A/N: Sorry if the repetition annoys, but I like it.

Broken 4

I'm a father.

That's the only coherent thought going through his mind at the moment as he gazes at the sleeping form of his daughter. Looking at her brings peace to his heart, something that had been sorely missing lately, and something he thought he'd never feel again.

I'm a father.

Alexandra Joyce Summers, 'Lexie' for short. A beautiful name for an even more beautiful girl. She is the spitting image for her mother, all apart from her eyes. No one could doubt that she is his daughter because she definitely has his chocolate brown eyes, well eye.

I'm a father.

When Dawn had called and asked him to go over, he had been reluctant to agree as he was still worried about the reception he would receive. He did agree, never having been able to refuse a request form one of 'his girls', and when she had opened the door to him she had pulled him into a bone crushing hug that he more than willingly reciprocated.

I'm a father.

They'd stayed that way for what seemed like hours, but was no more than a few minutes, before Dawn broke the embrace and lead him inside to the living room. That was when he first saw her, lying on the floor a few feet from the TV, transfixed as she watched Tom try to catch Jerry with her head tilted slightly to the left and a small smile on her lips.

I'm a father.

He knew that she was Buffy's daughter the moment he laid eyes on her, it was simply impossible not to. That was when the shock set in; he was shocked that she had a daughter, shocked that she had a daughter old enough to attend kindergarten, and shocked that she had never told him. It hurt that someone he had known half his life would keep something like this from him and for a moment he hated her for it, only to feel overwhelming guilt at the thought.

I'm a father.

They'd both had been staring at her for a minute or so before she realised it. When she'd turned round to see whom Auntie Dawn let in, his knees almost gave way when he saw her eyes. Turning his attention to Dawn, who answered his unasked question with a nod, she introduced him to his daughter. Tears were streaming down his face but for the first time in weeks it wasn't because he was sad. These were tears of joy.

I'm a father.

That first night after the collapse of Sunnydale, he and Buffy had been paired up to share a room at the motel they stopped at. What had started off as a comforting embrace after a heart to heart ended with them sleeping together. The same thing happened every night until they reached Cleveland. Once they reached their destination, they talked about what they were doing and decided that, while they were feeling an attraction towards one another, neither one was ready for another relationship. The friendship they already had was too precious to risk while they weren't capable of giving 100 to anything more than that.

I'm a father.

After a lot of discussion between those that had survived the battle, they had all decided to reform the Council and had gone their separate ways a few weeks later, each taking a different part of the world to start searching for newly called Slayers. They barely saw each other at all for the next year or so, only communicating via phone or e-mail. The next time he and Buffy did see each other, he was going out with Faith so they never talked about what happened. Now it was too late.

I'm a father.

He spent the next few hours getting to know his daughter, revelling in the feeling of warmth he got from the revelation the he was a father. Dawn couldn't stop laughing for ten minutes when she asked him if he was related to Popeye. When it was time for Lexie to go to bed, he helped where he could and both he and Dawn watched her as she drifted off to the land of slumber. He had considered asking Dawn why Buffy never told him about her but decided against it, only Buffy could explain it fully and he's prepared to wait until she can tell him, however long that may be.

I'm a father.

The first time he realized that he was now a father, was also the time he realized why Faith had snapped. A couple of years ago, he had asked her what her thoughts were concerning having kids one day. Her answer wasn't something he had expected; she started crying. He could count the number of times he had seen Faith cry on one hand with enough left over to flip someone the bird and hitchhike to Hell. It took a lot to make faith cry and so he knew that it was serious. It turned out that Faith can't have children; when she was fourteen, a boyfriend of her mother had raped her, causing so much damage that the doctor in the hospital she went to told her that she would never be able to conceive.

I'm a father.

It took him a long time to assure her that he was perfectly happy to never have children; the First Slayer had told him he would be the last of the line years ago and he had come to terms with that long before they had started going out. They had considered adoption but decided against it; they were certain that they would be great parents, but they knew that there wouldn't be an adoption agency on the planet that would consider them, given the lifestyle that they lead. They could have always changed their minds later in life, but they were happy the way they were.

I'm a father.

He and Dawn had talked for a while after Lexie had drifted off. Dawn had told him that Buffy brought Lexie with her to Cleveland this time because she wanted him to get to know his daughter and to apologise for never telling him of her existence before. He could tell she expected him to ask why she hadn't before but he kept quiet, simply nodding in acknowledgement as his thoughts drifted somewhere else.

I'm a father.

Faith must have seen Buffy and Lexie together and figured out that she was his daughter. There was one thing that no one could ever stop Faith from doing and that was comparing herself to Buffy. She wanted to prove that she could do anything that Buffy could and have anything that Buffy had. To find out that Buffy had been able to give him the one thing that she never could would have driven her insane.

I'm a father.

He didn't know why she hadn't said anything to him; maybe she thought he would leave her for Buffy if he knew, maybe she thought that he already knew about Lexie and kept it from her. It didn't really matter now in the grand scheme of things. She hadn't come and talked or screamed at him about it, instead she had abducted, tortured and eventually killed the mother of his child and that was something she could never take back and something he could never forgive, or forget.

I'm a father.

Now that he had seen his daughter, he knew that Faith would be coming for him. While he was in no hurry to die, he had been wondering why she hadn't tried to kill him yet and now he knew. Whether she believed he knew of Lexie's existence or not, she would want him to see her once before killing him, that way he'd know what he'd be leaving behind. Now he knows he doesn't want to leave, but doesn't know if he has a choice in the matter.

I'm a father.