147

Lorne glanced up and down the hall. So far, so good, no one coming who could call him back to the demands of work. He slipped into the elevator and pushed the button.

The door opened into a cloakroom/entryway which Lorne knew also contained probably every security device known to man and maybe a few that weren't. He knocked on the door which opened almost immediately. She must have seen from the system that someone was arriving, and in all likelihood, it even told her who it was.

He was barely in the doorway before she was all over him, giving him her pregnant version of a bear-hug. "It's wonderful to see you, Lorne," Rose said with real feeling.

Lorne gave her a peck on the cheek. "I've been missing you too, blossom, so I decided to play hooky for a while and see how you were doing. So, how are you doing?"

"I'm bored." Lorne had never seen that exact expression on Rose's face before. If he didn't know better, he'd say she was pouting. "Angel has the cleaning staff taking care of the tidying up, I suspect, at Spike's request. I don't dare even think of re-arranging the furniture, not that I'm sure I'd like it better elsewhere. I can't go out without an armed escort. And there's nothing on t.v. worth watching," Rose elaborated in a rush, then added, "Dumb doctor."

"Now, Rosebud," Lorne chided gently. "The doctor's just doing what he thinks is best for you and your two little cherubs." That abated the pout, but didn't banish it entirely. "Now why don't we turn that frown upside-down?"

That made Rose smile even though she really wasn't in the mood for it. "It is nice to see you, Lorne," she repeated. "I'm surprised you managed to get away in the middle of the day. You're usually so busy."

"I'm AWOL," the Pylean replied, lifting a finger to his lips. "Why don't you pop down for a visit once in a while, sweetpea? You've got the time."

"I'm not allowed." Rose's mood took a downturn again. "I've got a pair of very male vampires ganging up on me. They're both afraid that I'll either disrupt things and keep other people from getting work done, or that I'll do some actual work myself. Do you know I'm not even allowed to cook dinner for myself anymore?"

"If I recall, chicklet, you weren't exactly a gourmet chef," Lorne said gently.

"I am compared to Spike," Rose replied, the faint ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. "Soundproofing or not, I'm surprised everyone in the building hasn't heard some of the shouting matches."

"Shouting matches? You and the Spikester?" Lorne found it hard to believe.

"Spike has been getting more overprotective by the hour," Rose explained. Then, honesty forced her to add, "And I haven't been very easy to live with lately." She suddenly remembered her manners. "Can I get you something, Lorne?" Her eyes pleaded with him to say yes, to give her some little thing to do. Lorne already had a soft spot for Rose that was a mile wide, and he just couldn't say no to those eyes.

"Sure, blossom," he said. "The pipes are a bit dry, now that you mention it. A glass of water would go down good."

Rose looked askance at him. She couldn't recall ever having seen Lorne drink water, but she forbore comment on it. "Plain, or with bubbles or flavoring?" she asked.

"Whatever comes to hand, sugarplum," Lorne replied gaily, thinking that he was going to have to gag at least some of it down for politeness' sake.

Rose was back in a moment, carrying two glasses of clear liquid that hissed gently. "It's kiwi-strawberry," she informed him, taking a sip of hers.

Lorne followed suit and barely managed not to make a face. How in the names of all the gods did people manage to drink this swill? "Have you and the studly one made any progress on picking out names, lambkin?" he inquired.

Rose did make a face. "That's half the shouting matches," she admitted. "If we can't come to an agreement, we're not going to have names for them before they're born." There was an obvious movement under the maternity top, and Rose winced. "Hey, take it easy, you two," she admonished gently. "That hurts." She looked back to Lorne with a smile. "I think they're excited that you're here. They like you."

"The feeling's mutual, kiddies," Lorne crooned in the direction of her stomach. "Uncle Lorne can hardly wait to sing you lullabies."

Rose winced again. "Why don't you start now?" she suggested.

Lorne smiled. "Hush little baby, don't say a word Uncle Lorne's gonna buy you a mockingbird..,"

&&&&&&&

Spike was mildly surprised that Rose didn't meet him at the door as had become her habit since the o.b. had benched her. Oh well, he thought, maybe she was in the loo. It seemed the more active the kids got, the more trips she had to make to the bathroom.

Rose wasn't in the bathroom. She was sitting on the sofa festooned with mint green yarn.

Spike suppressed a laugh. She didn't look like she was in a laughing mood. "What on earth are you up to, luv?" he inquired.

"I'm trying to learn to crochet," she mumbled, trying to free herself from her unplanned cat's cradle. "I think Zelda lied to me. She said it was easy."

"What were you trying to make?" Spike wasn't even going to risk a guess on that one, until it became obvious. "Stuff for the kids?" He knelt in front of her and started unwinding yarn from her.

"Yes," Rose confessed. "But I don't think it's going to happen. Supposing that I actually do get the hang of this, they'll be adults before I finish it." She held up a lopsided something with a crochet hook hanging from it. "This does not look like the picture," she muttered.

Spike looked at the picture of the infant sweater, then looked a little closer at the instructions. "Sweetheart, it says expert skill level. You need to start out on the easy stuff first." He finished getting her untangled. "There, free at last. Don't I get a kiss for rescuing the damsel in distress?"

"Only if you come up here to get it," she told him. "My ribs are a little sore today, and I don't feel like bending over to reach you. Half the day it's felt like there's a fistfight going on in my stomach, and they won't settle down for anything."

"Hey there, you two," Spike spoke to Rose's bulging midsection. "If you don't settle down and behave yourselves, daddy won't sing to you tonight." He joined Rose up on the sofa. "I believe there was something mentioned about a kiss?"

"I believe there was," Rose agreed. "I do love you, Spike, even if I have been a pain lately." She gave him his kiss.

"I love you too, babe," Spike replied. He sat back and cuddled her close. "This is nice. What would you like for dinner, pet?"

Rose barely managed to suppress a groan.

&&&&&&&&

Angel sprang from behind his desk the moment he saw who was entering his office. "I thought the offices were off limits to you, Rose," he reminded her. It didn't keep him from getting her settled into a chair.

"I only came straight to your office," Rose protested. "I wanted to see how much it would cost me for a legal document."

Angel's eyebrows shot up. He couldn't imagine what sort of legal document Rose would think she needed. "What kind of document exactly?" he asked. "How expensive it is depends on what it is and how much work is entailed in getting it together."

"Spike and I finally decided on names," she informed him. "And I want it in writing, in a legal contract so he can't change his mind. I am not going through all that fuss again."

"Rose, I don't think you really need a contract for that," Angel protested. "I think Spike is just as tired of arguing on the subject as you are." Then, more immediate concerns took over. "What did you decide on?"

"Alaric William and Ariel Vivienne," Rose said. "We finally divided it up. I chose his name and Spike chose hers."

"How did you manage to slip William in on him?" Angel was curious. Spike had seemed to be pretty adamant about not using it.

Rose smiled slyly. "I hit him at a weak moment," she murmured. "I'm sure you don't want the details."

"I'm sure you're right," he agreed with a weak smile. He already knew far more about Spike and Rose's love life than any sane person would want to. "They're nice names, Rose. You do realize that being twins, people are probably going to shorten them to Ali and Ari, don't you?"

"I hadn't thought of that," Rose admitted. "But I kind of like it. They go together." She paused in thought for a moment. "Please don't forget them, Liam," she requested. "I want some kind of back-up in case Spike changes his mind."

"I'll even write them down," he offered. "How are you spelling them?" He didn't mind doing this little thing if it brought a little peace to her life. But she still didn't know Spike if she thought he was likely to change his mind. Changing Spike's mind was like trying to change the tides.

&&&&&&&

Rose was bored again. She was sitting with the television on, doing what Spike referred to as channel surfing, but nothing appealed. Then, she stopped cold and went back a channel. She didn't realize that there were shows like this. They were actually going to show a woman giving birth. Rose knew about the mechanics from her reading, but seeing it had to be different. She decided to watch it.

&&&&&&&

"Ms. Powers is here to see you, sir," one of the men informed Spike as he sat in his office wrestling with the bloody monthly reports.

Spike was immediately on his feet. "Is it the babies?" he asked anxiously, even though it was way early for Rose to be in labor.

The man shook his head. "I don't think so, but she does seem to be upset. Shall I send her in?"

But Spike was already shoving past him. Rose had never come down here before. "Rose, what's wrong, babe?" Her face was tear streaked, and she was still sniffling. He took her in his arms and found that she was trembling too.

"I can't do it, Spike," she moaned. "It didn't sound so bad in the book, they called them contractions, and it all sounded very clinical and neat. But that woman was screaming in pain."

"Wait a minute," Spike said. "What woman? And what are you talking about?"

"It was on the t.v.," Rose sniffled. "I watched a woman giving birth. And she only had one baby. I'm carrying two of them. Does that mean it's going to be twice as bad?"

The pieces clicked into place for Spike. "If it was all that terrible, sweetheart," he murmured. "Do you think there'd be so many women with more than one kid? And as far as you not being able to do it, I don't think you've got much of a choice at this point." He tipped her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. "You do want our kids, don't you?"

A tear trickled down her cheek. "Of course I do, darling. But I'm so scared. I don't think I can stand that sort of pain."

Spike wiped the tears away. "I don't know what to tell you, luv," he admitted. "But you've got another doctor's visit next week. Why don't you ask him about it? After all, he's probably delivered more babies than you've even seen."

"Okay," Rose replied with a leftover sniffle. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but watching that really rattled me."

Spike privately thought it would have rattled him too. "It's okay, pet," he assured her. "You're a hell of a lot more important to me than the job. Are you going to be all right now, or should I just chuck it in for the day?"

"I'll be all right," she mumbled. "But I wouldn't complain if you could manage to make it home a little early today."

"When it's your welfare involved," Spike replied. "I don't think even the ponce would mind me kicking off early. I'll see you in a few hours then, babe." He kissed her. "Do you need someone to walk you home?"

Rose pulled herself out of his arms. "Oh for heaven's sake," she snapped. "You really are the dizzy limit, Spike." She turned and flounced out. Or at least as close to it as she could come.

Spike rubbed his chin, musing. Then, he said aloud. "You just gotta love those mood swings."

&&&&&&

Angel came upon Wesley leaving his office. The Watcher was toying with a small piece of paper, twiddling it between his fingers and frowning over it.

"Something important?" he asked.

Wes smiled. "Not really," he replied. "It's just my slip for the baby pool. I'm wondering if I should have chosen another date."

"Baby pool? What baby pool?" It was the first that Angel had heard of it.

"You haven't gotten into the baby pool yet?" It was Wesley's turn to be surprised. "There's quite a lot of money accumulated by now. But I don't think you'll have a chance. All the good days have already been taken."

Suddenly it dawned on him. "You're betting on when Rose will have her kids?" he queried incredulously. "Somehow I never thought of you as doing something like that, Wes."

"The winner doesn't get all the money," Wesley hedged. "Half of it goes to get a baby present. The winner gets the other half. I thought I had a pretty good shot since I have a more than fair idea when they were conceived. But by the time the pool got around to me, my day was already taken."

"Maybe Rose will surprise you, Wes," Angel consoled him. "She seems to make a habit of surprising people."

Wesley brightened. "She does, doesn't she?"