A/N : Thanx for the wonderful comments; kori hime, Spuffyfan4eva, rubi-elektra, sunnyhell, Freezyboncoolipants, MaidenRo, ms trick, adpi24, Moonglow24, Kari Mouke, twisty-treat, kenting, Rachel, Harm Marie, samica, Bunny, tink36, helaine, Ann, Moluvsnumber17, sba, zanthinegirl, AraelMoonChild. I'm still amazed at the number of reviews I'm getting on this. I thought my first two chapters were okay but the third and fourth I was less certain of. This one I like better so I'm hoping you guys will like it to, there's a couple of surprises coming your way! ;-)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 5

It was becoming impossible to cover and Buffy knew the time would come sooner than she expected when she'd have to tell all her friends she was carrying a child. They were already giving her suspicious looks when she turned up at the Bronze in very non-party wear, but all her best stuff was tight and/or revealing and there was one specific part of her she needed to hide as the baby grew and her stomach along with it.

Today was Saturday and her Mom had called to say she was home from her trip and would love to see her. The Slayer knew it would happen that way and now she had to face telling Joyce she was pregnant. Part of her was glad she'd asked Spike to be there but another part wondered why the hell she had!

He was the only one that knew the truth and as such was the only person she could go to to talk about her worries and stuff. Twice during the past week she wanted to go and see him, just so she could talk about what she was feeling. The first time she'd gotten as far as the cemetery where his crypt was before she changed her mind, the second time she'd almost made it to the door before running away. It was stupid really. Stupid that she wanted and needed to be near him, and equally as stupid that she kept changing her mind about it.

Now it was the evening of their 'date' as he'd called it, though it really had no qualities of such an event. Neither had the two dates she'd had with Riley recently. Buffy had only agreed because Willow seemed so insistent that he was perfect for her. He wasn't exactly as Joe Regular as she'd thought but he was definitely more normal than her last boyfriend had been. She really did want to give him a chance, but he just didn't do anything for her lately. There was no real sparkage and she hardly let him touch her for fear of his discovering her secret.

There was no way to continue to avoid the Initiative visit and it had occurred two nights ago. Professor Walsh had asked a lot of Slayer-related questions which Buffy had answered truthfully, if not a little carefully, and then reported back to Giles about all that had happened. There was no follow through on the medical tests the Professor had originally mentioned, in fact no-one spoke of them at all and Buffy was pleased about that. She wondered afterwards if maybe Riley wasn't as keen on her as he was on the idea of her being the Slayer and joining up with the commandos, since she hadn't seen him these past two days.

Buffy sighed as she looked out of the window and saw the sun was setting. She had bigger things to worry about than Riley right now. She'd said she'd collect Spike from his crypt as soon as the sun was down and then she had her Mom to face. She stared into the mirror on the wall and composed herself for a moment.

"Mom, I'm pregnant" she practised, "Mommy, I think I'm having a baby...Mom, there's something I think you should know...Hey, funny story, y'know how you get these people in colleges who sleep around..." it was hopeless, there was not going to be an easy way to explain it.

"It was easier telling her I was a Vampire Slayer" she mumbled as she pulled on her jacket and headed out. Willow was already at Tara's and Xander was with Anya - Saturday night meant date night for them. Buffy only wished her life were that simple.

"Agent Finn, we've had a Polgara sighting in Breaker's Woods, I want you to take a section out there immediately and bring it in" Professor Walsh told the young man who stared off into space, not hearing her at all.

"Agent Finn?" Maggie pressed, but still he didn't move, "Riley?" she tried, her hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his daze and onto his feet. Standing to attention he apologised for slacking on the job.

"That's quite alright, Riley" the Professors voice took on an uncharacteristically motherly tone, "You've had quite a shock this week, I understand why your mind may not be fully focused"

"It's no excuse" Finn shook his head, "I have a job to do, I shouldn't let my feelings for...her effect that"

"I agree" Professor Walsh nodded, "but as I said I can understand your distress. Miss Summers may be the Slayer but she is also a very foolish girl to allow herself to get into this situation. Of course she has no idea that we're aware of her pregnancy..."

"You said there was a Polgara demon, ma'am?" Riley dared to interrupt, something he would ordinarily never do, but hearing that this girl he believed he was in love with was having a child when she wouldn't even let him touch her, it made him feel so stupid for believing she cared.

"I did, Agent" Walsh let Riley's slight disrespectfulness slide on this occasion as she began to explain his latest mission to him.

"Spike?" the Slayer called as she entered the crypt. He suddenly appeared through a trapdoor in the centre of the floor, making the Slayer physically jump.

"Sorry, luv" he smirked, not looking in the least apologetic, "Did I scare ya?"

"No" she lied, shifting uncomfortably, even more so when he continued to stare at her, "What's your problem?" she asked in annoyance and Spike shook his head.

"I dunno" he admitted, frowning hard as he walked over to her, "It's the weirdest thing..." he trailed off as he leaned in closer to her and Buffy instinctively moved backwards.

"Spike, you're being creepy" she told him, not impressed at all "even more so than usual" she amended as she walked past him into the crypt and he continued to look at her strangely, "Are you ready to go get this over with or what?"

"Sure thing, pet" he said after a moment, shaking his head to take himself out of the daze he'd been in. He opened the door of his home and waited for Buffy to go through. She looked at him oddly now, not accustomed to this gentlemanly side of him, though perhaps she should be, after all he'd been good to her since he found out about the baby, saved her life, and comforted her when she cried. With a shrug she went through the door and he followed, before they walked side by side towards Revello Drive, neither one saying much for over half the journey, until...

"Once you've told Joyce, you're gonna have to tell your mates y'know" the vampire pointed out, "That bumps not gonna get any smaller" he gestured towards her stomach "and you look a mess in that outfit"

"Thanks Spike" she shot back incredulously, "Way to make a girl feel better - tell her she's fat and badly dressed"

"Evil, luv" he smirked as he pointed out the fact, "not exactly here to make you feel better"

"Then why are you here?" she asked as they stopped outside her house.

He stared right into her eyes when he answered and the intensity of the moment made a delightful shiver run down her spine.

"Because you asked me" he said slowly, his gaze seeming to add a slight questioning tone to the statement, as if he wondered why he'd been asked to come along. Buffy only wished she could tell him but she wasn't certain herself.

They were standing so close, his half-asked question left unanswered, the moonlight through the trees making shadows on her face, and for an insane moment Spike really wanted to kiss her. It was crazy, he knew it, and yet even though he didn't make the move to do it, he couldn't seem to force himself to move away from her either.

"We should get inside" Buffy broke the silence with her words, finally bringing the vampire out of his trance. That was the second time he'd gone all stare-y tonight and she was beginning to get a little wigged. The only good thing about Spike's strange behaviour was it served to take her mind off her nerves, but now was the moment, as she stood on the front porch, about to let herself into the house, when she was truly thankful for his presence.

"I'm so glad you're here" she breathed, without looking at him as she opened the door and let herself into the house. He stood stunned for just a second before he followed her. It seemed it really did mean a great deal to her that he was being understanding, truth was it bothered him that he cared. He was a vampire, a demon, an evil Slayer-killing machine...at least he had been. Now he was willingly entering the house of the current Chosen One to support her as she told her mother she was almost four months gone courtesy of the local Uni's resident Casanova. Was he completely off his bird? Or was there something else at work here...?

"Buffy, I'm so glad you came" Spike was taken from his thoughts as Joyce flung her arms around her daughter.

"Hey Mom" the girl greeted her mother, "I hope you don't mind that I brought Spike along" she gestured in his general direction and the vampire held out a hand to Joyce.

"Mrs Summers, nice to see you again" he said politely, after all the woman had been decent to him last time he'd been here, and she had no real reason to like him.

"Spike" she nodded a greeting, taking the offered hand and smiling as he kissed it before letting go, "How did things work out with...Drusilla, was it?" she tried to remember. When Spike looked away, Joyce turned to her daughter who make a cutting motion across her neck with her hand, the time-honoured signal for 'stop talking about that!'

"Or perhaps that's none of my business" Mrs Summers floundered, "Perhaps I should get us all a drink while you two sit down, er, I seem to remember you like hot chocolate Spike" she tried her best to make amends and felt she succeeded as the vampire grinned.

"Hot chocolate would be great, thanks" he told her, and Buffy's mother went off to fetch the drinks as he and the Slayer sat down on the sofa together.

"This is it" Buffy closed her eyes and tried to breathe, "As soon as she comes back..."

"You'll be fine, Slayer" he assured her, fingers finding hers on the cushion between them and squeezing them gently. Buffy couldn't help but smile at the gesture, as Joyce came in with a tray containing three mugs of hot chocolate and a dish of mini marshmallows. Spike grinned again - she'd remembered.

"So" the older woman said as she sat down in the chair opposite, but she was prevented from saying anymore as Buffy spoke up.

"Mom, I kind of have to tell you something..." she said quietly, gaining strength from the hand that held hers, despite it's coldness, "I'm not sure that you're going to be very happy about it but I think you should hear it from me instead of finding out later"

"Oh my God" Joyce gasped, her hand going to her mouth as she spotted the joined hands, "You two are in love?" she guessed, "I mean really, or has Willow done another spell?" she frowned and Buffy couldn't figure out why her Mom seemed to be smiling at the idea of her dating Spike! Although she'd really been pretty reasonable when she'd thought they were engaged before.

Spike smirked, leaning back into the sofa as Joyce continued to switch expressions between pleased and confused, as Buffy let go of his hand like it was poisonous and stared open-mouthed at her mother. He could easily have spoken up, explained that he was in fact not dating the Slayer and had no plans to do so, ever. He could also blurt out the truth in a nice blunt matter and devastate the both of them. The old Spike would have done all that in a heartbeat, someone else's obviously since he didn't have one of his own, but still...and yet he didn't say a word. Sure he was sort of enjoying the uneasy silence, and the confusion/shock that both Summers women were experiencing, but he thought he'd retained more of his evil streak than this, despite his chip. Good God, he hoped he wasn't turning into that poof Angel! If he thought that were true Spike would stake himself on the spot!

"Mom, me and Spike, we're not....this has nothing to do with..." Buffy began to ramble, but when she paused to think of a further coherent sentence, Joyce jumped in feet first again.

"Oh sweetheart, you don't have to feel bad about it" she assured her little girl, "I understand the world a lot better now, the job you do and everything, and Spike was very pleasant to talk to when he visited last year..."

"Mom, I am not dating Spike!" Buffy yelled, just wanting this to be over, "I'm pregnant!"

For a moment there was absolute silence and Spike was sure, even without his vampire hearing, he'd have been able to hear the proverbial pin drop.

"Mommy, please say something" Buffy begged, her eyes finally spilling over with waiting tears.

Joyce let out the breath she'd been holding as she turned to Spike.

"You got my little girl pregnant?" she gasped and the vampire closed his eyes and sighed in annoyance from all the confusion.

"Oh bloody hell"

Hours that felt like days dragged past in the Summer house as Buffy explained about vampires being sterile and also the fact she had never slept with Spike anyway. That had taken the vampire by surprise, since it was a complete and utter lie, but he would wait til later to confront the Slayer about that one. Joyce had already had quite enough shocks for one night after all.

Then came the admission of the one night stand with Parker soddin' Abrams and Buffy had cried and Joyce had cried, and Spike had gotten so uncomfortable he'd headed outside for a smoke.

Standing on the back porch, staring out at the night, again the vampire questioned the turn his life had taken. Just four months ago he was an evil bad-ass vampire, out for what he could get, his main aim being the Gem of Amara when he arrived back in Sunnyhell. He'd beat up the Slayer, knocked out the Whelp, then followed Wolf-Boy to LA and tortured the hell out of Peaches. He had Harmony there to be willingly used and abused, decent digs, and enough tasty townies to feed on every night.

Now he was effectively muzzled, dumped by yet another woman, living in a filthy crypt, and being the Slayers shoulder to cry on as she hid her unborn child from the world, friends included.

Sometimes he told himself it was all part of this elaborate plan. That he'd get the Slayer to rely on him, trust him, then he'd turn around and kill her like he'd always wanted to. Dru had reckoned he was obsessed with Buffy, not just the idea of the Slayer anymore but the actual girl. He'd tried to convince her it was all about killing her then, as he tried to convince himself now, but the more time he spent with the blonde, the more he began to wonder if it wasn't something deeper than that. Love and hate were very closely entwined emotions, he knew that, but the only love he'd really shared with her was under that ridiculous spell that Red had cast. Surely none of that feeling was genuine, on either side...

"Hey" a soft voice spoke behind him, an ordinary man might have jumped at the sudden sound but he'd known she was there even before she spoke.

"Okay now luv?" he checked, flicking his third cigarette butt to the ground and grinding it out with his heel.

"Me and Mom talked it all out" Buffy explained, watching her feet, "I don't think she's ecstatic about it but she's dealing. She promised to be there if I need her, and I think I'm really going to" she admitted with a sad smile.

"At least you've got someone to lean on now" he shrugged, "Guess I can piss off and you wouldn't even miss me" he hated that it bothered him but it really did. He sort of like the fact he was needed, even if it was by someone he was supposed to have killed years before.

"I don't..." Buffy was about to answer when her mother called her name. Her sentence was left unsaid, and Spike would never know what she was thinking at that moment. The Slayer herself was glad of that, to try to tell Spike what she felt was impossible right now. She was appreciative that he'd been, well, a friend, these past couple of weeks, and his support tonight had meant a lot but, what happened next she had no idea.

"Buffy" Joyce frowned as her daughter returned with Spike beside her "Mr Giles is on the phone, he sounds a little worried about something"

Buffy shared a look with Spike as she took the phone from her mother and put it to her ear almost afraid to ask what was wrong. Could it be that somehow he knew without her telling him?

"Hey Giles, what's the what?" she asked as casually as she could, as Spike and Joyce looked on, hanging on every 'yes', 'oh God' and 'I understand'. After a couple of minutes Buffy placed the receiver back in the cradle and leaned on the wall for support.

"You okay, luv" Spike checked and Buffy looked up at him with troubled eyes.

"Not exactly" she admitted "Faith's awake"

To Be Continued...

A/N2: Surprised? Still like it? Let me know :-)
Oh, also, the voting has begun at the Spuffy Awards and I am up for Best General Author Award! Your support would be appreciated :-) [There's a link in my Profile Page]