16
By quitting time, Rose was more than ready to go. How many people had Spike told? She'd scarcely gotten a thing done for all the well-wishers and the merely curious popping their heads into her office all afternoon. She was so distracted by the myriad thoughts whirling through her head that it didn't even register on her that the vehicle Spike was leading her to was not the sporty little number he usually drove (Not the Viper, he only liberated that for special occasions. Angel had been furious when Spike had taken it for their weekend away).
"What on earth is this?" The car seemed to Rose's inexperienced eye to be only a little smaller than one of the company limos.
"It's a car, a means of transportation," Spike hedged. A flippin' boat, he thought to himself. But he knew how reckless he could get when he was behind the wheel of a sports car. Most of the times they went out, Rose arrived white-faced and clutching the armrest for dear life. And that was most definitely not on, not now. He wasn't entirely sure how she'd gotten the baby in her belly, but he was going to do his damnedest to see that she didn't miscarry it. He handed her into the front seat as if she was made of spun glass.
As soon as he'd settled behind the steering wheel, Rose asked, "Do you suppose that you could teach me how to drive?"
Luckily, Spike hadn't even turned the key in the ignition yet. He turned to stare at her. "Why this sudden urge to learn to drive, pet?" he inquired cautiously.
"Well, I was thinking that it would be more convenient if both of us drove," Rose replied, trying to keep the tone light. Truth to tell, she wasn't at all enthusiastic about learning to drive in L.A. Being a passenger was bad enough.
"And on the rare occasion I may be too busy or not up to the job," Spike said, hating saying it, but for some reason hating the idea of Rose behind the wheel even worse. "Then you know my nancy-boy grandsire would be more than happy to send a car."
Rose frowned. "I hate constantly imposing on Angel, love. It just doesn't seem right when he allows us the use of a car..,"
"Can't just go to a car lot and get one with these hexy windows," Spike interrupted. "And the ponce can only drive one of them at a time."
"You don't want me to drive, do you?" she asked in a small voice, as he finally turned the engine over and started backing out of the parking spot.
"You don't really need to, sweetheart," Spike replied. "And with all the maniac drivers in L.A. I really don't feel comfortable with the thought of you out on the road."
"You drive like a maniac," she pointed out.
"I'm working on that," Spike said. "Babe, I really just want to do what's best for you. For our baby. To keep you both safe."
Rose had been about to make some remark about him wanting to keep her dependent, but his last comment just caused her to melt into a puddle of sentimental goo. "If you feel that strongly about it, darling, I won't harp on the subject."
Spike heaved a mental sigh. He'd been worried that she would back him into a corner about it and force him to either teach her to drive or deliver a flat refusal. But best get totally away from the subject for now. "Do we have anything in the fridge that's fit for you to eat, luv?" He usually didn't pay much attention, since all he really needed was blood. But it did occur to him that Rose had a tendency towards convenience foods. She really needed more nutritious fare now.
"We just went shopping a couple of days ago," Rose pointed out. "I've scarcely eaten anything recently. Too nauseous. So there's plenty of food."
"I mean good stuff," Spike explained. "Not that pre-packaged frozen crap you usually eat. You've got to take care with your diet, sweetheart. Did the doctor by any chance give you a diet to follow?"
Rose thought for a moment. "I don't know," she admitted. "There were an awful lot of papers, and I just haven't had time to go through them all. But if all the things I eat aren't good for me, then why am I healthy? And why would it make any difference to the baby's health?"
Spike carefully negotiated the car into his usual parking spot. Bit more of a challenge with such a big car. He turned to face Rose, and just looked at her for a while. An activity he always enjoyed. But this whole baby thing was getting out of hand fast. She knew about demons from a-z, but damn all about human reproduction or even why the slop she'd been eating wasn't all that good for her. And no doubt, she had no clue about babies, either. Well, they were on even footing on that subject. He felt a cold chill. What did he know about raising a kid?
&&&&&&&&
Rose had never been so glad to get to the office. She'd thought all the well-intentioned busybodies were trial enough, but the way Spike had hovered over her all night had been the dizzy limit. And then, he hadn't even.., Well, he said they couldn't, because of the baby. As soon as she was safely locked in her office, she called the doctor.
&&&&&&&&
"Sorry to bother you, Rose," Angel apologized, as he ushered Rose to a seat in his office. "But I thought we ought to talk."
Rose sighed. "It's because of the baby, isn't it?" she asked. "Is an impending birth always like this? Everyone asking questions and just generally wanting to know how it happened?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure that the last part doesn't hold true," he remarked. "With a human couple, they know exactly how it happened. If people here seem to be overly concerned, it's only because they know how unlikely it is. In fact, most people would think it completely impossible that you could have gotten pregnant by a vampire."
Rose stared at him pointedly. "You and Darla had a baby," she pointed out.
"I didn't know if you knew that or not," Angel confessed. "I never know what you do and don't remember from when you were one of The Powers."
"I know," she said quietly. "And I know what was involved in it, and the sacrifice you made just to see your son happy, Angel. But I'm not evil. I haven't been taken over by anything evil, I'm sure of it."
"I'm not saying that you are," he replied. "But something or someone very powerful must have taken a hand to get you pregnant."
"You don't suppose..," Rose let her voice trail off suggestively. "I mean, we were never supposed to interfere with personal lives except as how they affected the larger picture, but they could do it."
"The rest of The Powers?" Angel was stunned. It was so simple. And extremely plausible. He could well believe that The Powers That Be were still looking after one of their own. "I suppose that I ought to warn you, though," he added. "That since most people believe that it's impossible for Spike to have gotten you pregnant, that they're going to think that someone else did."
"I would never do anything like that!" Rose blurted out indignantly.
"I know that," he replied in soothing tones. "I'm just trying to prepare you for the small minds that are always more than willing to believe the worst. You and Spike have caused more office gossip than just about anyone else around here, and there are bound to be a few uncharitable tongues wagging. I thought you ought to know about it. My advice on the subject is to just ignore them. If you react, you just feed the fire."
Rose mulled it over for a moment, mostly working out the metaphor. "You're saying that if I tell them that they're ill-mannered and graceless that it just encourages them?"
Angel nodded. "Exactly."
"Maybe you could explain something else to me, then," Rose commented. "Why is Spike acting so strangely all of a sudden? He doesn't want me to come to work, he doesn't think I should pick up anything as heavy as my briefcase. I can't eat what I used to eat. I can't use the lavatory without him asking me if something is wrong. And I had to call the doctor today to find out if we could, well, if..," She faltered and blushed.
"Spike said that you couldn't have sex?" Angel asked. He'd known Spike for quite a number of years, and had never known him to turn down the opportunity to have sex.
Rose blushed even more furiously and nodded. "And the doctor said there wasn't a problem. So why would Spike think that there was?"
"Much as I hate to admit it," Angel remarked. "I think Spike is doing his very best to take care of you and the baby. So, even if it is a little awkward, give him some slack on this one Rose. He really doesn't know much more about it than you do." He paused. "Did you have any more questions?"
Rose thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Do you think I'm starting to look fat?" she asked.
&&&&&&&&&
Rose did break down and ask Angel for the use of a chauffeured car during her lunch break. She came trudging back into her office with an armload of books.
"I'm pretty sure that you don't need all those for researching that prophecy," Wesley remarked. "And if you feel a need for more research materials, you don't need to spend your own money on it."
"These aren't for the prophecy," Rose replied, unceremoniously dumping the books on her desk. "They're for my own personal use."
Unable to resist, Wesley started picking up books and reading titles. "Early Childcare. What to Expect When You're Expecting. Bonding With Your Baby. The Obstetrician's Handbook. Do you really think you need all this, Rose?"
"I don't know anything about children, except that they're smaller and generally cuter than adults," Rose wailed. "I don't even know about any of the changes that my body is going through except that there's another life growing in it. Do you think I need those books, Wesley?"
"Point taken," the Watcher replied. "But I think you may be going just a bit overboard, Rose." He suddenly gave her an accusing look. "Have you been online?"
"Just one site," Rose confessed in a small voice. "I really do want to know what is going on."
"And what did you find out on that site?" Wesley had a sudden sinking feeling about the whole thing.
"What could go wrong in a pregnancy," she mumbled. "It was very.., disquieting."
"You probably shouldn't have looked at that," Wesley remarked. "Rose, has your doctor said anything about there being any sort of complications in your pregnancy?"
"No," she admitted. "But I thought..,"
"What, that you'd frighten yourself half to death?" he asked. "Stop borrowing trouble, and just concentrate on the advice that your doctor has given you." He glanced over at the books again. "And once you get that prophecy sorted out, you might consider chatting to some mothers of young children. I'm sure that you'll get much more practical advice than you will out of that horror site you visited or the tomes of child care manuals."
"Do you really think so?" Rose inquired.
"I really do," Wes answered. He looked at his watch. "We've already wasted about ten minutes of company time, so I'd suggest that we get back to work."
&&&&&&&&
Spike was channel surfing, trying to find some sort of distraction. Problem was, Rose was enough to distract him from everything. He heard the bedroom door creak ever so softly on its hinges, and spared a thought to wonder what Rose had been up to. But he didn't look until Rose, clad in a clingy satin nightdress placed herself squarely between him and the t.v.
"Just what are you up to, babe?" It was a stall tactic, and not much of one at that. It was pretty damn obvious what she was up to.
"I called the doctor from work today," she murmured, sliding down into his lap. Her arms went around his neck, and she started nibbling on his ear.
"Rose, didn't we talk about this last night?" Spike asked a little desperately. It wasn't like she had to go to this much trouble to turn him on. "What are you doing?"
"I'm seducing you," Rose whispered in his ear. "The doctor said that it's all right. We won't have to stop until the last few weeks."
"But.., but..," Spike was at a total loss. He was trying to do what was best for Rose and their baby. And somewhere in the back of his mind was something that said a pregnant woman shouldn't be having sex. And sod what the bloody doctor said.
Rose abandoned his ear and was working her way down his neck, alternating kisses and nibbles. Spike groaned, his good intentions went to the four winds and he gave in to the inevitable.