed it open. The first thing he saw was a sleeping girl, eleven or twelve years old, with all sorts of tubes connected to her arms and chest, sleeping on a hospital bed. He caught the eye of who he assumed was the girl's mother and she smiled kindly before turning her gaze back down on the book she was reading.
Spike continued looking around the room and his eyes fell upon the black mass of hair that was the back of Xander's head. It was rumpled and messed from what Spike figured was a result of Xander running his fingers through his hair repeatedly in frustration, which Spike understood. Xander and Dawn were talking quietly, Spike couldn't see Dawn's face but he could hear her voice carrying over to his ears. He could also sense that her heartbeat and breathing were both much stronger since last he had heard them. Some relief came from this and a slight smirk spread across his handsome features just as Xander craned his neck to see who had entered the room. He turned back to Dawn, muttered a few inaudible words and gave her a kiss on the forehead before walking over to Spike.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"You okay?"
Spike shrugged. "I'm all right, yeah. You?"
"Same old, same old," Xander told him with a roll of his eyes. "How's Buffy?"
"She's fine. Worried out of her mind about the Bit but, she's, you know, progressing with the labor and all."
"Yeah? How's that going?"
Spike furrowed his brow. "Fine, I guess. I mean, she's got quite a few hours before we can expect the baby to be born so I wanted to check in on Dawn while I had the chance."
"That's a good idea," Xander agreed with a nod. "Well, I'll let you two have a moment and go visit Buffy. Hank is on the way and he should be here soon. Uh... someone will come down in a while, I'm sure, so that you can get back to Buffy and Dawn doesn't have to be alone."
"Right," Spike agreed quietly, his brain still moving much slower than usual. He shook the fatigue from his eyes before looking back at the man standing in front of him. He directed Xander to Buffy's room, was thanked, and left alone with Dawn.
He got his first real glimpse of her in that moment and to his surprise, she didn't look half as bad as he had expected. She was cleaned up for one thing; the dirt and grime had been washed away. She had been changed into a clean hospital gown and her hair had been taken out of the sloppy bun and now fell lazily about the pillow that had been propped under her head. Spike smiled as reassuringly as he could as he approached her bed and sat beside it.
"Hey there," he cooed almost silently as he placed his hand on top of her uninjured one.
Dawn smiled. "Hey."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, not sure of what to say to each other. The last time they had really spoken, they had been furious with each other. The anger had completely melted away from both parties and as Spike looked at Dawn all he felt was his unwavering sense of brotherly love and the feeling that he had failed in his duty to protect her. He chose not to say anything along these lines because in all likeliness it would just upset the girl, and she had certainly had enough upset for one night. Instead, Spike simply continued to stroke Dawn's small wrist with his thumb, and wait for her to speak.
"How's Buffy?" She finally asked.
"She good, doing well that is. Terribly worried over you, as you may expect."
"I'm okay," Dawn smiled, "just a few scratches."
Spike had to fight back the tears threatening to fall. He couldn't break down in front of Dawn, not now after everything. He was just moved by her courageous attempt to protect her sister from further upset.
"What you did tonight," Spike began, his voice cracking ever so slightly, "It was very brave."
Dawn choked a submissive laugh and when she was done, a small smile remained on her face. "Cowards die many times before their deaths..."
"The valiant never taste of death but once," Spike finished her thought. "Caesar was a cocky bastard, wasn't he?"
"Yeah. And he wasn't even right."
"What do you mean?"
"It goes on: Blah, blah, it seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come. He was wrong."
"About...?"
"Fearing death. You don't, or you shouldn't... Do you?"
Spike took a moment before answering this question. "Not for myself, no."
"It doesn't come for you, it never will as long as you avoid pointy wood and sunlight."
"Just because I don't fear dying myself, doesn't mean I don't fear death."
"What do you-" Dawn stopped herself mid-sentence. "Oh."
They sat in silence for a another few moments until Spike let out a long, shuddering sigh as he applied gentle pressure to Dawn's hand.
"If anything had happened to you... worse than-"
"But it didn't," Dawn interrupted. "You came for me. I thought... I thought I was going to die but you still came for me."
"I will always come for you, Dawn," Spike said directly. Tears were forming behind his eyes once more as he again thought of how close he had come to losing Dawn. "I made a promise to protect you, to take care of you, to your sister a long time ago. If there is any promise in my entire existence that matters to me above all others... it is that."
A few salty tears fell from Dawn's eyes down her cheeks as she listened to Spike's words. It meant so much to her to know that she would always have him there for her, not that she ever doubted it before. It had just been so energy and time consuming being angry at him and having him angry at her that she felt great relief in knowing that they were on good terms again. It may have taken her almost dying for this to happen but... that wasn't so unusual.
Spike gently wiped a few tears off of Dawn's cheeks. "It's all right now, Nibblet. No need for tears and such."
"I know," Dawn whispered. "I've just had a really rough night."
Spike couldn't help but smile. "I know. Why don't you get some rest now, love."
Dawn gave a slight nod, or at least that which her aching neck and back would allow. "All right," she agreed easily. "But stay with me."
Spike removed his hand from Dawn's cheek so that he could place it back on top of hers.
"Always."
~*~
TBC...
~*~
Okay. Only three more chapters to go! Please bear with me in the final stages... Thanks!
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.
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FAMILY
Chapter 30: The Valiant
Dawn felt every small bump in the road as she was lying limply in Willow's lap on the way to the hospital. Her body ached even worse than before though she didn't think that that was possible. She decided that overall, it was probably good that she could still feel pain because that meant she could still feel.
She opened her eyes every now and then to look down her body at the damages, hoping that somehow they'd be better with the next glance. She swore that each time she looked at her hand her fingers were swollen even worse than before. She cursed those vampires for what they did to her and what they put Buffy through... and also for completely destroying her favorite jacket that was now no more than shreds of leather clinging to her body. That jacket had been a gift from Buffy and she thoroughly enjoyed knowing that the vamps got their asses thoroughly kicked.
Dawn had been so lost in her train of thought that she only noticed her being at the hospital when Xander came around and opened the back door. She looked up at him with glazed eyes and he smiled weakly at her as he gingerly picked her up into his arms. Willow grabbed the keys from him as she ran into the front seat and drove off in his car to find parking. Meanwhile, Xander continued to carry her into the emergency room.
"I need help!" He called out eagerly, as a doctor ran up to him to look at the bloody mess he was holding in his arms.
"Somebody get me a gurney!" He yelled out to whoever might be listening, who fortunately was a team of doctors and nurses who came immediately to their aid. Xander put her down gently and Dawn flinched as she felt her weight being shifted. Even the slightest bit of movement felt like she was being beaten with bricks. As the gurney rolled away. She soon lost sight of Xander who was being kept back for questioning.
"Can you tell me what happened, sir?"
Xander shook his head in angry and flustered confusion. "Huh? Uh. she was attacked, I guess."
"You guess? Were you with her at the time?"
"No, I found her on the front lawn."
"I see. And how do you know her?"
"Family friend."
"Okay, well, will you be able to give me personal information concerning..."
"Dawn... Summers. And yes, I can but she's been here before so it should all be in your... record stuff," Xander replied hurried, trying to keep as cool of a head as possible.
"Was this a recent visit?
"Yes... uh... February."
"I see. All right, then. I'm still gonna need you to-"
"Where is she?" A distressed Willow asked as she ran toward Xander from the front door of the emergency room.
"They took her, Will, into the room-thingie where I guess they're gonna work on her."
"Excuse me, who are you?" The doctor asked, looking irritated.
"Uh... Willow Rosenberg."
"A friend. I see... do either of you live with... Ms. Summers?"
"Yes. I do," Willow informed him.
"Okay. Are you her legal guardian?"
Willow nodded. "Yes, I am," she told him coolly. Technically, no, she wasn't, but according to the papers she created during the summer that Buffy was away, she was. She never had lost her knack for breaking into various computer systems, and breaking into that of the state government was one of her greatest achievements.
"Look, can we please go see her?"
"I don't think so, not yet anyway. From the looks of it, she might be in there a while."
Tears filled Willow's already red and bloodshot eyes. Xander wrapped a comforting arm around her waist but still the redhead continued to cry. Xander gave her a compassionate squeeze around the middle to which Willow responded by leaning on his shoulder.
"Why don't you two go wait in chairs, and I'll get you as soon as there's any progress."
Xander nodded. "All right, Doctor-"
"Meade."
"Right, Dr. Meade. Thank you."
He nodded politely. "Of course."
Xander took Willow's hand in his and led her to chairs where they were told to wait. He sat down and his best friend slowly did the same. She seemed to be functioning at a different rate than she normally did. Not that he could blame her, of course. It was taking all of his energy to keep going at the rate he was.
"How do you do this?" Willow asked, startling Xander.
"Do what?"
"Keep so cool."
Xander shrugged. "Practice?"
"She's going to be okay, right? Xander, tell me she's going to be all right."
Xander put his arm around Willow and held her for a few long moments of silence before he pressed a chaste kiss upon her forehead.
"I can't make any promises, Will, but I have a good feeling. I mean, she is a slayer after all. They're pretty tough chicks."
"Poor Buffy. I mean, it was enough just bringing this baby to term, and now... this, tonight, everything that just happened... do you think it was even worth it. Worth all the trouble that she and Dawn and Spike and everyone have been suffering through?"
Xander took a second to consider what his answer should be to this delicate question. He realized the response once he thought about how he felt about his own son.
"It may not seem this way now, but once Buffy has that baby put into her arms, every second and hardship of the past nine months will seem insignificant compared to the feeling of having her child."
Willow nodded understandingly. "God, Xander, you're such a dad."
He smiled at her and choked a short laugh. "Yeah. Scary, isn't it?"
~*~
For Buffy, the ride to the hospital was a blur of nearly breaking Spike's fingers and trying to reach her dad at almost two o'clock in the morning. Her heart was racing and she knew that couldn't be good for her or for the baby. She could tell that Spike was listening and that he didn't approve from the reproachful looks that he was throwing in Buffy's direction. She tried to ignore these glares as well as the nagging feeling of dread tying her stomach in knots. Dawn's being in the hospital and Buffy's going into labor made for a bad combination.
Just after reaching her father and hanging up the phone, her cell rang and the caller ID told her that it was Tara.
"Hello?"
"Buffy?"
"Yeah, Tara, it's me."
"Oh thank God!" She cried into the phone. "I was completely freaking. Are you all right?"
"I'm as okay as I can get right now," Buffy sighed, "but Dawnie..."
"I know," Tara informed her. "I just got a call from Willow. She's in the waiting room. She told me to try and call you and tell you that the doctors are working on her and we don't know anything yet."
Buffy took a few endless moments to take this information in. Dawn had, at least, made it to the hospital. She wasn't dead... she was being worked on. Worked on? What the hell does that mean? Buffy's thoughts were trampling loudly across her mind and it took Tara's shouting into the phone to pull Buffy back.
"Buffy!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm here."
"All right, well, I'm just getting into the car now. Anya said that she would come but with the baby..."
Buffy nodded. "I understand."
"Okay, well, I'll be at the hospital in about twenty minutes. I'll check in on Dawn and then bring you any news that I can."
Buffy felt a wave of sudden relief come over her. Tara was so considerate and warm and, well, motherly that it... in a way... made Buffy feel protected and cared for... as if it were her mother there doing it.
She smiled. "Thank you so much, Tara."
"Of course. Be well."
"I'll try."
Tara hung up the phone as did Buffy just as they arrived at the hospital. The contractions had stopped for the time being. Spike and Giles brought Buffy into the Maternity Ward of the hospital and just as they reached the reception desk, Buffy felt another contraction coming on. She felt weak at the knees as the pain shot through her back and abdomen, and she leaned on Spike for support as Giles announced her arrival. A wheelchair was brought immediately and she was rolled away to her room.
By the time the three of them reached Buffy's room for the next few days, her contraction had more or less passed. Buffy changed into her hospital gown and got into the rather uncomfortable bed. She shifted her weight around and groaned.
"This sucks," she whined.
"Sorry to hear that, love," Spike sympathized.
Buffy leaned back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. Though the contraction had passed, the ache of being in the dark about her sister's condition was weighing down heavily upon her. Spike and Giles both sensed this and gave each other uncomfortable looks, not sure what they could possibly say since their own worries were taking them over.
"Is there anything I can get you?" Giles asked after many moments of cheerless silence. Buffy simply opened her eyes and shook her head.
"No. Thanks."
Giles took a seat by the window and Spike pulled one up beside the bed. He sat down and took Buffy's hand. He opened his mouth to try and say something even remotely comforting when he was startled by the sudden entry of two very flustered witches.
"You would not believe how difficult it was to find you," Willow informed them all as she threw her bag onto the empty bed on the other side of the room. "I mean, this is not a wing of the hospital that I've only, you know, been to once before."
"And if anyone asks," Tara said in a hushed tone, "we're your second cousins."
Buffy smiled, happier than she could say to see Willow and Tara in the room with her. Spike stood to greet them as did Giles. Tara spoke to the men quietly as Willow walked straight to Buffy's bed. The witch put her arms around Buffy and embraced her tightly.
"Oh Will, I can't even tell you how glad I am that you're here."
"Yeah," Willow sniffled, "me too."
As they pulled back, the two women both wiped their eyes and smiled. Willow took Buffy's hand and held it tightly.
"How are you?"
"I'm doing okay," Buffy answered simply. "Dawn?"
Willow grinned widely. "Is going to be fine."
Buffy felt as if a huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. The feeling that she had at that moment was inexplicable. Just knowing that in the end, her sister would be all right made everything seem okay.
"But?" Buffy asked, knowing that that couldn't be the end of it.
"But... she does have some major injuries."
"As I expected," Buffy said with a nod, "what's the damage?"
"A broken arm, two fractured ribs, chipped cheekbone, there was bleeding into her stomach which they repaired and... um... just bruising all over," Tara explained to Spike and Giles quietly as Willow, she was sure, was doing the same for Buffy.
"I have to go see her," Spike stated softly.
Tars smiled. "I'm sure that she would love that," she told him. "Xander is with her right now, and you can go see her too, I'm sure." Tara continued by giving him Dawn's room number and directions of how to get there.
"Right," Spike said with a slight dip of his head. He seemed disconcerted, which of course, was no more than Tara had expected. Spike nodded his gratitude and walked over to Buffy.
"I'm gonna go check on the L'il Bit, let her know what's going on at this end, that okay?"
Buffy nodded. "Of course."
Spike tried to smile but his whole body was two tired to even allow his lips to curl upward reassuringly.
"Right, then," he muttered and he placed a gentle kissed on Buffy's lips before exiting the room to head for the other Summers girl.
~*~
Spike stood in the doorway of Dawn's hospital room for a few, long moments full of complete dread. If he could have helped it, Spike would rather never have had to see Dawn the way he had when he arrived on the front lawn. There were very few things in the world that mattered to Spike as much as Dawn did and seeing such a strong, powerful girl looking... beaten... it broke his heart.
He pulled down gently on the door handle until it clicked and he pushed it open. The first thing he saw was a sleeping girl, eleven or twelve years old, with all sorts of tubes connected to her arms and chest, sleeping on a hospital bed. He caught the eye of who he assumed was the girl's mother and she smiled kindly before turning her gaze back down on the book she was reading.
Spike continued looking around the room and his eyes fell upon the black mass of hair that was the back of Xander's head. It was rumpled and messed from what Spike figured was a result of Xander running his fingers through his hair repeatedly in frustration, which Spike understood. Xander and Dawn were talking quietly, Spike couldn't see Dawn's face but he could hear her voice carrying over to his ears. He could also sense that her heartbeat and breathing were both much stronger since last he had heard them. Some relief came from this and a slight smirk spread across his handsome features just as Xander craned his neck to see who had entered the room. He turned back to Dawn, muttered a few inaudible words and gave her a kiss on the forehead before walking over to Spike.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"You okay?"
Spike shrugged. "I'm all right, yeah. You?"
"Same old, same old," Xander told him with a roll of his eyes. "How's Buffy?"
"She's fine. Worried out of her mind about the Bit but, she's, you know, progressing with the labor and all."
"Yeah? How's that going?"
Spike furrowed his brow. "Fine, I guess. I mean, she's got quite a few hours before we can expect the baby to be born so I wanted to check in on Dawn while I had the chance."
"That's a good idea," Xander agreed with a nod. "Well, I'll let you two have a moment and go visit Buffy. Hank is on the way and he should be here soon. Uh... someone will come down in a while, I'm sure, so that you can get back to Buffy and Dawn doesn't have to be alone."
"Right," Spike agreed quietly, his brain still moving much slower than usual. He shook the fatigue from his eyes before looking back at the man standing in front of him. He directed Xander to Buffy's room, was thanked, and left alone with Dawn.
He got his first real glimpse of her in that moment and to his surprise, she didn't look half as bad as he had expected. She was cleaned up for one thing; the dirt and grime had been washed away. She had been changed into a clean hospital gown and her hair had been taken out of the sloppy bun and now fell lazily about the pillow that had been propped under her head. Spike smiled as reassuringly as he could as he approached her bed and sat beside it.
"Hey there," he cooed almost silently as he placed his hand on top of her uninjured one.
Dawn smiled. "Hey."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, not sure of what to say to each other. The last time they had really spoken, they had been furious with each other. The anger had completely melted away from both parties and as Spike looked at Dawn all he felt was his unwavering sense of brotherly love and the feeling that he had failed in his duty to protect her. He chose not to say anything along these lines because in all likeliness it would just upset the girl, and she had certainly had enough upset for one night. Instead, Spike simply continued to stroke Dawn's small wrist with his thumb, and wait for her to speak.
"How's Buffy?" She finally asked.
"She good, doing well that is. Terribly worried over you, as you may expect."
"I'm okay," Dawn smiled, "just a few scratches."
Spike had to fight back the tears threatening to fall. He couldn't break down in front of Dawn, not now after everything. He was just moved by her courageous attempt to protect her sister from further upset.
"What you did tonight," Spike began, his voice cracking ever so slightly, "It was very brave."
Dawn choked a submissive laugh and when she was done, a small smile remained on her face. "Cowards die many times before their deaths..."
"The valiant never taste of death but once," Spike finished her thought. "Caesar was a cocky bastard, wasn't he?"
"Yeah. And he wasn't even right."
"What do you mean?"
"It goes on: Blah, blah, it seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come. He was wrong."
"About...?"
"Fearing death. You don't, or you shouldn't... Do you?"
Spike took a moment before answering this question. "Not for myself, no."
"It doesn't come for you, it never will as long as you avoid pointy wood and sunlight."
"Just because I don't fear dying myself, doesn't mean I don't fear death."
"What do you-" Dawn stopped herself mid-sentence. "Oh."
They sat in silence for a another few moments until Spike let out a long, shuddering sigh as he applied gentle pressure to Dawn's hand.
"If anything had happened to you... worse than-"
"But it didn't," Dawn interrupted. "You came for me. I thought... I thought I was going to die but you still came for me."
"I will always come for you, Dawn," Spike said directly. Tears were forming behind his eyes once more as he again thought of how close he had come to losing Dawn. "I made a promise to protect you, to take care of you, to your sister a long time ago. If there is any promise in my entire existence that matters to me above all others... it is that."
A few salty tears fell from Dawn's eyes down her cheeks as she listened to Spike's words. It meant so much to her to know that she would always have him there for her, not that she ever doubted it before. It had just been so energy and time consuming being angry at him and having him angry at her that she felt great relief in knowing that they were on good terms again. It may have taken her almost dying for this to happen but... that wasn't so unusual.
Spike gently wiped a few tears off of Dawn's cheeks. "It's all right now, Nibblet. No need for tears and such."
"I know," Dawn whispered. "I've just had a really rough night."
Spike couldn't help but smile. "I know. Why don't you get some rest now, love."
Dawn gave a slight nod, or at least that which her aching neck and back would allow. "All right," she agreed easily. "But stay with me."
Spike removed his hand from Dawn's cheek so that he could place it back on top of hers.
"Always."
~*~
TBC...
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Okay. Only three more chapters to go! Please bear with me in the final stages... Thanks!