Success, Failure, and Courage: Foolish Games

"C'mon…c'mon, hurry up" Anya softly urged to the plastic stick known as a home pregnancy test. So close to the wedding, she needed to know, and she didn't need any controversy, like her dress not fitting. She watched it carefully and suddenly grabbed the box, reviewing what two lines meant. Both the test and the box fell from her hands and made a loud clack as she began to cry. She was pregnant, like she had feared. Anya didn't know what she was going to do now.

Tara was surprised to see the blonde on her doorstep, especially with the expression that she was carrying. Tara didn't ask questions, she let Anya in, leading her to the living room.

"I need a spell, and you were the only person that I know will do it for me," Anya quickly began, "I'm pregnant, and I need a spell to prolong and hide it indefinantly. I know it can be done, I have all the ingredients and the spell itself, I just need a witch who can perform it, and seeing as Willow isn't in the active mode at the moment…" Anya was pacing rapidly, talking fast, fearing slowing down would mean an actual conversation and she knew that lead to tears, and at the moment she didn't feel human enough for tears. Tara watched her for a moment before speaking up.

"Maybe you should just show me the spell and ingredients and we'll work on it together, alright Anya? Can you d-do that for me?" She asked, her tone carrying that motherly tone that hadn't been heard really from anyone since Joyce had died. Anya nodded and went into her purse, removing the large book and the various ingredients, setting them on the desk and opened the book to the correct page, showing it to Tara.

"Well?" Anya pushed, "Can you do it?"

"I'll try"

Xander walked into the apartment slowly, never knowing what Anya was doing and not wanting to shock her like he had on a few occasions, not that what he found wasn't pleasing, just he knew how she felt about certain things (like sex and counting money). He shut the door and noticed the silence, frowning ever so slightly.

"Ahn, sweetie, I'm home!" he called, setting his things down and walked into the living room, seeing a note on the coffee table. He opened it quickly, reading the instruction and headed for the bedroom, curiosity on his face as he opened the door. His look of curiosity turned to a huge grin when he saw Anya lying on the bed spread eagle with not a stitch of clothing on. The only thing on her body was the thin necklace that hung around her neck and the oval red stone that lay just above her heart. He watched her breathe and felt his attraction to her grow more, his hormones giving him more reasons to love her than he already did.

"I…wow, Anya…just…whoa" he managed softly as he began to unbutton his shirt, as if to cool off. Anya sat up slightly, looking deeply into Xander's lust ridden eyes, a small smile on her face as she tilted her head to the side, watching him as if she were his puppy, or sex poodle. If only she could play with his hair, make it messy, make it hers.

You were always the mysterious one with dark eyes and careless hair

Xander made his way to the bed, getting his shirt off his shoulders and crawled over Anya, kissing her passionately as she reached for his belt, undoing it for him. Xander's soft moans in the kiss made Anya fumble along more as she tried to be of help as Xander shimmied his pants off his hips and kicked them off of his calves.

You were fashionably sensitive, but too cool to care

Xander's kissed moved along Anya's jawline and neck before he noticed the necklace, picking the chain up lightly. Anya's heart skipped a beat as he touched it, but she wanted Xander too bad to really care.

"When did you get this baby?" He asked seductively, his other hand trailing up her inner thigh, lightly reminding her of other times they had been intimate.

"Oh you know." Anya cooed, giving a coy smile, "In between wanting your body and needing it." She leaned up to kiss him to get him to shut up, wrapping a leg around his waist to urge him to take advantage of her naked body. He quickly complied, thrusting into her, holding her close, kissing her, whispering soft nothings until he could no longer.

Now it was Anya's turn to lay there wide-awake. She was curled up to Xander, rubbing his arm lightly as she thought things over. She sighed softly, thinking of the fact that in a way the three of them were all in bed, Mother, Father, and child. It was scary, thinking of how Xander may react to the situation, how happy, or upset he may be at the wedding once it was final and she told him what the necklace really was. She prayed there wouldn't be harsh misunderstanding. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, trying to sleep.

You took off your coat and stood in the rain, you were always crazy like that.

(Author's Notes: Wow, what a chapter huh? Did it shock you? Is it almost a Whedon-esque piece of art? I shouldn't even attempt to compare myself to Joss Whedon, he is SUCH a better writer than I am. Um, I used Jewel's "Foolish Games" for this chapter and last Chapter I used "Easier to Run" by Linkin Park. I totally forgot to include that before so I had to add it here. Oh! Also my friend Tawnie, without her help certain aspects of this chapter could have been soooo different. UPDATE: This chapter was done at THANKSGIVING, but various technical difficulties have lead to it just now coming along to this site. I'm very proud of it, I read it over, and just...whoa. Great plot twist and development...I sometimes surprise myself....)