Chapter 23

Buffy walked into her house to hear laughter coming from the living room. She smiled as she walked into the kitchen. Hank soon came in with Casey on his back and she had to smile again at the display. Hank smiled also when he saw her. "When did she get so big?" He said referring to Casey.

"Yeah, she tends to grow fast." Hank agreed when Joyce walked into the kitchen.

"Hank, you should be in bed." She said sternly and Hank rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Joyce. I feel fine and I wanted to spend some time with the girls. I just can't stay in a bed all day, it would drive me crazy." Joyce nodded and then looked at her youngest.

"Honey, I think you should get off your father before you break his back." Hank waved his hand in the air.

"She's fine, I don't mind it. Come on, princess. Time to go upstairs, so I can read you a story." Casey smiled at that.

"Yay!" Hank laughed and walked out of the kitchen with Casey still on his back. Buffy smiled again as she watched them go.

"He's really getting the hang of this. Maybe he actually will stick around this time." Joyce could tell that it was still a sore subject for Buffy and she decided to change it.

"So, how was it at Spike's?" Buffy avoided her mother's gaze as she answered her.

"It was good. He'll probably be over tonight." Joyce nodded when she noticed something.

"Um, sweetie? You have something on your neck." She said and Buffy then touched her neck.

"What is it? Am I getting a zit or something?" Joyce smiled as she walked out of the kitchen and Buffy wondered what that was about as she headed into the bathroom to look in the mirror. What she saw wasn't a zit, but a huge hickey. "Oh god!" She exclaimed as she tried to cover it as best she could, feeling embarrassed that her mother saw it. She then thought about what happened when she got the hickey and a smile graced her lips. She would never regret anything about last night. Her smile suddenly faded when she realized that her and Spike didn't use any protection. They were both caught up in the moment that they didn't even notice it. She figured she would talk to Spike about it when he came over later. She was positive that everything would be okay. She hoped anyway. She left the bathroom and headed back downstairs just in time to hear someone knock on the door. She wondered who it could be as she opened the door. She didn't see anyone out there when she looked down and saw a bouquet of white roses which were her favorite. She smiled as she picked them up. "Spike, where are you?" Spike then came out from hiding and smiled at her.

"How did you know it was me?" He wondered.

"I know you pretty well. The roses are beautiful, thank you." Spike shrugged.

"Don't mention it. I know they're your favorite." She let him into the house and then closed the door.

"How come you're here so early?" Spike shrugged again.

"I guess I just missed you. Had nothing better to do anyway." Buffy smiled as she gave him a kiss on the lips.

"That's sweet of you." She went into the kitchen to put the flowers in some water and then turned her attention back on Spike. "Let's go upstairs. There's something we need to talk about." Spike wondered why she seemed so serious all of a sudden, but all he did was nod as he followed her upstairs. Buffy was quiet when they got into her room and she didn't know how to start the conversation. Spike sat on her bed and decided to be the one to break the silence.

"What's wrong, love? You don't regret what happened last night, do you?" Buffy saw the worried expression on his face and she sat down next to him, taking his hand in hers.

"I don't regret anything we did, Spike. I don't want you to think that." Spike sighed in relief.

"So, what's wrong?" Buffy took a deep breath and decided to tell him.

"I just realized that we didn't use any protection last night." Spike's eyes grew big and Buffy could tell that he just realized it also.

"Bloody hell, I didn't even think about that. I was just so caught up in what we were about to do that it didn't even occur to me." Buffy nodded.

"I know, I'm sure everything will be okay and I'm on the pill." Spike looked at her and could tell that she wasn't so sure, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Yeah, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about." Buffy gave him a small smile. Spike then put his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. She kept telling herself that everything would be okay, but she wasn't so sure.