Under The Grace

Previously on BtVS…

"I am sorry for what Damian has done to you." The white lady said. "It is un-heard of; impregnating non-demonic beings, even a slayer. But there is nothing that can be done. Once impregnated, the child cannot be aborted." She looked sad as she said it. Buffy didn't want her to be sad. She reached out to Buffy's face and, without touching, ran her fingers down her side of her cheek. "I will talk to him about it." She smiled at her. Buffy felt like it was Christmas and she was five again. It was pure happiness, seeing her smile. "And I will tell the children to stop disturbing you. But Shenzi might feel threatened. If you have a girl, Shenzi might feel her life is in jeopardy. But she not attack or she will have to answer to her father's anger. Shenzi does not answer well to Damian's wraith." She got up to leave.

"Please don't go" Buffy managed to get out. "Who are you?" The white lady just smiled.

"That, you are not ready to hear. Lilith is to stay with you at all times. I will tell her to tone down her attitude. Amazingly, she can be quite pleasant. If I do say so myself." She nodded at Buffy and disappeared in a whisk of white shimmering light.

…and now the conclusion

Buffy felt better after she had breakfast. Lilith had cooked omelets. She was making herself quite at home. She seemed to know where everything was. She defiantly knew her way around kitchens.

"What am I gonna tell my mom?" Buffy said to no one in particular.

Willow spooned another mouthful into her mouth. Dawn was a bit cautious of the food, but after Buffy ate half of it one go; she felt it was safe to be eaten.

Lilith sat down with her coffee. "Would you tell her in other circumstances?" she said between sips. She looked like a normal human being. A weird human. You would not pick her out as a goddess. Buffy actually forgot for a minute that that was she was.

"I don't know." It was the truth. She had never thought about having kids. So the excuse to tell her mom never crossed her mind. It gave her a headache, so she decided to take it as it comes and tell her mother in the right time.

"What would you tell your mother?" she asked Lilith.

The goddess looked down at her mug. "I never had a mother. I just existed. Remember; first women. It means I was first. There was no one around to give birth to me." The topic seemed to strike a nerve. Buffy didn't press the matter.

The rest of breaky was silence. Dawn cleaned up the dishes while Buffy, Willow and Lilith went back into the lounge. Xander was still sleeping and Willow jumped on him to wake him. Giles sat on the couch in a daze. Like Buffy, he couldn't except that Buffy was with child. Than Buffy remembered:

"Did you all see the albino women?" she turned to look at all her friends. Giles and Willow shock their heads while Xander, still rubbing sleep out o his eyes said. "The what women?"

Buffy explained about what had happened when she woke up. Lilith sat silently on the sofa. When Buffy had finished, Giles shock his head again.

"We saw no one go to you room but Lilith and we saw no one leave. She," pointing at Lilith, "wouldn't let us in to see if you were alright. She just carried you up stairs and told us to wait here." He didn't seem too happy about it. Buffy turned to Lilith.

The goddess just shrugged. "She told me that she wanted to be alone with you. I don't argue with the women. Bad things happen when you do."

"Lucifer was arguing with her awhile back." Buffy stated. Lilith smiled; it was a smile that you get when you know something that everyone else wants to know.

"Lucifer's," she did the circular movements with her hands as she tried to find the right word. She ended up with "special."

"Lucifer's special?" Giles snapped. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"If you sleep with the right people, your special." Lilith said it like it explained everything.

It didn't really make sense. Why would the white lady want to sleep with likes of him? They both were the exact opposite to each other. It didn't sit right. Maybe Lilith was pulling their legs.

"Who is she?" Buffy felt as if she had asked his question a million times.

Lilith shock her head. "Sorry, love, can't say."

Buffy was about to protest when someone knock on the door.

Two hours ago…

Damian paced the stretch of his office. Shenzi sat on his desk, watching him like a hawk. He was mad. Shenzi didn't like it when he was mad. For some reason they had been called here to wait. They both stopped what they were doing as Lucifer and the white lady appeared. Lucifer held the door open for her and closed it behind them.

"Something disturbing has been called to my attention." Said the white lady, as she sat behind Damian's desk. Shenzi scooted off the desk and stood in the corner; away from her father, grandfather and the white lady. She had a feeling that if she had been called to this meeting, she had done something to upset them. But somehow, the white lady and her grandfather seemed to be the only ones upset. So what had her dad got to do with this?

The white lady turned to Damian. "You have recently been in connection with a slayer called Buffy?" She probably knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from his own lips. Shenzi was confused. What slayer? She hasn't seen any slayer since Prague.

"Well?"

Damian didn't know what to say. In the end he just said "yes". What else could he do, deny it? Somehow it seemed pointless. She'll know.

Damian nodded towards Shenzi. "What she got to do with this?" Personally, if Damian was gonna get a lector. He'd rather not get it in front of his daughter. It tends to be a little degrading.

"Your children have been parading around the streets, killing anyone they find fair game!" The white lady snapped. Lucifer stood there quietly. But he didn't have to say anything to prove his displeasure. Shenzi didn't know what upset her more. The look her grandfather was giving her, or the fact that what her and her siblings had done had come to the attention of higher beings. That and being the only one out of her brothers that seems to be getting the blame.

"It was Bonzai's idea!" she defended herself. The white lady ignored her.

"I want those children under proper supervision. The school will no longer accept them because of they're idiotic behavior. Deal with it or the council will see them as a threat and have them destroyed!" Shenzi all of a sudden felt like a really bad dog. But then again; there wasn't much difference in the way they were treated.

"I'll handle it." Damian said in a bored tone.

"No," said the white lady. "Lucifer will deal with them." I'd rather dad, thought Shenzi. But she dear not speak it. "You, Damian, and I are going to have a little talk about the rules of the Daemonicus laws. Mainly the part about child birth of a non-demon host." Shenzi couldn't help but laugh as Lucifer dragged her to her punishment.

Buffy and the gang froze and stared at the door. Finally Lilith got up to answer it.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." Lilith's cheerful voice came from the hallway. Buffy sat up in her chair to try and get a better look at who was at the door. She didn't like what she saw. Buffy stood up as Lilith came in the room accompanied by Damian's father and, to Buffy's and everyone's discomfort, Shenzi.

"Look everyone, it's Lucifer!" Lilith and Lucifer stared at each other like they were going to attack the other. Shenzi just rolled her eyes and started to look around the room. Giles was the one to bring them back to this world. "Is there a reason you are here? And how come she can come inside?" He pointed at Shenzi as he said this.

Lucifer snapped out of it and turned to the group, ignoring Lilith. "I had to see if it was true." He turned his gaze to Buffy. "And, sadly, it is."

Buffy raised an eyebrow and nodded towards Shenzi. Lucifer suddenly remembered his granddaughter and grabbed her arm as if she would do something bad. "I just wanted to know what you saw her do."

Buffy realized that he was only referring to the girl. "It wasn't just her. The two boys had their hand in it too."

Lucifer nodded. "But she was the main problem?" Buffy didn't know if it was a statement or a question. "I suppose" was all she could say. Lucifer nodded again, obviously thinking to himself. "I am sorry for what my son has placed in you." As he said it his eyes showed sorrow for Buffy. But they soon changed. "She won't be a hassle anymore." He tugged hard on Shenzi's arm, making her squeal in pain. It wasn't till than did Buffy notice the blood soaking through the back of Shenzi's jeans. But before she could say anything, Lucifer and his granddaughter disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Everyone coughed, waving their arms around to try and get rid of the smoke. Buffy and Willow opened some windows and the room stared to clear. "Well, at least he had the courtesy to not singe the carpet like his son" said Xander.

The Scooby Gang went to The Bronze that night. It was one of the coolest places in town (next to Damian's coffee shop) that you could have a private conversation while still being surrounded by hundreds of people.

"So, I'm pregnant. So what? I mean I sorta wanted to have kids. Just not with a guy I've just met and he being Satan. That last bit puts a downer on the situation." Buffy looked at her friends. Willow and Tara huddled together. Xander and Anya were just staring at their drinks, and Spike was looking at her. Only he was the only one who could look at her as she stated the obvious. Lilith was getting the rounds.

Buffy watched the goddess sway through the party goers with a tray of drinks. You couldn't miss the women. She had bright purple hair and a tight, black lack leather top and pants. She would get notice without even trying. She walked like every eyes was on her and she knew it. She sat down. "Don't worry. I've had plenty of Daemonicus children. So the first may be the hardest, but you'll get use to it."

Buffy frowned. "I don't plan on having anymore of his kids. I don't plan on having this one. I'm going to abort it tomorrow."

Lilith laughed. "You can't get rid of them. Once conceived, the babe automatically put up some sort of protective," she made circular movements with he hands, trying to find the right word. "Some sort of shield around your womb. You could gut yourself and you and the baby will survive. It's sort of a safety thing. I mean, this kid will be Damian's heir. Wouldn't do well if he kid cacked it before it was even born."

Lilith was not really that much help. She wasn't allowed to say much. Apparently, she was an ambassador to the goddess and demon race. Since she was in both cultures, they (The Powers That Be) decided that this would the best way to use her. But this meant that she couldn't answer most of Buffy's questions, like who the White Lady was or much to do on the subject.

"Did anyone see Shenzi bleeding?" Buffy had to know. Xander piped up. "You noticed that too?" the rest of the gang nodded. Lilith looked at them, like she wasn't sure what to say, or if she could. In the end she acted as if it were nothing important. "Lucifer probably gave her a beating." She said this in a tired tone. Willow turned white. "Why?"

Lilith shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because it's bad."

"She is bad. If you're bad in that household you get punished, severely." She said this like it was a normal thing. "Damian and Lucifer think nothing of it taking a whip to that lot. Even the servants in that place get a whack if they incompetent." She looked at the group, who in return, gave her a weird look back. "What?"

"Was it our fault?" Willow said.

"I'm pretty sure Go…" She stopped.

Buffy stared at her. "Don't worry, that lot can handle a bit of abuse. The whole foundation of Daemonicus is built on abusive and violence and sex. It's their whole being of existence. They need it to survive." She turned to Buffy. "And you're carrying one of them abusive creatures."

To Be Continued…